In the next movie that Pablo Larran is directing, Angelina Jolie is in talks to play the legendary diva.
In the upcoming biopic Maria, Angelina Jolie will play Maria Callas, one of the most famous opera singers of all time and a musical icon. Angelina Jolie will be filling some pretty amazing historical shoes.
On Monday, director Pablo Larran revealed two first-look photographs of Angelina Jolie portraying the theatrical icon, who is widely regarded as the first real modern diva and one of the most accomplished operatic singers and performers in the annals of human history.
According to a press release that was given along with the stills, Maria is “based on true accounts,” and the film “tells the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970’s Paris.” Maria is scheduled to be released on December 25.
In the glances that Larran has provided, Jolie, who is 48 years old, captures the opera icon with elegance and an exceptional combination of delicacy and force.
A quote from the press release states that “Jolie’s costumes in the film are based on original garments worn by Callas.”
In addition, animal rights organizations were engaged by the production team and worked closely with them “regarding the use of vintage fur items worn in the film from costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini’s archive collection.” The production company made “a conscious decision” not to use any fresh fur in the costume, but rather to depend on historic items that were already in their collection.
“I am incredibly excited to start production on Maria, which I hope will bring Maria Callas’s remarkable life and work to audiences all around the world,” Larraín said in a statement, “thanks to the magnificent script by Steven Knight, the work of the entire cast and crew, and especially, Angelina’s brilliant work and extraordinary preparation.”
The script was written by Knight before the WGA strike, and the picture will be an independent production. It will shoot over the course of eight weeks in Paris, Greece, Budapest, and Milan. Because the project is signed to a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement, shooting will be able to commence even while the SAG-AFTRA strike is ongoing.