Netflix has acquired Pablo Larraín‘s biopic Maria, starring Academy Award-winning actress Angelina Jolie as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, for US distribution.
“I’m excited to partner again with the Netflix team who care so passionately about movies. This film is my most personal work yet,” Larraín said.
“[The film] is a creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas who, after dedicating her life to performing for audiences around the world, decides finally to find her own voice, her own identity, and sing for herself. I’m deeply honoured to tell this story and share it with audiences worldwide like Maria did with her life.”
Larraín has worked on films such as Jackie, Spencer, No, Neruda, and the 2023 film El Conde, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography.
Maria will feature a new collaboration between Larraín and Edward Lachman, the cinematographer previously nominated for Oscars for Carol and Far From Heaven.
The film’s screenplay is written by Steven Knight, marking his second collaboration with Larraín following their work on Spencer. Knight is known for his Academy Award-nominated screenplay for Dirty Pretty Things and as the creator of Peaky Blinders.
The cast also includes Academy Award nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino.
Maria will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29, hitting Netflix at a later date.
Source: Netflix.