- Angelina Jolie is back with a new movie
- The A-Lister will star in biopic Maria – based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas
- Director Barry Jenkins praised her performance – as did fans online
She’s one of Hollywood’s most A-List actors.
And now Angelina Jolie is back with a new movie.
This week, the star, 49, attended a screening of her latest film, Maria.
Based on the life of opera singer Maria Callas, the biographical psychological drama is directed by Pablo Larraín, and is the third of his trilogy of important 20th century women, succeeding Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021).
The movie will be released in select theaters in the US on November 27, before streaming on Netflix from December 11.
Moderating a post-screening AFI Fest conversation with Jolie and Larraín, Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins – whose 2016 movie Moonlight won the Oscar for Best Picture – praised the actor’s stunning performance.
“The performance is so striking,” Jenkins said to Jolie. “It’s almost like, to me, Jesse Eisenberg is Mark Zuckerberg. Denzel Washington is Malcolm X, in a certain way. And I think you are Maria Callas in the same way. In this movie, in so many moments, you are performing with your whole body.”
And fans on Twitter/X agreed with the director.
“Legend recognises legend,” wrote one, while another added, “Naturally and organically that diva, or whatever Pablo said!!”
While others were “excited to see Jolie take on such an iconic role”, others had her tipped as an awards season favorite.
First winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1999 drama Girl, Interrupted, fans think she could be in with another shot at the prestigious gong.
“Her second oscar is coming,” predicted one, as another went on, “The only thing I care about the Oscars next year is Angelina Jolie winning Best Actress for Maria.”
Someone else concluded, “Angelina Jolie said to me, ‘I always play women I would date’. You certainly want to date MARIA! Magnificent. Tumultuous. Seductive. Not to be missed @angelinajolie in and as MARIA.”
‘I was terrified’
Jolie underwent seven months of training to sing as the opera star – but still felt nervous the first time she walked on set.
“My sons were working as ADs [assistant directors] and I was saying, ‘Lock the door, make sure nobody’s coming in the door! Can you hear? Go outside and check!’ I was terrified, terrified,” she revealed.
Jolie needn’t have worried though – as she received a standing ovation for her peformance at The Academy screening Maria.
Elsewhere, Jolie spoke of how grateful she was to her operatic training.
“It was such a great gift to be trained something new at this time in my life, and something that’s such a beautiful art form,” she said. “I have such love for opera and opera singers, and that world. And those composers and the arias are so beautiful.
“I hope people who watch this, if you don’t know anything about opera, it doesn’t matter. It is an extraordinary art form, and she [Maria] is a very interesting human being and artist. But I do hope it makes more people listen to opera.”
