HBO Films has cancelled production on The Days of Abandonment after Natalie Portman had to exit the film due to personal reasons.
“Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO Films’ Days of Abandonment prior to the start of filming,” HBO said. “Unfortunately, the production will not move forward. We are very sorry we won’t be able to bring this beautiful story to the screen with our talented writer/director and cast. We send our sincere thanks to our cast, producers, and crew for all their passion and hard work.”
Days of Abandonment had been described as “a visceral, no-holds-barred journey into the mind of a woman in crisis that confronts the norms of motherhood and female identity as Tess (Portman) traverses the darkest reaches of her own psyche. A woman who abandoned her own dreams for a stable home life, Tess’ world gets suddenly thrown off its axis when her husband abandons her.”
The film was based on Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name and was to have been written and directed by Maggie Betts. Mary-Louise Parker and Rafi Spall were set to star opposite Portman.
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