In an interview with Deadline, Pablo Larraín confirms that he’s in prep mode with his Maria Callas biopic starring Angelina Jolie. He adds that production will not be disrupted at all by the strikes:
I don’t think so. We’re not financed by any of the studios. It’s a completely and purely independent movie. Shot in Europe. So we should be fine. We should be part of the group of films that the SAG permits to shoot.
Pre-production on Larraín‘s “Maria” is already underway. It had been reported that the film will start shooting in October and wrap production in December. This could either go to Cannes or Venice next year.
Angela Jolie will star as famous opera singer Maria Callas in the aptly titled “Maria” which will recount the tumultuous, beautiful, and tragic story of the life of the world’s greatest opera singer, relived and re-imagined during her final days in 1970s Paris.
Steven Knight (“Spencer,” “Peaky Blinders,” “Eastern Promises”) wrote the script. Larraín’s previous two biopics, “Spencer” starring Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana and 2016’s “Jackie,” garnered Best Actress nominations for its two lead actresses. This is said to be the trilogy capper.