Editorial Staff
Noomi Rapace (“Prometheus,” “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, The Drop”) has signed on to play the iconic and most influential female opera singer of the 20th century, Maria Callas, in the feature biopic “Callas.”
Niki Caro (“McFarland, USA,” “Whale Rider,” “North Country”) is attached to direct “Callas” from a screenplay she adapted from Alfonso Signorini’s biography Too Proud, Too Fragile.
Content Media will handle world sales for “Callas” and introduce the project to distributors for the first time in Cannes.
The biopic is centered around the passionate relationship Maria Callas had with Aristotle Onassis over almost two decades. She’s acknowledged to be one of the more important and recognizable opera legends of all time and certainly was one of the most emotive and visually dramatic.
Producers on the fully financed European production are Guido, Nicola and Marco De Angelis of Italy’s De Angelis Group and René Bastian, Linda Moran and Victoria Bousis of New York-based Belladonna Productions, and Ben Latham-Jones of the UK’s Ealing Studios and Londinium Films. James Spring of Ealing Studios, Brett Thornquest of Eclectic Vision in Australia, Jason Van Eman of Weathervane, and Jamie Carmichael of Content are Executive Producers.
Guido De Angelis, President of De Angelis Group, said, “This movie is about an extraordinary woman whose deepest desire is to lead an ordinary life with the man of her choice. Callas was la Divina, a goddess, who just wanted to be a normal woman; she found out she couldn’t. It sounds like an ancient myth. Niki Caro immediately identified and superbly built into the script this epic, deeply emotional and dramatic quality of the story. And we are absolutely thrilled that Noomi has come unboard, as she is dream casting for Callas. We are convinced she will be able to embody the indomitable spirit of such an important international icon.”
Content’s President of Film, Jamie Carmichael said, “We fell in love with ‘Callas’ instantly. It’s such an emotional and powerful story of one of the world’s great romances – and we’re certain that audiences around the world will be charmed and entranced by the passion, beauty and operatic splendor of this epic tale.”
