Famous

Pedro Almodóvar, with his mother Francisca Caballero, in Madrid in the 80s. GETTY

A sports journalist publishes the book that the Manchego does not want to read. Here the most fun and controversial episodes

The 20 revelations of Pedro Almodóvar that he makes about himself in 'Pain and Glory'

Nobody knows that coinciding these years with the filming and premiere of Dolor y Gloria by Pedro Almodóvar, the film that will triumph tonight in the Goya with almost certainty , a random fan of the Manchego began to write a biography about him much more attached to the reality that his last film and that went on sale this December.

Pedro Almodovar. The film of his life (Letrame) reviews with precision, newspaper archive through, the 70 years of existence of the creator repairing in anecdotes that nobody remembered, not even his team of El Deseo, that is not behind the text - he has only yielded a few images - But he has read it and has not put any fault (Pedro does not read anything that is published about him) .

The funniest thing of all is that whoever has written it is not about any gay palmer who does the court to the director. The author, who has never crossed word with genius, is called Ladis García Miravet, is a 43-year-old sports journalist , Valencian, straight and works in the communication department of the Spanish Football Federation. This is the least almodovarian character on the face, a non-mythological admirer who has self-published a book about Almodóvar because he missed reading something like that about him: "Everything that is published is about his cinema, not about his person."

Let's go with the juiciest, ignoring what is already more than trite of his biography : his round trip friendship with Carmen Maura, his love-hate relationship with the Film Academy in Spain, the Madrid of the 80s, Fabio McNamara or his childhood in Calzada de Calatrava and Extremadura.

Among the most unknown and surprising anecdotes that Ladis García has found is that Almodóvar had a German girlfriend whose parents he met and who made the volunteer aviation mili . He also wrote a photonovela entitled Fire in the bowels that tells the story of a Chinese named Chu-ming-ho, a tycoon of the compresses, who creates a contaminated one in order to return nymphomaniacs to all those who use them. A story by Patty Diphusa, Almodóvar's alter ego, which few remember.

Yes Almodóvar remembers sure of that one time in Japan, in full promotion of High Heels he was asked for the "move" phone. Or when he confessed that the character of Candela (María Barranco) in Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown is inspired by the life of one of his intimate, the gallery owner Blanca Sánchez, who fell in love with Etarra, who did not Shiite . Blanca stayed at his house with some friends without knowing they were terrorists and planned an assault on the Carabanchel prison. That cost the poor innocent nine months in prison. Before appearing before the judge, Blanca asked Almodóvar to remove from her floor some boxes full of nougat that the ETA had bought and Pedro did nothing other than give them to his brother-in-law, Civil Guard, without telling him their origin, of course.

It is also revealed in the book that Jorge Sanz came to shoot Carne Trémula as a protagonist for a week, a role that was later embodied by Liberto Rabal. Sanz and Almodóvar ended up shooting , but Pedro paid him his participation in the film as if he had finished it. With those ten million pesetas of that time, Jorge Sanz paid his parents a house on the mountain they have enjoyed for 15 years and for that he will be eternally grateful.

Politics

Almodóvar, who hardly gives any interviews, has always been wet politically, placing himself, logically, on the left. But it has mixed with everyone in some way. Ladis García refreshes our memories and reminds us that at the delivery of his Oscar in 2000 in Hollywood for everything about my mother, Mariano Rajoy (then Minister of Culture) and Rodrigo Rato (of Economy) were not lacking. Both sat at the bar of the party after the ceremony with Penelope Cruz and enjoyed the evening.

Almodóvar of almost everything has been pronounced and has not missed symbolic acts. García takes inventory: Pedro went to the Passionflower's funeral, attended acts against NATO, the Gulf War, the Iraq War, the Corcuera Law, the Immigration Law ... He positioned himself in favor of the Sinde Law, of Statute of Gernika, of the Saharawi activist Aminatou Haidar, of the Law of Historical Memory. He has expressed his rejection of ETA, Fidel Castro and was interested in the 15-M movement. He even defended the interests of the LGTBI collective in Chechnya, oppressed by his country.

The target of his fiercest criticism has always been the PP, the right in general, especially the Aznar government , although he received awards from Esperanza Aguirre and Gallardón (and grants during his legislatures). He has voiced Vox and about the monarchy he has only made comic winks in his films, such as the infidelities of Don Juan Carlos in The Loving Passengers , but he has never openly attacked the institution. On the contrary, in a Goya gala he sang 'happy birthday' to the then Prince Felipe.

Almodóvar will go down in history his blunder on 11M when he hinted that the PP was plotting "a coup d'etat" the night of Saturday before the elections after the attack, statements for which he was sued. Days later he apologized. It was not the first time he would do it. After his involvement in the Panama papers just before the premiere of 'Julieta' (his name and that of his brother appeared linked to a society managed from the Mossack Fonseca office in Geneva), he assumed his responsibility in public.

As for parties, he once said that he would vote for IU "despite Anguita", supported Luis García Montero to the mayor's office in Madrid and was part of the ZP eyebrow club with the PSOE. He was also related to the circles of Felipe González, who gave the filmmaker a pool table, a hobby they share. Pedro is very close to his son, Pablo. That arouses sympathy Manuela Carmena is also no secret.

Church

The Church has been the focus of his contempt, too. Almodóvar studied with the Salesians and argues that there was sexual abuse in the school where he was interned as a child and reflected in 'The bad education'. He has charged John Paul II and Benedict XVI but religious iconography is present in his films from a pop point of view.

The book mentions the many times Almodóvar has revealed his need to have children, although he finally never took the step, nor did he dare to direct an American super production despite the many offers he has received and the amount of super actresses (Angelina Jolie, Emma Thompson, etc.), who have been put on a tray.

Barely touching their partners: there is mention of a relationship with an anonymous man with whom he broke up despite being in love with him and also the current partner of the director, Fernando Iglesias Mas, who has been making cameos in his films for more than 20 years. It is striking, however, his low self-esteem on the physical level , his insecurity in the face of criticism (remember his open war with Carlos Boyero) in different interviews in which he opens on the channel.

As in Dolor y Gloria , nominated for the Oscar for Best Leading Actor and Best Foreign Film, the book pays attention to Pedro's chronic diseases : his anxiety crises, his complicated back operation and his photophobia ... And of course , his relationship with drugs is not lacking ... although he apparently never tried heroin, unlike his other self in the film.

It took 20 years for Almodóvar to receive a Goya for Best Director . He did it while receiving tributes to his entire career in France. It is possible that today he will receive it again ... Perhaps he is also encouraged to read this biography so well documented that nothing versions what he truly has been and is.

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