Angelina Jolie and Pablo Larraín Discuss ‘Maria,’ Opera Singing, and Celebrity Reactions
On Sunday, less than 24 hours after the Telluride Film Festival’s North American premiere of Maria, a drama about the rollercoaster life of the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, The Hollywood Reporter sat down with its star, Angelina Jolie, and director, Pablo Larraín, for a wide-ranging conversation.
Jolie said of playing Callas, in a performance for which she is generating white-hot best actress Oscar buzz, “It certainly was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” Why? On the most literal level, the Girl, Interrupted Oscar winner had to learn how to sing opera and then do so in front of others live and on camera (her voice was ultimately blended with Callas’s in the final product). But beyond that, she clearly feels a personal bond with “La Divina,” who died in 1977, the age of 53, when Jolie was just two.
Both, Jolie acknowledged, could be described as world-famous performers — “icons,” as Larraín puts it — to whom the public and critics weren’t always kind, and whose relationships were often dissected by strangers, which took a major toll on them. But, she emphasized, “Where we really connect is in our dedication to our work, our vulnerability, our loneliness and our love of communicating with an audience.” (Jolie also spoke with Rebecca Keegan for this week’s THR cover story.)
A transcript of the conversation, lightly edited for clarity and brevity, appears below.
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What have you made of your Telluride experience so far?
JOLIE It’s just such a wonder. There’s such a warmth among the people — even among the press!
We try.
JOLIE It’s such a relaxed environment for everybody to be in, and there’s so much time to see each other’s work and support each other’s projects. It’s as it should be: all about the work and less about presentation.