Angelina Jolie On Playing Maria Callas: “I Share Her Vulnerability More Than Anything” – Venice Film Festival
deadline.comAngelina Jolie hit the Lido today, ahead of the world premiere of Pablo Larraín’s Maria Callas biopic, Maria. Speaking with the Venice Film Festival press corps this afternoon, the star said that embodying the legendary opera singer gave her a “new relationship” to the term “diva.” The word “comes with a lot of negative connotations… I think (Callas) was one of hardest working people, who didn’t hurt anybody.” Maria, a creative imagining and a psychological portrait of the eponymous legendary opera singer, takes place in the 1970s near the end of Callas’ life.
It’s a story about a woman who lived from the ’20s to the ’70s, burning her voice and her life by doing what she loved. This is the third portrait of a famous woman as seen through Larraín’s lens, following 2016’s Jackie and 2021’s Spencer, both of which also premiered in Venice.
On Wednesday, Netflix snapped up U.S. rights to the film. Larrain said he’d been “a big Maria Callas fan,” but that he was especially intrigued by the fact that there are “almost no movies about opera and opera singers.” Callas had “the greatest voice in history who had a very beautiful and difficult life.” The filmmaker noted that while “90% of the stories she sang end with death on the stage,” he didn’t set out to make a “dark movie.” Rather, one “more about a woman who spent her life singing for others, taking care of others, worrying about relationships… Now she’s ready to take care of herself and find her own destiny.” RELATED: Alfonso Cuarón Talks Rare Foray Into TV With Venice Series ‘Disclaimer’ Starring Cate Blanchett & Kevin Kline: “We Approached This Whole Thing As A Film” He added, “Of course, this movie wouldn’t exist without Angelina.” RELATED: Venice Film Festival 2024:
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