The four times that Almodóvar almost filmed in English

Pedro Almodóvar believes that he is not ready to tackle "such a monumental production in English" as

, sources from his production company El Deseo reported to EL PAÍS on Wednesday.

With two Oscars in his office and two medium-length films shot in English,

(2020) and the Western

which will be released in 2023, the Spanish director has once again haggled over filming in a language that was not his own.

“I am an artist and I am part of every decision in the film.

In Hollywood the director is a part of the team, not the main creator.

I'm too old to change now.

I wouldn't know how to do it," Almodóvar told

in 2011 .

But the adaptation of the stories of Lucia Berlin is not an isolated episode, up to four times the manchego approached the direction in English.

Sister Act: A Caring Nun

(1992).

Producer Scott Rudin thought of Almodóvar to direct the first part of the musical comedy

, although it was finally shot by Emile Ardolino, director of

(1987).

The Spanish director already had a film about nuns behind him,

(1983), and his two just released, at that time:

(1988) and

(1990).

But Almodóvar acknowledged in

the reason why he rejected the proposal: “Maybe it was because I didn't trust my English, or maybe because, although they say you will have artistic freedom, there is always a moment when you don't believe it”.

The film was a huge success, grossing $200 million worldwide and the sequel

was filmed .

The Newspaper Boy

(2012)

In 2012 came Almodóvar's second opportunity to participate in a filming in English with the adaptation of

.

The director had been working with the writer of the novel for years on a script for the story: a journalist in 1969 who wants to tell the story of a prisoner sentenced to death for murdering a racist police officer and that she could be innocent.

The problem for Almodóvar was the Florida swamps, the film's location.

“When I got back to the hotel it was full of mosquito bites and I had bugs everywhere.

That was probably a sign for me not to do that movie, ”he detailed in

.

He dropped out of the film and Lee Daniels was hired instead.

Daniels was asked at the Cannes feature film presentation about Almodóvar's script, and he didn't make it clear whether he had read it or not.

"I do not know what happened.

Many movies change directors and actors.

I really liked the book, and when they offered me the opportunity, I took it,” he said.

Juliet

(2016)

The film

, also called before

as Alice Munro's third story in

(2004), the work to which it pays homage, was going to star Meryl Streep and in English.

In the end, she oriented the story to Spanish.

In her place, Adriana Ugarte and Emma Suárez represent the past and present of a mother who relives through a diary the reasons that separated her from her daughter.

Manual for cleaning women

(2023)

Almodóvar's last chance, to date, to direct a film in English was

.

The director distances himself from the title and leaves it in the hands of the protagonist and also producer Cate Blanchett.

Her brother, the producer Agustín Almodóvar, explained last year to EL PAÍS that the transfer of the rights to the book had ended and they had not renewed it, but that Blanchett wanted to continue with the script of the director of

.

The filmmaker has worked for more than a decade on this adaptation.

After 30 years, Almodóvar is still not comfortable in English, although he regrets not continuing: "I have dreamed of working with Cate for a long time," he explained in

.

Thus, the adaptation of the stories of Lucia Berlin is looking for a new director or director.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything

(1996),

Brokeback Mountain

(2005), and

Women On The Verge of A Nervous Breakdown

Three more films had a little contact with Almodóvar:

(1996),

(2005) and

In the first two the problem was the script.

In 1996, the director did not find it believable that Wesley Snipes reincarnated as a transvestite and found the script "horrible".

In 2005, his proposal was the one that he did not like the American producers.

Almodóvar included much more sex than is seen in Ang Lee's final version.

The last one was an adaptation of Jane Fonda's

that never saw the light of day.