Almodovar Says Upcoming Comedy 'I'm So Excited' Promises to be Risque

MADRID - Pedro Almodovar's upcoming comedy I'm so Excited promises to be one of his most racy, the Spanish director said in the first in-depth interview on the film Saturday.

"There are dialogues that are a little embarrassing to listen to. Even for me. And I wrote them," Almodovar said in an interview with Spanish daily El Mundo. "Men don't usually speak so openly about sex as the characters. I think the male viewers are going to have more problems than the women. Because we men are more hypocritical-- regardless of homosexual or heterosexual."

Almodovar said the film serves up more than just laughs and "has a certain melancholy." The ensemble cast features Penelope Cruz and Antonio Banderas, along with Paz Vega, Javier Camara, Cecilia Roth, Pepa Charro, Blanca Suarez, Hugo Silva, Antonio de la Torre, Lola Duenas and Miguel Angel Silvestre.

The film, which will be release in Spain March 8 and in the U.S. on June 28, is shot in an airplane that encounters technical failure and watches as pilots and crew farcically try to set aside their own problems in the face of imminent danger to entertain and comfort passengers.

The director said would Excited would "affect a lot of bisexuals," but only shows heterosexual sexual relations on camera because "it's much more fun to talk about sex that to do it. And that's from someone who has shot some of the most explicit scenes. You can see it in people's eyes."

The two-page article addressed a range of issues, including Spain's most international director's opinion on the Spanish Academy's Goya Awards ceremony two weeks ago-- "[Culture Minister] Jose Ignacio Wert shouldn't have gone to the ceremony. In the end of the day, he's the bane of the sector."

Almodovar also spoke about the gloomy economic situation in Spain, the superiority complex of the ric! h, the social freedom and sexual liberation of the 1980 and political scandals that have come to light in the Spanish press.

But true to form, Almodovar speaks openly about the controversy his film may stir up.

"Controversy means people are alive. In any case, nowadays controversy means something else. A lot of taboos have changed."