Angelina Jolie hints at the 'despair' and 'pain' of her divorce from Brad Pitt as she arrives at the Venice Film Festival photocall for her heartbreaking new movie Maria
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- Published on Friday, 30 August 2024 06:50
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie hinted at the heavy emotional toll which her divorce from Brad Pitt has taken on her, saying she has been through 'despair' and 'pain.'Jolie, 49, split from her film star husband after a disputed incident on a plane in 2016.She has said in court documents that he assaulted her and some of their six children and poured wine and beer on the family in a rage. He has always denied being violent towards her or the family.Ms Jolie is at the film festival in Venice to promote the film Maria, in which she plays the opera singer Maria Callas.Asked about her musical tastes she said: 'I was more of a punk and I loved all music but I probably listened to The Clash more than most.'As I have gotten older I have listened to classical music and opera. I think I still love the music I did when I was younger, I would still listen to The Clash.'But I think when you have felt a certain level of despair, of pain, of love at a certain point there are only certain sounds that can match that feeling and to me the immensity of the feeling encapsulated in the sounds of opera - there is nothing like it.'That feeling that would move all of us if we were to hear it would be the only sound that would explain that pain, so I have leant more towards it now.'She reflected on the premiere of the film on Thursday along with the release of Without Blood which she has co-produced, next week at the Toronto International Film Festival, which means that she is picking up the threads of her movie career which has been largely on pause since splitting from Pitt.Jolie said: 'To be honest I have needed to be home more with my family these last years.''In that time I have become maybe more grateful to have the opportunity to be an artist and to play and to be among all of you, and to just be in this creative world that we are all fortunate to be a part of. 'I am happy to be here and I am grateful to be an artist in any way.'Ms Jolie spent seven months training how to sing for her role in the film, and she performs as Maria Callas at the point when she was close to death and losing her voice. Producers have indicated that they blended Ms Jolie's voice with Ms Callas'.
She said: 'Everybody here knows I was terribly nervous about the singing. I spent almost seven months training because when you work with (director) Pablo (Larrain) you cant do anything by half. 'He demands in a most wonderful way that that you really do the work and really learn and train .'My first time singing I was so nervous that my sons were there and they helped to block the door so that nobody else was coming in.' 'And I was shaky. Pablo in his decency started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala. So he gave me a time to grow. I was frightened to live up to her and you know I had not sung in public.'Pablo Larrain said that the film was a celebration of Callas' life and Jolie added that she hoped that the singer had known at the end of her life how loved she was.Callas, hailed as the greatest voice in the history of opera, died aged only 53 in 1977 after a period of ill health and isolation. She had been heartbroken after husband Ari Onassis abandoned her for JFK's widow Jackie Kennedy.Jolie said that she related strongly to Callas adding: 'Theres a lot I won't say in this room that you probably know or assume.''Probably what I relate to is the part of her that's extra soft. She didn't have room in the world to be as soft as she was or as emotionally open as she was I think I share her vulnerability more than anything.'Pitt and Jolie are divorced but hostilities over finances and custody continue. Daughter Shiloh recently filed to drop 'Pitt' from her surname on her 18th birthday, revealing a deep rift.Older children Maddox and Pax are believed to have no relationship with Pitt either. Only twins Vivienne and Knox are under 18. The former couple are in dispute over Jolie selling her share in their Chateau Miraval vineyard to Russian oligarch Yuri Sheffler.Awkwardly Brad will also be in Venice this week- for his new hitman-caper movie Wolfs, with George Clooney.Sources indicate that the schedules have been arranged so that the warring couple - who continue to be embroiled in legal action eight years after they split - will not be at the film festival at the same time.Angelina will likely fly straight out of Venice following the Thursday night premiere of Maria before Brad heads to town in time for his Sunday night premiere.
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source : Daily mail 
Was Maria Callas really a whining, self-pitying, endlessly needy victim? Angelina Jolie stars as revered opera singer in a new biopic that projects little of her cultural stature, writes BRIAN VINER
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- Published on Friday, 30 August 2024 06:53
- Written by Daily mail
The late shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis would have approved of director Pablo Larrain’s trilogy of films about three of the most iconic women of the 21st century: he slept with two of them.Larrain’s swansong, following Jackie (2016) and Spencer (2021), is Maria, starring Angelina Jolie as the revered opera singer Maria Callas. It had its world premiere last night at the Venice Film Festival.An expert excavator of misery, Larrain likes to scrutinise his subjects at the most vulnerable times of their lives. Jackie focuses on Jacqueline Kennedy in the days following the assassination of her husband, President John F Kennedy, while Spencer unfolds over the Christmas of 1991, with Princess Diana at her unhappiest and most bulimic as she contemplates leaving the Royal Family.This film presents Callas in the last few days of her 53 years, seeing her dead lover Onassis in her torrid dreams and tormented attempts to rediscover her famous voice.It was a famously influential voice, too. Linda Ronstadt once called her the greatest ‘chick singer’ ever: listening to Maria Callas records taught her everything she needed to know, she said, about singing rock’n’roll.So Callas transcended the world of opera, yet Maria gives us disappointingly little sense of that. Yes, we know she’s a superstar, but Larrain, and screenwriter Steven (Peaky Blinders) Knight, never quite convey the magnitude of her cultural stature. In the 1970s, even as a North-of-England schoolboy who knew an awful lot more about George Best’s cars than Georges Bizet’s Carmen, I was fully aware of Callas and her predilection for pulling out of performances in distant cities such as Milan and New York. It wasn’t opera news. It was news.She had a personality to match her gigantic talent and was reputedly so formidable that - another choice quote - the pugnacious John Huston once said he’d rather go six rounds with the heavyweight boxer Jack Dempsey than cross swords with her. How unfortunate it is, then, that she spends most of Maria’s two hours as a whining, self-pitying, endlessly needy victim, imperiously bossing around her household staff to be sure, and talking in neat epigrams (‘I took liberties all my life and the world took liberties with me’), but not otherwise demonstrating much of that dazzling charisma.In truth, she (itals) was (close itals) also a victim. Her mother bullied and blackmailed her, her husband stole from her, and Onassis beat and drugged her. But not much of that emerges either, except in a flashback to her Athens childhood, when her mother appears to be pimping her out to Nazi soldiers.All that said, Jolie gives one of the performances of her career. This might be a flawed depiction of Callas but not by her; wearing enough mascara to sink one of Onassis’s ships she is completely believable in the role and even does some of her own warbling alongside some top-class lip-synching to the real Callas, having reportedly trained for seven months until she was ready to perform in public for the first time. Admittedly I’m no expert but I couldn’t tell the difference. So hats off. There is already talk of an Oscar nod.The film begins with Callas’s death. In Paris, in her grand but stuffy mausoleum of an apartment, she simply conks out one day, killed by her addiction to pills and fame. She is discovered by her devoted housekeeper (Alba Rohrwacher) and butler (Pierfrancesco Favino), who has health problems of his own, a dodgy back caused by shunting a grand piano around until his mistress is satisfied that it’s in the right place, which it never is.From there we are whisked back a week, with Callas desperately searching for her high notes, and sometimes further, for instance to a monochrome 1959 when she first meets Onassis (Haluk Bilginer), and even to the celebrated birthday party for JFK, the one where he was serenaded by Marilyn Monroe, about whose singing voice Callas is predictably catty. A subsequent scene in a restaurant, where the mighty diva repels the US President’s flirtations, is presumably a piece of whimsy on Knight’s part.More whimsical still is the casting of Kodi Smit-McPhee as a human manifestation of Mandrax, the pill to which Callas was most in thrall. He takes the form of a TV interviewer, I suppose to conflate the two things that caused Callas’s demise: drug addiction and celebrity.Jolie’s ‘tour de force’ keeps all this watchable, and there is one fabulous line – when Callas berates the dying Onassis for marrying Jackie Kennedy. ‘Sometimes you get married because you have a free day,’ he replies. But Maria too often slumps when it should sizzle. I found it dreary, and longed for the end at least 20 minutes before it arrived. We all know that it’s not over until the fat lady (or in Jolie’s case the not-so-fat lady) sings, but she keeps us waiting rather too long.Maria is a Netflix film, with a release date yet to be announced.
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source : Daily mail
Angelina Jolie puts her protracted divorce to one side as she attends the 81st Venice Film Festival premiere of Maria in a sweeping floor-length gown... after hinting at the 'despair' and 'pain' of her separation from Brad Pitt
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- Published on Friday, 30 August 2024 06:19
- Written by Daily mail
The dark cloud of divorce made way for azure blue skies on Thursday as Angelina Jolie attended the 81st annual Venice Film Festival premiere of Maria. The actress, 49, currently in the throes of a protracted divorce from Brad Pitt, made a welcome red carpet appearance ahead of the film's first official screening, in competition, at the annual ceremony.Jolie looked stunning in an elegant floor-length evening gown with off-the-shoulder detailing as she greeted photographers on day two of this year's festival. The stunning stone chiffon gown, designed exclusively for the actress by designer and couture house Tamara Ralph, featured draped detailing and a short train, with the number finished off with an elegant, fluffy faux-fur stole and a gold floral pin. The star, who plays famed opera singer Maria Callas in the film, left her sleek golden locks to fall over her shoulders, while highlighted her features with a classic smoky eye and a statement red lip. At one point, the film star was seen tenderly attending to a sick hospital patient, who appears to have been brought to the premiere just to see Angelina.The actress crouched down next to the man and was seen sweetly talking to him, as well as interacting with others who accompanied him. Angelina managed to plaster on a smile for the glitzy event despite recently hinting at the heavy emotional toll which her divorce from Brad Pitt has taken on her, saying she has been through 'despair' and 'pain.'The beauty split from her film star husband after a disputed incident on a plane in 2016.She has said in court documents that he assaulted her and some of their six children and poured wine and beer on the family in a rage. He has always denied being violent towards her or the family.Angelina's words came during a photocall to promote the film Maria at the film festival, in which she plays the opera singer Maria Callas. When asked about her musical tastes she said: 'I was more of a punk and I loved all music but I probably listened to The Clash more than most.'As I have gotten older I have listened to classical music and opera. I think I still love the music I did when I was younger, I would still listen to The Clash.'But I think when you have felt a certain level of despair, of pain, of love at a certain point there are only certain sounds that can match that feeling and to me the immensity of the feeling encapsulated in the sounds of opera - there is nothing like it.'That feeling that would move all of us if we were to hear it would be the only sound that would explain that pain, so I have leant more towards it now.'
She reflected on the premiere of the film on Thursday along with the release of Without Blood which she has co-produced, next week at the Toronto International Film Festival, which means that she is picking up the threads of her movie career which has been largely on pause since splitting from Pitt.Jolie said: 'To be honest I have needed to be home more with my family these last years.''In that time I have become maybe more grateful to have the opportunity to be an artist and to play and to be among all of you, and to just be in this creative world that we are all fortunate to be a part of. 'I am happy to be here and I am grateful to be an artist in any way.' Meanwhile at the premiere, Taylor Russell commanded attention in a glamorous cream midi dress as she posed on the red carpet.The Canadian actress, 30, looked incredible in the strapless number which boasted a figure hugging ruched bodice and cascaded down into a long skirt. Taylor posed up a storm on the star-studded red carpet as she wore the train of her eye catching skirt as a neck scarf. Styling her dark tresses in a neat up do, the ex-girlfriend of singer Harry Styles added inches to her frame in a pair of towering heels. She accessorised with a dazzling chunky bracelet and opted for a pair of coordinated stud earrings. It comes after Taylor sparked rumours whether she is seeing ex Harry again as she was spotted walking around the singer's beloved Hampstead last week. She was reported to have split from the Watermelon Sugar singer, also 30, in May after a year together, although this was never confirmed. Elsewhere, Eva Herzigová put on a daring display in a sheer body stocking ensemble as she attended the premiere.The Czech model, 51, looked nothing short of sensational as she showed off her slender figure in a swirl print body stocking which featured a black halterneck bodysuit layered over the top. The stylish bodysuit boasted a criss-cross halterneck design, a cutout panel at the waist, a high-leg design, and a sheer long train which draped delicately at the back. She teamed an extravagant gold belly chain with the ensemble and added inches to her tall frame with a pair of black stiletto court heels. To further accessorise the look, the blonde bombshell wore a chunky gold pendant necklace.
Angelina spent seven months training how to sing for her role in the film, and she performs as Maria Callas at the point when she was close to death and losing her voice. Producers have indicated that they blended Ms Jolie's voice with Ms Callas'. Detailing her unease at singing publicly for the first time, she said: 'Everybody here knows I was terribly nervous about the singing. I spent almost seven months training because when you work with (director) Pablo (Larrain) you cant do anything by half.
'He demands in a most wonderful way that that you really do the work and really learn and train.'My first time singing I was so nervous that my sons were there and they helped to block the door so that nobody else was coming in.''And I was shaky. Pablo in his decency started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala. So he gave me a time to grow. I was frightened to live up to her and you know I had not sung in public.'Pablo Larrain said that the film was a celebration of Callas' life and Jolie added that she hoped that the singer had known at the end of her life how loved she was.Callas, hailed as the greatest voice in the history of opera, died aged only 53 in 1977 after a period of ill health and isolation. She had been heartbroken after husband Ari Onassis abandoned her for JFK's widow Jackie Kennedy.Angelina said that she related strongly to Callas adding: 'There's a lot I won't say in this room that you probably know or assume.''Probably what I relate to is the part of her that's extra soft. She didn't have room in the world to be as soft as she was or as emotionally open as she was I think I share her vulnerability more than anything.'As well as Angelina, the film stars Valeria Golino as Maria sister Yakinthi, and Haluk Bilginer as Aristotle Onassis. 'I take very seriously the responsibility to Maria's life and legacy,' Angelina said previously in a statement. 'I will give all I can to meet the challenge.' The Tomb Raider star also mentioned the film's director, Pablo, whom she said she 'long admired.'The mother of six added: 'To be allowed the chance to tell more of Maria's story with him, and with a script by Steven Knight, is a dream.'Angelina is lucky enough to wear some of Callas' real clothes in the film, including vintage fur items from Massimo Cantini Parrini’s archive collection. The actress has played famous people before: In 1998 she starred as tragic supermodel Gia Carangi in Gia and in 2007 she starred as Mariana Pearl in the film A Mighty Heart.The director, who is best known for the bio pictures Jackie (about Jackie Kennedy, played by Natalie Portman) and Spencer (about Princess Diana, played by Kristen Stewart), said: 'Having the chance to combine my two most deep and personal passions, cinema and opera, has been a long-awaited dream,' Larraín said. 'To do this with Angelina, a supremely brave and curious artist, is a fascinating opportunity. A true gift.'Maria was written by Steven Knight prior to Hollywood’s WGA strike and granted a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement.Callas lived from 1923 until 1977. She was born in American of Greek heritage and then trained in Greece as well as Italy.She was not just known for her incredible voice, which helped make her one of the top opera singers of the 20th century, but also for her striking beauty which put a spotlight on her many romances.
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source : Daily mail
Angelina Jolie Is Coming to Netflix as Maria Callas
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- Published on Friday, 30 August 2024 04:38
- Written by Netflix
Acclaimed director Pablo Larraín’s Maria will premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29. Academy Award-winning actor Angelina Jolie will star as renowned opera singer Maria Callas in Maria, a new film from director Pablo Larraín. Jolie earned an Academy Award for her performance in Girl, Interrupted, and has displayed her incredible range in films like Changeling, The Good Shepherd, Maleficent, and Those Who Wish Me Dead. Renowned Chilean filmmaker Larraín is known for such films as Jackie, Spencer, No, Neruda, and 2023’s El Conde, which garnered a Best Cinematography Oscar nomination for Edward Lachman’s chiaroscuro work. Larraín says, “I’m excited to partner again with the Netflix team who care so passionately about movies. This film is my most personal work yet. It 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 honored to tell this story and share it with audiences worldwide like Maria did with her life.” Maria marks a new collaboration between Larraín and Lachman, who was also nominated for Academy Awards for his work on Carol and Far From Heaven. And it’s the second Larraín film written by Steven Knight following their work together on Spencer; Knight was nominated for an Academy Award for Original Screenplay for his work on Dirty Pretty Things, and is the creator of Peaky Blinders. Academy Award nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino also star. Find out more about Maria below, and stay tuned as the film hits the Venice Film Festival and beyond.
What is Maria about? As Larraín says, Maria is a “creative imagining and psychological portrait of Maria Callas,” one of the greatest opera singers of all time, during her final days in 1970s Paris. Callas, whose life spanned from the 1920s to the ’70s, was famous for her incredible voice — the film looks at a period in her life when she had lost her voice, and tries to regain it. After dedicating her life to audiences around the world, she “decides finally to find her own voice, her own identity, and sing for herself.” It marks the third film in Larraín’s work exploring iconic women at inflection points in their lives, following 2016’s Jackie and 2021’s Spencer.
When will Maria premiere? Maria will have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 29. The film will hit Netflix in the US at a later date. Keep checking Tudum for updates.
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source : Netflix 
Angelina Jolie to receive TIFF Award - after estranged dad Jon Voight begged Brad Pitt to end divorce drama
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- Published on Wednesday, 28 August 2024 05:39
- Written by Daily mail
Angelina Jolie is set to receive the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media at this year’s Toronto Film Festival. The Oscar winner, 49, who kicked off the Venice Film Festival, will be honored at the city's Fairmont Royal York Hotel on Sunday, September 8, coinciding with the world premiere of her latest directorial project Without Blood, per Deadline on Tuesday.The TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media, previously awarded to filmmakers such as Pedro Almodóvar, honors individuals who bridge social impact and cinema. Amy Adams, Cate Blanchett, and David Cronenberg will also be recognized at the 2024 TIFF gala, with Sandra Oh serving as the Honorary Chair. 'Angelina Jolie is a multifaceted talent who has entertained audiences for decades while consistently using her platform to champion important causes,' TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement. 'This award recognizes her exceptional achievements in filmmaking, and her unwavering commitment for positive change, solidifying her status as a veritable humanitarian and global force to be reckoned with.'The news follows a recent plea from Angelina Jolie's estranged father Jon Voight, who has urged her ex Brad Pitt to resolve their ongoing eight-year divorce battle for the sake of their children.The 85-year-old actor told Fox News Digital that he wished pair could 'find a way to make peace' - just days after Pitt's daughter Shiloh officially dropped his surname. He said: 'You know, I think the kids need some stability. I love the kids, and I love my daughter. And I want Brad to step up to do, you know, what he has to do. End this nonsense.He added that he 'doesn't talk to his grandchildren as much as [he'd] like.'Angelina and Brad, who share six children together: Maddox, 22, Pax, 20, Zahara, 19, Shiloh, 18, and twins Vivienne and Knox, 15, split in 2016.Voight's plea comes after he praised Angelina and his granddaughter Vivienne after they stole the spotlight at the 2024 Tony Awards with their remarkable victory. The mother-daughter duo produced the musical The Outsiders, which won four trophies, including the top honor of Best Musical. 'I’m very proud of Vivienne,' Voight told TMZ at the time. 'I’m really proud of Angie because she really tries to encourage each of the kids to be what they want to be.''I'm sure Angie contributed with the actors and Angie's a great director,' Voight continued to gush over the Maleficent star.The Midnight Cowboy icon also revealed how Vivienne got her mother involved with the production. 'Vivienne read the book and then went down to see the pre-Broadway play version down close by San Diego and she went down four times and she said "Mom, you got to see this,"' he explained to the outlet.
The accolades follow a history of turbulent moments between Voight and Jolie, which have caused periods of estrangement over the years.They reconnected briefly during the filming of Lara Croft: Tomb Raider in 2001, but Jolie reportedly cut ties with her father again in the early 2000s. 'We don't really speak that much anymore,' the Changeling star told Vogue in 2002, shortly after starring in the Lara Croft film. Voight's infidelity during his marriage to Jolie's mother, Marcheline Bertrand, and their subsequent divorce reportedly were key factors in the father and daughter's estrangement. Although the pair have made up in the past, Voight recently slammed his daughter for her anti-Israel posts, branding them as 'lies' and saying 'the Israeli army must protect thy soil.' Jolie is formerly a special envoy of the UN High Commission for Refugees. She accused Israel of 'deliberately bombing children, women, families, deprived of food, medicine and humanitarian aid' in violation of the international law.In response, Voight said he was 'disappointed' that his daughter did not understand that Hamas' objective was 'to annihilate the land of the Jews.'Meanwhile, Vivienne's appearance at the June 16 Tony Awards came as another blow to Brad on Father's Day shortly after she notably dropped his surname on her Playbill credit. In May, it was also revealed that Vivienne dropped the last name Pitt from her moniker in The Outsiders Playbill.According to People, the former couple's daughter was listed as Vivienne Jolie in the literature, instead of Vivienne Jolie-Pitt. It's unknown if she has legally changed her name.The move came shortly after Angelina was ordered by a judge to turn over every NDA agreement that she signed with a third-party over an eight-year period amid the ex spouses' ongoing legal battle.Shiloh and Vivienne's name change comes after her older sister Zahara made a similar choice in public.Last November, when she was inducted into the AKA sorority at Spelman College, she appeared to drop her father's last name as she introduced herself. In a video clip shared by Essence magazine, she stated, 'My name is Zahara Marley Jolie.'Pitt has also faced scorn from his son Pax, 20, who called him a 'world-class a**hole' and a 'despicable person' in an explosive instagram rant revealed by DailyMail.com. Also in May, Brad and Angelina's daughter, Shiloh, 18, officially requested to drop 'Pitt' from her surname in court documents obtained by TMZ. Angelina and Brad began dating after Pitt and then-wife, Jennifer Aniston, announced their divorce in 2005.The two later tied the knot in 2014, with the Maleficent actress filing for divorce in 2016 after only two years of marriage. Three years later in 2019, Brad and Angelina were declared legally single.
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source : Daily mail
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