00:00Medicine cabinet is unlocked. You can throw it all away."
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're breaking down the intense emotional and artistic processes
00:11that Angelina Jolie engaged in to play legendary opera singer Maria Callas
00:15in director Pablo Larraín's 2024 biopic, Maria.
00:19We should get your medication under control.
00:22It is under control. It's under my control.
00:26Maria Callas' early life and career
00:29Her reputation as one of the most tempestuous opera stars in the world.
00:33Well, I don't know what you mean by tempestuous.
00:36There's been lots of talk about it too, and I haven't quite understood what it means.
00:41Any so-called diva who came after her owes an enormous debt to her.
00:46The woman whom Leonard Bernstein would later refer to as the Bible of opera
00:50came from rough beginnings, born in New York City to Greek immigrants who grew to despise each other.
00:55Callas showed musical inclinations from an early age, but hardly willingly.
00:59Reflecting on her upbringing, Callas recalled that, quote,
01:02"...I was made to sing when I was only five, and I hated it."
01:06Must say it is a wonderful thing, a unique thing, but it isn't
01:10always pleasant because I have to live up to so much that it's rather uncomfortable.
01:14Returning to Greece with her mother after her parents' marriage dissolved,
01:17she worked her way through the Greek operatic scene,
01:20eventually traveling to Italy for further opportunities.
01:23Callas established herself as a global icon of opera in 1949,
01:28after unexpectedly being cast in I Puritani by renowned conductor, and her future mentor,
01:33Tullio Serafin.
01:34I don't think you would even want an artist, a real artist, that cannot act.
01:40I'm quite sure you don't. You just don't bother to go to the opera anymore.
01:43And opera can be a very silly thing, but it can be the most gorgeous thing in the world.
01:48The weight loss that changed everything.
01:53In the early 1950s, Callas grew self-conscious of her weight,
02:04as well as the fact that it might have played a role in the part she could be cast in.
02:08In a 1968 interview with musicologist Edward Downs,
02:11Callas herself stated that, quote,
02:13"...I was getting so heavy that even my vocalizing was getting heavy.
02:17And I wasn't really well, as in health. I couldn't move freely."
02:21Keeping this in mind, Callas resolved to lose weight by firmly adhering to a low-calorie diet.
02:26The singer was successful in achieving her goal, losing nearly 80 pounds by 1954.
02:32Although wild, baseless rumors persisted as to how Callas lost the weight,
02:36it's inarguable that it had an effect on her voice, career, and public image, for better or worse.
02:51Maria Callas' late career and final years
03:04Critics, fellow opera singers, and fans alike are unanimous in their assessment that,
03:09over time, but particularly in the mid-1950s,
03:12Maria Callas' voice underwent a significant turn for the worse toward the end of her career.
03:17Some believe it to be the result of her aforementioned weight loss,
03:20which is speculated to have dramatically reduced her strength and breath support.
03:24In addition, a series of scandals that rocked Callas' career.
03:27These included an unflattering Time cover story about her contentious maternal relationship,
03:32walk-offs in the middle of performances, and media characterizations of her as a, quote,
03:37"...diva."
03:38In her final years, Callas pursued an on-again-off-again affair with Greek billionaire
03:42Aristotle Onassis and performed infrequently until her death in September 1977, aged 53.
03:49Pablo Larraín's iconic 20th century women trilogy
04:06Chilean filmmaking auteur Larraín is known for making movies that are primarily about two
04:11subjects, Chilean history and famously misunderstood women.
04:16These include Jackie, starring Natalie Portman as Jackie Kennedy, later Onassis,
04:20and Spencer, with Kristen Stewart as Diana, Princess of Wales.
04:24Both performers were Oscar-nominated for their roles.
04:27Have you read what they've been writing?
04:30Crock and Merriman and all the rest.
04:34Yes, I have.
04:36Merriman's such a bitter man.
04:38Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of Maria's premiere,
04:42Larraín mused that he, quote,
04:43"...never planned to make three movies, and that his trilogy is anything but that."
04:48In his own words, he describes the films as, quote,
04:50"...an accidental three movies that have some form of connection."
04:54Larraín closed by commenting that his protagonists are significant for having,
04:58quote,
04:58"...basically shaped a big chunk of what we understand of the second half of the last century."
05:03So, Joe William, you're perfect, perfect Christmas.
05:08Tell me all about it.
05:09My perfect, perfect Christmas, sir, is not following the rules and doing whatever you want.
05:14Cut to Angelina Jolie.
05:16Come and have a drink with me.
05:19No.
05:20I can't let you go and fight deviants on your own.
05:22Get out of my way.
05:24I didn't come to this planet to cower behind wolves.
05:28At this point, you may be wondering to yourself,
05:30wait a minute, when was the last time I saw Angelina Jolie in a movie?
05:34You'd have to go back three years before Maria's premiere to 2021,
05:38which saw Jolie star in two films,
05:40the Marvel Cinematic Universe picture Eternals,
05:43and the action thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead,
05:45written and directed by Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan.
05:49Why'd they put you in a fire tower?
05:54Well, I'm just lucky, I guess.
05:56Asked in 2024 about why she had decided to take time off of filmmaking,
06:00Jolie responded that she had shifted her focus to not only her well-documented humanitarian work,
06:05but also to focus on raising her children,
06:08especially in the wake of her widely publicized divorce
06:10from fellow actor and Oscar winner Brad Pitt.
06:13Jolie learns to sing, in public, for the first time ever.
06:17For fans and admirers of Maria Callas,
06:19casting Jolie, who herself has admitted that she doesn't consider herself a singer,
06:23may have seemed somewhat unusual.
06:26What could Jolie bring to the role without being a trained musician?
06:29Jolie had gone to theater school in the early years of her career,
06:32but after being disparaged by a romantic partner about her singing ability,
06:36had led herself to believe that she was simply incapable of performing.
06:40Of course, this obviously wasn't the case.
06:42A consummate professional, Jolie spent six months taking opera classes,
06:46then Italian, and even admitted to becoming emotional
06:49and crying in her first class due to nerves.
06:52Sensitive to this, Larraín started Jolie's live singing off small,
06:56quote, in a theater or church in Greece, according to Jolie herself.
07:00As the shoot progressed, Jolie's performances grew in scale,
07:04ending up at the historic La Scala Opera House in Milan,
07:07where Callas herself had performed numerous times.
07:10How Jolie was convinced to play Maria Callas
07:13In your journey as Maria Callas, can you talk about how much you related to her?
07:20Well, there's a lot I won't say in this room,
07:25that you probably know or assume.
07:27In a wide-ranging and revealing profile for The Hollywood Reporter,
07:31Jolie struggled to articulate just how personal and deeply felt
07:34the role of Maria Callas was to her, having never discussed it before.
07:38Speaking to Rebecca Keegan, Jolie shared that, quote,
07:41I'm sure there's a lot that will be read into it of our overlaps as women,
07:44but the one that's maybe not the most obvious is
07:47I'm not sure how comfortable we both are with being public.
07:50And there was a pressure behind the working that wasn't just the joy of the work.
07:54Expanding on that, Jolie shared that she connected with Callas'
07:57constant fight to live up to the public's expectations of her,
08:00as well as those in her inner circle,
08:02and how that fighting ripped some of the joy away from her creative process.
08:06I think in the way I related to her may be a surprise at probably the part of her
08:10that's extremely soft and doesn't have room in the world to be as soft as she truly was.
08:18Keegan, noting further parallels between Jolie and Callas,
08:21that the Oscar winner has never been one to shy away from going all in.
08:25Lamenting her inability to take life a moment at a time,
08:28Jolie shared that, quote,
08:29I'm propelled forward constantly, and it's not always the best feeling.
08:34For better or for worse, I'm a very deeply feeling person and kind of a raw nerve,
08:38so when I feel something deeply, I jump.
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08:57Why Angelina Jolie was the only choice for the role of Maria Callas
09:01This movie wouldn't exist without Angelina.
09:06You can't make or even try to attempt to make a movie like this
09:10without having who could properly play her.
09:12Larraín is quoted as saying that, quote,
09:14Angelina has an enormous amount of mystery.
09:17I thought she could play this woman who was looking to find her own identity.
09:21Maria Callas' personal friend, music critic John Ardwin,
09:24shared a similar sentiment about the mercurial opera singer,
09:27who once reportedly said to him that, quote,
09:30It's a very terrible thing to be Maria Callas,
09:32because it's a question of trying to understand something you can never really understand.
09:37Keeping this in mind, it's no wonder why Larraín made Jolie his leading lady for Maria.
09:42Both protected themselves by choosing to be shrouded in mystery and relative untouchability.
09:47With Maria primed for significant Oscar buzz,
09:50Jolie is gearing up for a major career resurgence,
09:53much like the one denied to Maria Callas.
10:02Are you looking forward to Pablo Larraín's Maria?
10:05Let us know in the comments.
10:07When I write my autobiography, I will title it
10:10The Day Ferruccio Saved My Life.
10:12And what day was that, mother?
10:14Every day. Every single day.
10:17Do you agree with our picks?
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