Netflix Buys U.S. Rights to Pablo Larraín’s ‘Maria’ with Angelina Jolie Ahead of Venice Premiere

In the first major acquisition of the fall festivals, Netflix has made a splash to acquire the U.S. rights to “Maria,” the biopic starring Angelina Jolie from director Pablo Larraín about the life of opera singer Maria Callas.

The film is set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival on August 29. The acquisition reunites Netflix with Larraín after he directed “El Conde” for the streamer.

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Steven Knight, who also wrote Larraín’s “Spencer,” wrote the screenplay for the Callas biopic. The film takes place in the ’70s near the end of Callas’ life. Per Netflix, the film is “about someone who, after dedicating her life to audiences around the world that would listen to her, decides to finally find her own voice, her own identity, and finally do something for herself.”

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, and Valeria Golino also star in the film.

The film was produced by Juan de Dios Larraín, Lorenzo Mieli, and Jonas Dornbach and is a production of The Apartment (a Fremantle Company), Fabula, Komplizen, and Fremantle. Amid the star power and pedigree of the film, “Maria” was filmed during last year’s actors strike under an interim agreement. IndieWire listed it as one of the 20 buzziest sales titles playing at either Venice or TIFF.

Pablo 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.”

Dan Lin, Netflix Chairman of Film, added, “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, said in a statement, “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.”

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