Angelina Jolie transforms into legendary opera singer Maria Callas in the first images from Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria”.
The “Jackie” and “Spencer” director’s latest film will “explore the life of the legendary, iconic and controversial singer, often described as the original diva,” according to its official description. “Based on true accounts, ‘Maria’ tells the tumultuous, beautiful and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and reimagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.”
As “Maria” is an independent film with a provisional SAG-AFTRA agreement, production will take place over eight weeks in Paris, Greece, Budapest and Milan. The script, which was completed before the Writers Guild strike, was written by Larraín’s “Spencer” collaborator Steven Knight. In addition to Jolie, the cast includes Pierfrancesco Favino (“Adagio”), Alba Rohrwacher (“La Chimera”), Haluk Bilginer (“Winter Sleep”), Kodi Smit-McPhee (“The Power of the Dog”) and Valeria Golino (“Portrait of a Lady on Fire”).
“I am incredibly excited to begin production on ‘Maria’, which I hope will bring the remarkable life and work of Maria Callas to audiences around the world, thanks to Steven Knight’s magnificent script, the work of the entire cast and crew, and especially Angelina’s brilliant work and extraordinary preparation,” Larraín said in a statement.
Jolie’s costumes are based on actual garments worn by Callas, including vintage fur pieces from Massimo Cantini Parrini’s archive collection, on which they consulted with PETA to avoid using new fur.
“Maria is produced by Juan de Dios Larraín for Fabula, Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment, a Fremantle Company. World sales are handled by FilmNation Entertainment.
