Cate Blanchett will star in the adaptation of the novel by Lucia Berlin, a compilation of 43 stories focused on the suffering of various women throughout the world
Pedro Almodóvar had been trying for a long time to transfer to the screen ‘Manual for cleaning women’, the famous novel by Lucia Berlin (Juneau, Alaska, 1936 – Marina del Rey, California, 2004), a compilation of 43 stories focused on the suffering of various women throughout the world, an anthology of stories based on the itinerant life of Lucia Berlin, an alcoholic, intelligent and courageous woman, married three times, who worked hard in all kinds of trades to support her four children.
But some new project or some inconvenience always got in the way of bringing to the screen what was to be her first film in English, and, again, a powerful female portrait. The last mishap, when Almodóvar had already written the script, is that, with so much delay, the rights acquired by the director had expired, they had to negotiate again and now the price was exorbitant.
And this is where Cate Blanchett comes in. According to the magazine ‘Variety’, considered the bible of show business, once El Deseo could not take charge of the film, it was possible that Cate Blanchett (actress candidate from the beginning to star in it) would save him by resorting to her own production company, and that is exactly what has happened. Dirty Films, Blanchett’s label, has obtained the rights to ‘A Manual for Cleaning Women’, so that it has contacted Almodóvar and his producer, his brother Agustín, to finally develop the film. In this way, the film will be produced by Dirty Films together with New Republic Pictures and El Deseo, and Almodóvar will be able to direct it freely.
With the script already written, and once ‘Parallel Mothers’ faces its international tour with great applause from critics, Almodóvar can get on with his first film in English as soon as possible. The plot of ‘Manual for cleaning women’ will try to combine the stories of the book in a single plot between the US and Spain, alternating between English and Spanish. It is Blanchett’s most recent project as the protagonist after having a brief role in ‘Don’t look up’, while in Spain this Friday we will see her in ‘The Alley of Lost Souls’, by Guillermo del Toro, which will hit the screens this January 21st.
‘Variety’ does not reveal more details of ‘Manual for cleaning women’, but it is to be hoped that Almodóvar will start looking for new interpreters right now to give Blanchett a reply.
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