Angelina Jolie shared a tender moment with a fan while promoting her upcoming biopic Maria at the 81st Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy on Thursday. The Girl, Interrupted star, 49, knelt down in her stunning champagne gown while meeting a bed-ridden fan with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).Before entering Sala Grande for the world premiere of her film, the actress took a moment to speak with her supporter, sweetly placing her hand on his shoulder.ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, which control the muscles that allow us to move, speak, swallow, and breathe.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 actress, 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.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 left her sleek golden locks to fall over her shoulders, while highlighted her features with a classic smoky eye and a statement red lip.The star's latest film, titled Maria, is a biographical drama about the legendary opera singer Maria Callas.It is directed by Pablo Larraín and produced by Fremantle.It stars Angelina in the title role, with Valeria Golino as her 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 had never sung onscreen - or in public - before she signed on to star as the legendary opera singer.'Everybody here knows, I was terribly nervous,' the Oscar winner told reporters at a press conference.'I spent almost seven months training because when you work with Pablo you can't do anything by half. He demands, in the most wonderful way, that you really do the work and you really learn and train.'
        Angelina enlisted vocal coach Eric Vetro - whose clients include Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, John Legend, Camila Cabello, Shawn Mendes, Rosalía, and Charlie Puth.'My first time singing I remember being so nervous. My sons were there and they helped lock the door so that nobody else was coming in, and I was shaky. I was frightened,' described Jolie - who's mother to Maddox, 23; Pax, 20; and Knox, 16.'Pablo, in his decency, started me in a small room and ended me in [the Paris opera house] La Scala. So he gave me time to grow.'The former Hollywood wild child - who grew up listening to The Clash - said her biggest 'fear' would be to 'disappoint' the ardent fanbase of Maria: 'I really came to care for her, so I didn't want to do a disservice to this woman.'And while the film is mostly set in the seventies, Angelina appears to recreate Callas' (born Kalogeropoulos) 1958 performance at a Paris gala, which was broadcast through Eurovision.The New York-born Greek belter's powerful soprano pipes had three distinct registers and measured just short of three octaves, and she performed her final concert in 1965 following a vocal decline blamed on everything from dermatomyositis, to early onset menopause, to her extreme 80lb weight loss in 1954.Maria - who had an affair with Aristotle Onassis while he was married to former FLOTUS Jacqueline Kennedy - spent her last 11 years living in Paris after renouncing her American citizenship, and she died at age 53, from a heart attack in 1977.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.''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 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.Callas was also known for her fierce rivalry with Italian opera singer Renata Tebaldi.The film will cover her life story and finish with her sad death in Paris after suffering from vision problems that left her almost blind.Starring in a movie about Callas was a passion project for Faye Dunaway who even wanted to use her own money for the film, but it never came off the ground.In 2014, Meryl Streep was reportedly set to play Callas in Master Class with Mike Nichols as her director but the project did not come to be.Angelina will next be honored with the TIFF Tribute Award in Impact Media on September 8 at the Toronto International Film Festival - the same day as the world premiere of her fifth feature directorial effort Without Blood starring Salma Hayek.

source : Daily mail