Angelina Jolie will play the lead in the dark thriller “Sunny”
Production on the dark drama, which centers on a female criminal who battles to shield her sons from an abusive drug lord but has only a few hours to organize a permanent escape after a terrible incident, has started for the Maria actress.
The film is being directed by Eva Sørhaug for Gramercy Park Media, A Higher Standard, and Nickel City Pictures. William Day Frank wrote the script, which is based on a story they both came up with.
Angelina was praised as a “tour-de-force” by Nickel City Pictures’ Mark Fasano.
“People are going to be shocked by what she brings with this riveting character,” the producer told Deadline. Eva and Angelina have created a horrific universe that is based on family and survival, with a mother doing everything in her ability to keep her two boys safe.
Nathan Klingher of Gramercy Park concurred, saying, “Angelina has made this role uniquely her own.” It is uncommon to see strong, character-driven thrillers like this one, and it is amazing to see the level of care she and Eva have put into the picture.
For her portrayal of opera great Maria Callas in Maria earlier this year, Angelina received recognition and a number of award nominations, but she previously acknowledged :
To get the part, she “lied” to director Pablo Larrain about her singing abilities.
“I had never sung,” she said to Variety. I was really shut down when someone told me I couldn’t sing or was a touch condescending when I was singing.
I simply blocked that aspect of my life, but I never told anyone. I then told a falsehood when Pablo asked me to do this and if I could sing.
“Are you a horseback rider? “Yes.” Of course, no one can sing as well as Maria. Nobody. But I’ll try my hardest.
Prior to her first class with a music teacher, Angelina previously acknowledged that she was certain she could bluff her way through “Maria’s” singing moments.
“I made the mistake in the beginning of thinking, when he asked me to sing a little, ‘I like movie singing,'” she stated, according to Best magazine.
I suppose I could sing a little. It didn’t take me long to realize that you couldn’t pretend to sing opera. I didn’t expect I would be asked to sing, but I also didn’t want to pretend to sing anything.
“I didn’t think about it for whatever reason. I have no idea why. I didn’t fully comprehend until I was in this room with Pablo, who had encountered numerous professors before settling on one to start.
Angelina continued by saying that the moment she had to sing during that first lesson, she “started crying.”
“The first time, he [the teacher] said, ‘OK,'” she said. Put your feet down. It was already rather touching that he took me seriously as a vocalist.
I started crying when he said, “Take a deep breath and then start making sounds.” Because, in my opinion, we all keep so much within of us that we rarely let it out. We don’t speak up completely.
