Is Angelina Jolie about to sing her away to another Oscar? Welcome to MsMojo and today we’re breaking down the intense emotional and artistic processes that Angelina Jolie engaged in to play legendary opera singer Maria Callas in director Pablo Larraín’s 2024 biopic “Maria.”
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00:00Medicine cabinet is unlocked. You can throw it all away."
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're breaking down the intense emotional and artistic processes
00:11that Angelina Jolie engaged in to play legendary opera singer Maria Callas
00:15in director Pablo Larraín's 2024 biopic, Maria.
00:19We should get your medication under control.
00:22It is under control. It's under my control.
00:26Maria Callas' early life and career
00:29Her reputation as one of the most tempestuous opera stars in the world.
00:33Well, I don't know what you mean by tempestuous.
00:36There's been lots of talk about it too, and I haven't quite understood what it means.
00:41Any so-called diva who came after her owes an enormous debt to her.
00:46The woman whom Leonard Bernstein would later refer to as the Bible of opera
00:50came from rough beginnings, born in New York City to Greek immigrants who grew to despise each other.
00:55Callas showed musical inclinations from an early age, but hardly willingly.
00:59Reflecting on her upbringing, Callas recalled that, quote,
01:02"...I was made to sing when I was only five, and I hated it."
01:06Must say it is a wonderful thing, a unique thing, but it isn't
01:10always pleasant because I have to live up to so much that it's rather uncomfortable.
01:14Returning to Greece with her mother after her parents' marriage dissolved,
01:17she worked her way through the Greek operatic scene,
01:20eventually traveling to Italy for further opportunities.
01:23Callas established herself as a global icon of opera in 1949,
01:28after unexpectedly being cast in I Puritani by renowned conductor, and her future mentor,
01:33Tullio Serafin.
01:34I don't think you would even want an artist, a real artist, that cannot act.
01:40I'm quite sure you don't. You just don't bother to go to the opera anymore.
01:43And opera can be a very silly thing, but it can be the most gorgeous thing in the world.
01:48The weight loss that changed everything.
01:53In the early 1950s, Callas grew self-conscious of her weight,
02:04as well as the fact that it might have played a role in the part she could be cast in.
02:08In a 1968 interview with musicologist Edward Downs,
02:11Callas herself stated that, quote,
02:13"...I was getting so heavy that even my vocalizing was getting heavy.
02:17And I wasn't really well, as in health. I couldn't move freely."
02:21Keeping this in mind, Callas resolved to lose weight by firmly adhering to a low-calorie diet.
02:26The singer was successful in achieving her goal, losing nearly 80 pounds by 1954.
02:32Although wild, baseless rumors persisted as to how Callas lost the weight,
02:36it's inarguable that it had an effect on her voice, career, and public image, for better or worse.
02:51Maria Callas' late career and final years
03:04Critics, fellow opera singers, and fans alike are unanimous in their assessment that,
03:09over time, but particularly in the mid-1950s,
03:12Maria Callas' voice underwent a significant turn for the worse toward the end of her career.
03:17Some believe it to be the result of her aforementioned weight loss,
03:20which is speculated to have dramatically reduced her strength and breath support.
03:24In addition, a series of scandals that rocked Callas' career.
03:27These included an unflattering Time cover story about her contentious maternal relationship,
03:32walk-offs in the middle of performances, and media characterizations of her as a, quote,
03:37"...diva."
03:38In her final years, Callas pursued an on-again-off-again affair with Greek billionaire
03:42Aristotle Onassis and performed infrequently until her death in September 1977, aged 53.
03:49Pablo Larraín's iconic 20th century women trilogy
04:06Chilean filmmaking auteur Larraín is known for making movies that are primarily about two
04:11subjects, Chilean history and famously misunderstood women.
04:16These include Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, later Onassis,
04:20and Spencer, with Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales.
04:24Both performers were Oscar-nominated for their roles.
04:27Have you read what they've been writing?
04:30Crock and Merriman and all the rest.
04:34Yes, I have.
04:36Merriman's such a bitter man.
04:38Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Maria's premiere,
04:42Larraín mused that he, quote,
04:43"...never planned to make three movies, and that his trilogy is anything but that."
04:48In his own words, he describes the films as, quote,
04:50"...an accidental three movies that have some form of connection."
04:54Larraín closed by commenting that his protagonists are significant for having,
04:58quote,
04:58"...basically shaped a big chunk of what we understand of the second half of the last century."
05:03So, Joe William, you're perfect, perfect Christmas.
05:08Tell me all about it.
05:09My perfect, perfect Christmas, sir, is not following the rules and doing whatever you want.
05:14Cut to Angelina Jolie.
05:16Come and have a drink with me.
05:19No.
05:20I can't let you go and fight deviants on your own.
05:22Get out of my way.
05:24I didn't come to this planet to cower behind wolves.
05:28At this point, you may be wondering to yourself,
05:30wait a minute, when was the last time I saw Angelina Jolie in a movie?
05:34You'd have to go back three years before Maria's premiere to 2021,
05:38which saw Jolie star in two films,
05:40the Marvel Cinematic Universe picture Eternals,
05:43and the action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead,
05:45written and directed by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
05:49Why'd they put you in a fire tower?
05:54Well, I'm just lucky, I guess.
05:56Asked in 2024 about why she had decided to take time off of filmmaking,
06:00Jolie responded that she had shifted her focus to not only her well-documented humanitarian work,
06:05but also to focus on raising her children,
06:08especially in the wake of her widely publicized divorce
06:10from fellow actor and Oscar winner Brad Pitt.
06:13Jolie learns to sing, in public, for the first time ever.
06:17For fans and admirers of Maria Callas,
06:19casting Jolie, who herself has admitted that she doesn't consider herself a singer,
06:23may have seemed somewhat unusual.
06:26What could Jolie bring to the role without being a trained musician?
06:29Jolie had gone to theater school in the early years of her career,
06:32but after being disparaged by a romantic partner about her singing ability,
06:36had led herself to believe that she was simply incapable of performing.
06:40Of course, this obviously wasn't the case.
06:42A consummate professional, Jolie spent six months taking opera classes,
06:46then Italian, and even admitted to becoming emotional
06:49and crying in her first class due to nerves.
06:52Sensitive to this, Larraín started Jolie's live singing off small,
06:56quote, in a theater or church in Greece, according to Jolie herself.
07:00As the shoot progressed, Jolie's performances grew in scale,
07:04ending up at the historic La Scala Opera House in Milan,
07:07where Callas herself had performed numerous times.
07:10How Jolie was convinced to play Maria Callas
07:13In your journey as Maria Callas, can you talk about how much you related to her?
07:20Well, there's a lot I won't say in this room,
07:25that you probably know or assume.
07:27In a wide-ranging and revealing profile for The Hollywood Reporter,
07:31Jolie struggled to articulate just how personal and deeply felt
07:34the role of Maria Callas was to her, having never discussed it before.
07:38Speaking to Rebecca Keegan, Jolie shared that, quote,
07:41I'm sure there's a lot that will be read into it of our overlaps as women,
07:44but the one that's maybe not the most obvious is
07:47I'm not sure how comfortable we both are with being public.
07:50And there was a pressure behind the working that wasn't just the joy of the work.
07:54Expanding on that, Jolie shared that she connected with Callas'
07:57constant fight to live up to the public's expectations of her,
08:00as well as those in her inner circle,
08:02and how that fighting ripped some of the joy away from her creative process.
08:06I think in the way I related to her may be a surprise at probably the part of her
08:10that's extremely soft and doesn't have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was.
08:18Keegan, noting further parallels between Jolie and Callas,
08:21that the Oscar winner has never been one to shy away from going all in.
08:25Lamenting her inability to take life a moment at a time,
08:28Jolie shared that, quote,
08:29I'm propelled forward constantly, and it's not always the best feeling.
08:34For better or for worse, I'm a very deeply feeling person and kind of a raw nerve,
08:38so when I feel something deeply, I jump.
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08:57Why Angelina Jolie was the only choice for the role of Maria Callas
09:01This movie wouldn't exist without Angelina.
09:06You can't make or even try to attempt to make a movie like this
09:10without having who could properly play her.
09:12Larraín is quoted as saying that, quote,
09:14Angelina has an enormous amount of mystery.
09:17I thought she could play this woman who was looking to find her own identity.
09:21Maria Callas' personal friend, music critic John Ardwin,
09:24shared a similar sentiment about the mercurial opera singer,
09:27who once reportedly said to him that, quote,
09:30It's a very terrible thing to be Maria Callas,
09:32because it's a question of trying to understand something you can never really understand.
09:37Keeping this in mind, it's no wonder why Larraín made Jolie his leading lady for Maria.
09:42Both protected themselves by choosing to be shrouded in mystery and relative untouchability.
09:47With Maria primed for significant Oscar buzz,
09:50Jolie is gearing up for a major career resurgence,
09:53much like the one denied to Maria Callas.
10:02Are you looking forward to Pablo Larraín's Maria?
10:05Let us know in the comments.
10:07When I write my autobiography, I will title it
10:10The Day Ferruccio Saved My Life.
10:12And what day was that, mother?
10:14Every day. Every single day.
10:17Do you agree with our picks?
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