Netflix has secured the US rights for Marythe biopic about the opera singer Maria Callas, Spencer directed by Pablo Larraín and Angelina Jolie, which premieres at the Venice Film Festival on August 29th.
This is the second Netflix film directed by Larraín after last year’s The Countwhich was nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography. The project marks the seventh production partnership between Netflix and filmmaker Fabula, including Maite Alberdi’s upcoming film In their place.
A creative imagination and a psychological portrait of Maria Callas, Mary is set in the 1970s, towards the end of Callas’ life. It is the story of a woman who lived from her 20s to her 70s – a woman who burned her voice and her life doing what she loved.
Oscar-nominated Steven Knight (Spencer) wrote the screenplay, while Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli and Jonas Dornbach produced. The project hails from The Apartment, a Fremantle Company, as well as Fabula, Accomplices and Fremantle. The film also stars Oscar nominee Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino and Valeria Golino.
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Larraín said: “I am delighted to be working again with the Netflix team, who are so passionate about film. This film is my most personal work to date. It is a creative imagination and psychological portrait of Maria Callas, who, after dedicating her life to performing in front of audiences around the world, finally decides to find her own voice, her own identity and to sing for herself. It is a great honor for me to tell this story and share it with audiences around the world, just as Maria did with her life.”
Dan Lin, Chairman of Film at Netflix, added of the acquisition: “I am delighted that we continue to work with Pablo and Fabula – this is our seventh project with them, most recently with The Count and they produce the coming In their place. Pablo continues his remarkable series of exploring iconic women in film, this time with the incredible Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas.”
Andrea Scrosati, Group COO & CEO Continental Europe, Fremantle, commented: “We are delighted that Pablo Larraín’s extraordinary film work, Maryfeaturing an incredible performance from Angelina Jolie, has found its US home at Netflix. I know they will give it the best support possible and we are grateful to Glen and his FilmNation team for initiating the sale.”
After the premiere in Venice Mary will be shown at the New York Film Festival.
