Very bad news today: HBO has pulled the plug on the TV movie based on the novel by My Brilliant Friend author Elena Ferrante that was set to star Natalie, and whose filming was going to start these days in Australia….

“Due to unforeseen personal reasons, Natalie Portman has stepped down from HBO Films’ Days of Abandonment prior to the start of filming. Unfortunately, the production will not move forward,” reps for HBO said in a statement to THR. “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.”

Details on why Natalie stepped down were not immediately known.

The film, which had been in pre-production, hailed from writer-director Maggie Betts (Novitiate), Portman and her MountainA Films, Maven Screen Media, Len Amato’s Crash & Salvage and Fandango. Ferrante also served as an executive producer.

Hopefully we will know soon the reasons why Natalie has not gone ahead with the project…