NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� has finally gotten around to that memoir admirers have wanted him to write.
Sort of.
The Oscar-winning filmmaker has a book out Sept. 24, 鈥淭he Last Dream,鈥� that publisher HarperVia is calling a 鈥渄ebut collection of short stories.鈥� Almod贸var, who has made a career of out of defying boundaries, has a different definition鈥� more like an anti-definition.
鈥淚鈥檝e been asked to write my autobiography more than once, and I鈥檝e always refused; it鈥檚 also been suggested that I let someone else write my biography, but I have always felt somewhat resistant to the idea of a book entirely about me as an individual,鈥� he said in an excerpt from the book released Monday by HarperVia.
"I鈥檝e never kept a diary, and whenever I鈥檝e tried, I鈥檝e never made it to page two; in a sense, then, this book represents something of a paradox. It might be best described as a fragmentary autobiography, incomplete and a little cryptic.鈥�
According to HarperVia, 鈥淭he Last Dream鈥� includes 12 selections from his personal writings, however fragmented, that reflect his 鈥渕ost intimate obsessions.鈥� Stories range from the title piece, about the death of his mother; to an account of a filmmaker in search of painkillers on a bank holiday weekend to the tale of a repentant vampire.
鈥淭his compilation of short stories offers a rare glimpse into the life of one of the most influential and eminent directors working today, presenting a narrative that comes closest to a self-portrait, revealing a wildly inventive and unconventional creative mind," HarperVia Editorial Director Juan Mila said in a statement.
Almod贸var, 74, is known for such acclaimed films as 鈥淲omen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,鈥� 鈥淎ll About My Mother鈥� and 鈥淭alk to Her.鈥� His book was translated from the Spanish by Frank Wynne.
HarperVia is a new imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, focused on 鈥渆xtraordinary international voices.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
