Angelina Jolie takes the stage as Maria Callas in new trailer for ‘Maria’
Netflix
Angelina Jolie takes center stage as opera singer Maria Callas in a brand-new trailer for the film Maria.
In the new look released Thursday, Jolie portrays the world-famous opera singer toward the end of her life.
“The film follows the American Greek soprano as she retreats to Paris after a glamorous and tumultuous life in the public eye. ‘Maria’ reimagines the legendary soprano in her final days as the diva reckons with her identity and life,” a Netflix description of the Pablo Larraín-directed project reads.
“I’d like to walk with you through your life,” an interviewer says at the beginning of the trailer, speaking with Jolie as Callas as Puccini‘s “O mio babbino caro” plays in the background.
Callas then reflects back on a life of fame and world renown in her career as an opera singer.
“Perhaps we can speak of your life away from the stage,” the interviewer suggests at one point.
“There is no life away from the stage,” Callas responds.
The trailer then shows several more clips of Jolie onstage and surrounded by cameras.
At another point in the trailer, Callas is informed, in a devastating turn, that her “voice will not return.”
The trailer closes with a shot of Callas seated at a table with her friends and close associates.
“My life is opera,” she says. “There is no reason in opera.”
Jolie stars in the film — her first since starring in Chloé Zhao‘s Eternals in 2021 — alongside Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Maria is slated for wide release on Dec. 11, streaming on Netflix after playing select theaters on Nov. 27.
“‘It is cancer…’ Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis,” he wrote. “And I’m one of them.”
“There’s no playbook for how announce these things, but I’d planned on talking about it at length with People magazine at some point soon … to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms,” he continued. “But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news.”
Van Der Beek wrote he has “been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before.”
Despite the health update, he shared that he feels hopeful about the future and apologized to those in his life who learned the news from the press.
“I’m in a good place and feeling strong,” he wrote. “It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready. Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline. … But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.”
“Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support,” he concluded. “More to come.”
Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly have six children.
Netflix has tapped a dyed-in-the-wool geek to host its annual tribute to all things nerdy, its Geeked Week live finale festivities.
Joe Manganiello, who lists playing Dungeons & Dragons and collecting comics among his pocket-protector pastimes, will headline the live event that will cap off the week, held in Atlanta on Sept. 19.
Joining him will be Cobra Kai stars Jacob Bertrand and Xolo Maridueña, the latter of whom played the superhero Blue Beetle in 2023.
The streamer’s Geeked Week kicks off on Sept. 16, offering sneak peeks of a host of forthcoming projects, including the final season of Stranger Things and a new season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Manganiello’s Atlanta show will boast a bevy of talent, including Rebel Moon and Twilight of the Gods director Zack Snyder; Black Mirror‘s Charlie Brooker; Dallas Liu from Airbender; Finn Wittrock from Don’t Move; Jeff Ward and Matt Owens from One Piece; and Tom Sturridge and Kirby from The Sandman.
The 76th Emmy Awards, which aired Sunday night on ABC, had quite a few memorable moments — but perhaps none as memorable as the acceptance speech centered around a dead dog.
While accepting the Emmy for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series for Last Week Tonight, John Oliver thanked the usual people and then shifted gears, paying tribute to his family’s “fantastic” dog, who’d recently passed away. She was at our wedding and she got us through the pandemic. She was with us for two pregnancies,” he said. At that point, the “playoff” music started, indicating that Oliver should wrap it up, but he wasn’t having it.
“Perfect choice of music,” he noted. He then continued, “I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now. She was an amazing dog.” The music continued, to which Oliver shouted, “F*** you! This isn’t just for her. This is for all the dogs! All dogs, you are all very good girls. You are very good boys. You all deserve a treat. Play me off now!”
Some other memorable moments:
—Murphy Brown star Candice Bergen, a presenter, took a shot at J.D. Vance by recalling that during the show’s heyday, then-Vice President Dan Quayle attacked her character for having a baby and raising it as a single mother. “Oh, how far we’ve come,” she said sarcastically. “Today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, my work here is done.” She then added, “Meow.”
–One of the many TV reunion segments during the evening brought together Ron Howard and Henry Winkler to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Happy Days. Speaking from a replica of the show’s hangout, Arnold’s, Howard complained that they didn’t have any theme music introducing them. After some encouragement, Winkler adopted his “Fonz” persona from the show, went over to the jukebox and wrapped it with his fist, causing the Happy Days theme to start up.
–Will Smith accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Slow Horses. No, not THAT Will Smith, as the British showrunner acknowledged. Taking the podium, he said, “First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace.”
—The Bear’sLiza Colón-Zayas became the first Latina to win the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and she recognized that moment by saying, “To all the Latinas who are looking at me? Keep believing. And vote. Vote for your rights.”
—John Leguizamo did a lengthy monologue about diversity in Hollywood, noting that he didn’t see a lot of Latinx representation on TV and movies growing up. “Everybody played us but us,” he noted. Then, he praised the diversity of this year’s nominees, saying it made him “almost happy and certainly less angry.”
–Along those same lines, presenter Diego Luna announced the nominees for Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series in Spanish, directly addressing the “more than 50 million Spanish speakers in this country.”
— A number of actors from The West Wing, including Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hilland Richard Schiff, reunited to present the Emmy for Best Drama Series and joked about modern politics. Schiff noted that today, interesting storylines could be “plucked right off the news — storylines that writers would have deemed a bit far-fetched, if not utterly ridiculous, 25 years ago.”
–Baby Reindeer‘s Richard Gadd had a message for the entertainment industry. At the podium to accept the Emmy for Best Limited or Anthology Series, he said, “If Baby Reindeer has proved anything, it’s that there’s no set formula to this — that you don’t need big stars, proven IP, long-running series, catch-all storytelling to have a hit. The only constant across any success in television is good storytelling that speaks to our times. So take risks, push boundaries, explore the uncomfortable. Dare to fail in order to achieve.”
