Roger Friedman has more Croisette tea this morning. Pedro Almodóvar’s 30-minute short film, titled “Strange Way of Life,” has supposedly been chosen to open the 76th Cannes Film Festival.
Friedman goes on to mention what we already knew: Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” is also going to Cannes. He additionally hints at a potential appearance from other oft-rumored titles, including Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and James Mangold’s “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.”
Back to Almodóvar’s “Strange Way of Life”, his latest is a Western starring Ethan Hawke and Pedro Pascal. It’s already been shot and ready to go. The filmmaker had already confirmed a month ago that it was Cannes-bound, but this opening night slot, if true, would be unusual for a short film.
This latest project comes on the heels of Almodóvar’s previous English-language short, “The Human Voice,” starring Tilda Swinton, which debuted three years ago at Venice.
These two projects are serving as a way for Almodóvar to work in English-language productions without jumping headfirst into a feature-length project. As reported a few days ago, the Spanish filmmaker will be shooting his English feature-length debut this fall in NYC.
Sadly, it won’t be “Manual of a Cleaning Woman” as that Cate Blanchett-starring vehicle was recently scrapped.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.