Wednesday, August 28, 2024






The streamer won a bidding war with at least one major distributor in the run up to the festival. Netflix feels like a natural home for the movie which it will position in the awards season. The buzzy film completes Larraín’s trilogy centered around inspiring female protagonists. “Spencer” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana and “Jackie” with Natalie Portman as Kennedy Onassis, both garnered best actress nominations.

On Wednesday, Larraín said in a statement: “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.”

Added Netflix’s Chairman of Film Dan Lin on the acquisition: “I’m excited that we are continuing to work with Pablo and Fabula – this is our seventh project with them, most recently with El Conde, and they are producing the upcoming In Her Place. Pablo continues a remarkable streak of exploring iconic women through 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 piece of filmmaking, Maria, with its incredible performance by Angelina Jolie, has found its US home at Netflix. I know they will give it the best possible support and we are grateful to Glen and his FilmNation team for spearheading the sale.”

Alongside Jolie, the cast also includes Pierfrancesco Favino (Adagio, The Hummingbird), Alba Rohrwacher (La Chimera, Hungry Hearts), Haluk Bilginer (Winter Sleep), Kodi Smit-McPhee (The Power of the Dog, Elvis) and Valeria Golino (Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Caos Calmo).

The script was written by Steven Knight (Spencer, Peaky Blinders, Eastern Promises). Producers include Juan de Dios Larraín for Fabula, Jonas Dornbach for Komplizen Film and Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment, a Fremantle Company. Worldwide sales for Maria will be handled by FilmNation Entertainment.


The distribution agreements for Maria and Queer were probably already in place earlier, but Fremantle timed the announcements with the Venice Festival giving, making them more dramatic and gaining more free publicity for the films.



NYTimes

Can ‘Queer’ and ‘Maria’ make a mark?

By Kyle Buchanan
Aug. 28, 2024


Two of Venice’s most anticipated titles are still looking for buyers: Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer,” an adaptation of the William S. Burroughs novel starring Daniel Craig, and Pablo Larraín’s “Maria,” featuring Angelina Jolie as the opera singer Maria Callas.

After the writers’ and actors’ strikes left many studios’ year-end slates looking awfully barren, you might have expected a bidding frenzy for two prestige films with major stars, but potential distributors that have screened the movies are taking a wait-and-see approach. Splashy premieres at Venice and almost-certain Oscar buzz could help make the sale.




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