After the excellent, albeit somewhat overlooked Broken Embraces, Pedro Almodovar has now finalized his cast, crew, and shooting schedule for his next project, The Skin I Live In. The two leads will be played by Antonio Banderas and Elena Anaya, with a variety of worthwhile supporting performers, including Jose Luis Gomez (Broken Embraces), joining them. In more promising news, Almodovar will be reunited with multiple longtime collaborators off-screen: composer Alberto Iglesias, cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine, and editor Jose Salcedo, all of whom worked on Bad Education. [The Playlist]

Starting next week, the film will begin an 11-week shoot throughout Spain, with a 2011 release date almost written in stone. Almodovar‘s adapted screenplay is based on Thierry Jonquet‘s 2005 book Tarantula. Read a bit of the Amazon plot synopsis below to get an idea of just how controversial this material is:

Richard Lafargue is an eminent plastic surgeon haunted by dirty secrets. He has an operating theatre in the basement of his chateau and keeps his partner Eve imprisoned in her bedroom, a room he has equipped with an intercom and 300-watt speakers through which he bellows orders. Eve is only allowed out to be paraded at cocktail parties and on the last Sunday of each month, when the couple visit a young woman in a mental asylum. Following these outings, Lafargue humiliates Eve by forcing her to perform lewd sexual acts with strangers while he watches through a one-way mirror.

The report mentions that this synopsis comes nowhere near explaining the full depths of the novel, and considering that it is only 128 pages, I may end up reading the novel quite soon. The Skin I Live In is a bit different from Almodovar‘s recent work in that it seems to cover material that the Academy would rarely consider, and I don’t just mean the foreign language. Nevertheless, with the 10 Best Picture slots, it could make a run. To be honest, though, I am excited regardless of its awards potential.

Do you think this material blends well with Almodovar’s skills?

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has announced its longlist for the 2010 Orange BAFTA awards, with Lone Scherfig’s An Education ahead of the potential nominees with 17 mentions including best film, director, actor Peter Sarsgaard and actress Carey Mulligan. Read the full story

November is packed to the brim with films to check out in theaters. Fifteen is a record-high for the list. From a Fantastic adventure to a cracked-out Cage to a bleak Road, there is something for everyone. Check out the list below.

See:

15. 2012 (Emmerich, Nov. 13th)

Synopsis: An academic researcher leads a group of people in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: The two hour and thirty-eight minute runtime may be a bit excessive, but Roland Emmerich’s latest destruction vehicle is about as ultimate as it gets, begging to be seen in a theater.

14. The Young Victoria (Vallee, Nov. 13th)

Synopsis: A dramatization of the turbulent first years of Queen Victoria’s rule, and her enduring romance with Prince Albert.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: Early festival reviews regard Blunt’s performance as one of the best of her career. If period romances are your thing, this isn’t one to miss.

13. Pirate Radio (Curtis, Nov. 13th)

Synopsis: A 1960′s comedy about an illegal radio station run by a band of rogue DJs on a ship in the middle of Britain’s North Sea. By defying the tastes and laws of the ruling government, the disc jockeys hooked their listeners on pop music and its attendant ideas of love and free will.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: A light, enjoyable ride with an entertaining cast and a fantastic soundtrack. It isn’t quite as memorable as Love Actually, Richard Curtis’ previous project, but Pirate Radio (previously known as The Boat That Rocked) has enough crowd-pleasing moments to be worthy of a watch.

12. Red Cliff (Woo, Nov. 20th)

Synopsis: Set during the end of China’s Han Dynasty, two rivaling warlords make a pact to turn their respective armies against a power hungry general bent on taking over their kingdoms.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: The US release of John Woo’s epic is getting trimmed down from 280 minutes to 148 (changes here). Both cuts have received positive reviews and are a supposed “return to form” for the director.

11. The Box (Kelly, Nov. 6th)

Synopsis: A young couple is gifted with a mysterious box that promises them a handsome windfall with deadly consequences.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: Donnie Darko and Southland Tales director Richard Kelly is headed mainstream with this ’70′s sci-fi/thriller throwback. Reviews have been mixed, but after his previous work this is bound to be at least interesting.

10. The Princess and the Frog (Clements + Musker, Nov. 25th)

Synopsis: A fairy tale centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana who lives in New Orleans’ French Quarter during the Jazz Age.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: Disney returns to 2D from the people that brought us Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, and Treasure Planet. The film isn’t getting a wide release until early December, but those in NY and LA should check this out as soon as possible.

9. Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (Herzog, Nov. 20th)

Synopsis: Terence McDonagh (Cage) is a drug- and gambling-addled detective in post-Katrina New Orleans investigating the killing of five Senegalese immigrants.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: I had the pleasure of seeing Herzog’s wild ride at the Toronto International Film Festival. Cage delivers a wildly eccentric performance, only heightened by the extravagant amount of drugs pumping through his system throughout the entire film.

8. Ninja Assassin (McTeigue, Nov. 25th)

Synopsis: Raizo (Rain) is a rogue ninja who comes to the aid of Mika Coretti (Harris), a Berlin-based Interpol agent who has linked the shadowy Ozunu Clan, a secret society of assassins who trained Raizo, to a series of murders. Most dangerous to them both is Takeshi (Yune), Raizo’s former ally and the assassin leading the charge of Ozunu killers to Berlin.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: From James McTeigue, the man behind V For Vendetta, comes all that style with little substance. Early reports and the trailer suggest you are getting exactly what the title promises.

7. The Messenger (Moverman, Nov. 20th)

Synopsis: A soldier (Foster) struggles with an ethical dilemma when he becomes involved with a widow of a fallen officer (Morton).

Trailer

Why You Should See It: From the co-writer of I’m Not There, comes another Iraq war story. This one looks more in the quality of The Hurt Locker, with award worthy performances from Ben Foster and Woody Harrelson.

6. Broken Embraces (Almodovar, Nov. 20th)

Synopsis: Blind screenwriter Harry Caine (Homar) reveals the secrets of his past to a young associate, from his former life as a filmmaker working under his given name, to the accident which claimed his sight and led to a break-up with Lena (Cruz), a now-famous actress who lives in a gilded cage with her wealthy older partner.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: This isn’t as off kilter or extraordinary as Almodovar’s other works, but with visuals as stunning as the performances this is an engaging drama a step above the rest.

5. A Christmas Carol (Zemeckis, Nov. 6th)

Synopsis: An animated retelling of the Charles Dickens novel about Ebenezer Scrooge (Carrey), a Victorian-era miser who is taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: The new Zemeckis motion-capture project still looks a bit creepy, but it fits perfectly with a story like this. This should also prove to be a worthy prep before Avatar revolutionizes the 3D field next month.

4. The Men Who Stare at Goats (Heslov, Nov. 6th)

Synopsis: In Iraq, reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), whose seemingly wild claim – that he’s a member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions – causes Wilton to join Cassady’s hunt for the battalion’s founder, whose gone missing.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: From the team behind Good Night, and Good Luck comes a twisted, silly political satire. The change of pace from the serious war films will be welcomed by many.

3. Fantastic Mr. Fox (Anderson, Nov. 20th)

Synopsis: Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family. Based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: Wes Anderson’s first take on animation has been met with peculiar allegations, but his style looks like it hasn’t changed and all the stuff white people love is still intact. Searchlight is marketing it as a family film so I wonder if its success will be similar to Where The Wild Things Are. Both films don’t seem like sweeping crowd-pleasers, but his fans are sure to find solace in this new project.

2. Precious: Based On The Novel Push by Sapphire (Daniels, Nov. 6th)

Synopsis: In Harlem, an overweight, illiterate teen (Sidibe) who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: The first film to grab the top prize at the Sundance Film Festival AND the Toronto International Film Festival. Backed by Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry, there is quite a large amount of Oscar buzz, specifically related to Mo’Nique’ s remarkable performance.

1. The Road (Hillcoat, Nov. 25th)

Synopsis: A father (Mortensen) and son (Smit-McPhee) walk for months across a ravaged, post-apocalyptic landscape in search of civilization.

Trailer

Why You Should See It: In release turmoil for awhile, we are finally getting John Hillcoat’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. I saw this at TIFF and it is bleak: uncomfortably, depressingly bleak. If one can handle it, they are bound to discover one of the best films of the year. All the performances are top-notch and the production design is something to behold.

Check out the next page to see what to avoid this month.