por Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Los actores Pedro Almodóvar, junto a María Barranco, Carmen Maura y Rossy de Palma.
‘WOMEN ON THEVERGE’ OF A SERIES: One of Pedro Almodovar’s best known films is about to find a new life on TV. Fox TV Studios is developing an English-language hour-long project based on the Spanish director’s 1988 Oscar-nominated feature, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Almodovar will be an executive producer.
Mimi Schmir will write the pilot script. It will not be produced until international producing partners are lined up.
The movie, starring Carmen Maura, chronicled a two-day period in the life of a voice-over actress abandoned by her lover. She encounters a number of comic situations trying to track him down.
Schmir told The Hollywood Reporter the series “will be a suburban drama about a group of women who have known each other for a long time… who are looking at the second half of their lives.”
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, which featured a young Antonio Banderas, introduced international audiences to the fast changing way of life in Spain’s fledging democracy. Some of the film’s most famous gags include the consumption of a sleeping-pill-laden gazpacho and the impending attack of Shiite terrorists.
The film made a Hollywood celebrity out of Almodóvar, who eventually won a screenwriting Oscar for Hablé con ella.
Just last week it was announced that the director’s latest film, Los abrazas rotos, will be among 20 films in competition at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival in France. This is the third time Almodóvar has a film in competition at the prestigious festival, where he won a directing award in 1999 for Todo sobre mi madre and a screenwriting honor in 2006 for Volver.
In other festival news, one of the year’s most anticipated Spanish-language films, Rudo y Cursi, premiered last week—outside of competition—at New York’s Tribeca Festival. It marks a screen reunion for Mexican actors Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna with their Y fu mama tambien screenwriter Carlos Cuarón, who this time directs. The f Im opens here next month.
Also screening at Tribeca last week was City Is/and, produced by actor Andy García. He appears along with his actress daughter Dominik García-Loredo. It’s the third time they have done so.
TOP WINNER: Panamanian reggaetón star Flex won eight trophies at the Billboard Latin Music Awards April 23 in Miami. His Te quiero won top Latin album of the year. The hit single of the same name won seven other awards, including hot Latin song of the year.
Other top winners included Spanish pop singer Enrique Iglesias, who took six awards, and Dominican bachata group Aventura, with four. Special awards were given to Puerto Rican reggaefón star Daddy Yankee and to Mexican rock guitarist Carlos Santana. Hispanic Link.
