Netflix has acquired Pablo Larraín’s biopic “Maria,” starring Angelina Jolie in the role of legendary opera singer Maria Callas, for US distribution.
“I am delighted to be working again with the Netflix team, who are so passionate about film. This film is my most personal work to date,” Larraín said in a statement. “It is a creative imagination and psychological portrait of Maria Callas, who, after dedicating her life to performing in front of audiences around the world, finally decides to find her own voice, her own identity and to sing for herself. It is a great honor for me to tell this story and share it with audiences worldwide, just as Maria did with her life.”
The streamer won a bidding war with at least one major distributor in the run-up to the festival. Netflix seems a natural home for the film, which it will position in the awards season. The sensational film completes Larraín’s trilogy of inspiring female protagonists. “Spencer,” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana, and “Jackie,” starring Natalie Portman as Kennedy Onassis, were both nominated for best actress.
The film is based on true events and explores the life of American-born Greek soprano Callas, one of the most famous opera singers of the 20th century. “Maria” describes her final days in Paris in the 1970s. The film also stars Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino.
Jolie’s costumes are based on real garments worn by Callas, including vintage fur pieces from the archive collection of Massimo Cantini Parrini.
When he announced Jolie’s casting two years ago, Larraín said it would combine his “two deepest and most personal passions, cinema and opera. To do this with Angelina, an extremely brave and curious artist, is a fascinating opportunity.”
The screenplay for the film was written by Oscar nominee and “Peaky Blinders” writer Steven Knight, who previously wrote Larraín’s film “Spencer.” The cinematographer is Edward Lachman (“El Conde,” “Carol”).
“Maria” is produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli and Jonas Dornbach and comes from the production companies The Apartment (a Fremantle company), Fabula and Komplizen & Fremantle.
“We are delighted that Pablo Larraín’s extraordinary work ‘Maria’, featuring the incredible performance of Angelina Jolie, has found its home in the US with Netflix,” said Andrea Scrosati of Fremantle. “I know they will give it the best possible support and we are grateful to Glen and his FilmNation team for driving the sale.”
This is the second Netflix film directed by Larraín, following “El Conde” (2023), which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography. “Maria” marks the seventh production partnership between Fabula and Netflix, including Maite Alberdi’s upcoming film “In Her Place.”
“I’m delighted that we continue to work with Pablo and Fabula – this is our seventh project with them, most recently with ‘El Conde’, and they are producing the upcoming film ‘In Her Place,'” Dan Lin, Netflix’s chairman of film, said in a statement. “Pablo continues his remarkable streak of exploring iconic women in film, this time with the incredible Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas.”
The film will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29th.