Angelina Jolie was left in tears when she received a stunning eight-minute-long standing ovation at the Sala Grande Theatre. People took their time to praise the actress at the Maria world premiere, which took place at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on Thursday night (August 29).
Angelina was taken by the rapturous response, wiping away tears and, at times, turning her face away from the cheering as she was overcome by emotion, Variety reported on Thursday.
The 49-year-old humanitarian reportedly hugged Pablo Larraín, who directed the biographical drama, and the cast of the film. According to Variety, Maria is sure to be an Oscar contender, putting Angelina in the best actress race for the first time in 15 years.
In Venice, the fandom for the Hollywood star started a full 24 hours before the screening of Maria, Variety reported. A group of Italians reportedly camped out overnight on Wednesday (August 28) with tents and umbrellas.
Angelina Jolie was left in tears when she received a stunning eight-minute-long standing ovation at the Sala Grande Theatre
When Angelina arrived at the theater, she reportedly signed autographs and took selfies, even meeting a fan with brittle bone disease who had been transported to the carpet on a bed.
The Golden Globe Awards winner reportedly knelt beside him to greet him. The heartwarming gesture took place at Palazzo del Cinema ahead of Maria’s world premiere.
Angelina and the bed-ridden fan shared a brief conversation while throngs of adoring fans and festival photographers looked on at their encounter, the Hollywood Reporter reported on Friday (August 30).
The cinema enthusiast in question is Italian writer Pasqualino Esposito, who has reportedly become a Venice Film Festival regular over the past few years. Moreover, Pasqualino has secured a place on the red carpet to greet Hollywood stars.
The writer struggles with osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder also known as “brittle bone disease,” the Hollywood Reporter reported.
“She’s a person with a very big heart,” Pasqualino told the Hollywood Reporter with the help of a translator about his time with Angelina. “She’s fantastic.”
People took their time to praise the actress at the Maria world premiere
Maria tells 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.”
At a press conference on Thursday, Angelina spoke about preparing to play the famous soprano Callas, which marked her first time singing in a role.
“Everybody here knows, I was terribly nervous,” the Lara Croft star said of learning to sing opera, Variety reported on Thursday.
@varietymagazine Angelina Jolie gets emotional during the eight-minute standing ovation for #Maria. #Venice2024 ♬ original sound – Variety
The actress continued: “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 reportedly said she “had not sung in public” before, which added to the pressure when filming packed theater scenes at the Paris, France’s La Scala theater.
The premiere took place at the Venice Film Festival in Italy on Thursday night (August 29)
The filmmaker recalled: “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.”
Angelina has six children. She adopted Maddox (22) from Cambodia, Pax (20) from Vietnam, and Zahara (19) from Ethiopia. She also has three biological children with Brad Pitt: Shiloh (18) and twins Knox and Vivienne (15).
Brad is the father of all six children, as he legally adopted the three older ones.
“Pablo, in his decency, started me in a small room and ended me in La Scala,” the actress further shared. “So he gave me time to grow.”
When asked about the possibility of earning an Oscar, Angelina reportedly said she mainly cared about honoring Maria’s legacy and her fans, admitting: “My fear would be to disappoint them.
“If there’s a response to the work, I’m very grateful, but … I really came to care for her, so I didn’t want to do a disservice to this woman.”
Angelina was taken by the rapturous response, wiping away tears and, at times, turning her face away from the cheering
Angelina Jolie brought to tears at one point during electric standing ovation for Maria following world premiere of Pablo Larrain film here at #Venezia81 pic.twitter.com/vxhBvdIyMB
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) August 29, 2024
Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century.
For his part, Maria’s director Pablo reportedly said he “didn’t want to make a dark movie about a tragic situation.”
Instead, Pablo explained, he wanted to make a movie about a “woman who spent her life singing for others, taking care of others, worrying about her relationships — now she’s ready to take care of herself and find her own destiny.”
Maria Callas faced several sorrowful aspects in her life, including a troubled childhood with an overbearing mother, struggles with her weight and self-image, and a tumultuous love life.
The late opera singer’s passionate but ultimately unfulfilled relationship with Greek and Argentine business magnate Aristotle Onassis, who left her to marry Jackie Kennedy, added to her emotional pain.
Additionally, Maria’s declining voice and health issues in her later years led to a premature end to her opera career, deepening her sense of loss and loneliness.
The 49-year-old humanitarian reportedly hugged Pablo Larraín, who directed the biographical drama, and the cast of the film
Angelina reportedly said she found herself relating to the soprano, but not in the way some may have expected, as she revealed: “There’s a lot I won’t say in this room that you probably know and assume.
“I related to the part of her that is extremely soft and didn’t have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was and as emotionally open as she truly was.
“I think I share her vulnerability more than anything.”
In Venice, the fandom for the Hollywood star started a full 24 hours before the screening of Maria
Before entering Sala Grande for the world premiere of Maria, Angelina Jolie stopped to greet a bed-ridden fan, the Italian writer Pasqualino Esposito. He suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder also known as “brittle bone disease.” Esposito has become a festival… pic.twitter.com/Sk6dtXziMr
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) August 29, 2024
As per Variety, Maria was often referred to as the world’s greatest diva. Ruminating on the meaning of the word, Angelina said: “I think it’s often come with a lot of negative connotations.
“I think I’ve relearned that word through Maria and I have a new relationship to it. I think it is often other people’s perceptions of a woman that defines who she is and what she intended.”
Netflix nabbed US distribution rights to Maria on Wednesday, but a release date has yet to be announced, Variety reported.
“She deserves this standing o,” a reader commented
