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Legendary Hollywood Actress Returns to Budapest

Hungary Today 2023.08.13.

After more than ten years, one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses returns to Budapest. Angelina Jolie is expected to shoot a film about Maria Callas in Hungary in October, reports Budapest Reporter.

The last time Angelina Jolie was in Budapest was thirteen years ago, when she was directing the Golden Globe-nominated film In the Land of Blood and Honey.

The current film titled Maria is directed by Chilean Pablo Larraín and will star the actress in the title role.

The movie is about the last sad years of legendary opera singer Maria Callas in Paris.

Maria Callas. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

It is the director’s first film to be shot in the Hungarian capital and is expected to take several months to complete. According to reports, Angelina Jolie is looking forward to the filming and says she will do her best to meet the challenges. She also highlighted that it was a dream come true to tell Maria’s story with Pablo Larraín and screenwriter Steven Knight.

Fact

Maria Callas was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her bel canto technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical opera seria to the bel canto operas of Donizetti, Bellini, and Rossini, and further to the works of Verdi and Puccini, and in her early career to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as La Divina (“the Divine one”).

Hungary is becoming increasingly popular with foreign filmmakers, with many famous international movies having been shot in and around the capital. Most recently, the newest movie of the Alien series started shooting in March in Budapest, directed by Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Álvarez. The story of the current film is linked to the prequel series, Prometheus, released in 2012 and Alien: Covenant, released in 2017. The prequel series follows the original series, which began in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s Alien.

Hollywood actors can often be seen in Hungary as well. This year so far, Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch and Johnny Depp, known from the Pirates of the Caribbean series also visited Budapest.

Doctor Strange Actor Visits Hungarian State Opera
Doctor Strange Actor Visits Hungarian State Opera

Benedict Cumberbatch was spotted visiting a ballet performance in Budapest.Continue reading

Featured photo via Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons


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