Warner Bros take Spanish rights to Almodovar's The Skin I Live In

The deal was sealed between Pedro and Agustin Almodovar’s outfit El Deseo, producers of the film, and Warner Bros directly. FilmNation handles international sales in all other territories.

Warner Bros has a long standing relationship with Almodovar having released several of his previous films in Spain, including his last two Volver and Broken Embraces. Sony Pictures Classics also has a strong partnership with the Spanish director and will distribute The Skin I Live In across North America.

Based loosely on Thierry Jonquet’s dark novel Mygale, the film tells the story of a plastic surgeon who becomes dangerously obsessed with creating new skin, following the death of his wife who was burnt in a car crash.

“It’s a story of revenge, but also about the capacity and resistance of the human being,” Agustin Almodovar, executive producer of the film, told ScreenDaily. “Pedro was very taken with the novel and so bought the rights to it about 10 years ago, but wanted to put his own stamp on the movie.”

Pedro Almodovar is currently hard at work in the editing suite putting the final touches on the film, but added: “Now, having seen the film I believe it is an intense drama that at times looks like a film noir, at other times like a science fiction film, and also like a terror.”

The cast is led by Antonio Banderas as the plastic surgeon, and includes a host of familiar Spanish faces, such as Fernando Cayo, Marisa Paredes and Elena Anaya, alongside younger new talent, including Blanca Suarez, Jan Cornet and Barbara Lennie.

The Skin I Live In is due to be ready by March and Warner Bros are expected to release it in cinemas in September.