Angelina Jolie, the Oscar-winning queen of effortlessly looking like she woke up perfect, was literally moved to tears at the Venice Film Festival during the premiere of her new movie, Maria. And when I say tears, I mean actual emotional leakage from her face—because apparently, even Hollywood royalty can’t hold it all together when there’s an eight-minute standing ovation involved.
That’s right, guys. Eight minutes of clapping. That’s longer than most people’s daily cardio. You’d cry too if you had to stand there, politely smiling, while an entire theater of people clapped like they were trying to bring Tinkerbell back to life.
After what must have felt like an eternity of applause (seriously, her hands must have been sore from all the gracious waving), Jolie turned away from the crowd, sneakily wiping away her tears. Either that or she was practicing a dramatic exit for her next film. But no, she assured us, the tears were real.
She later revealed that working on Maria was less of a job and more like the world’s most expensive therapy session. “I had no idea how much I was holding in,” she admitted, as if she were a leaky faucet finally being fixed by a high-budget plumber. “The challenge wasn’t technical,” she said, because why would someone who commands a million-dollar paycheck worry about technicalities? “It was an emotional experience to find my voice,” she added, which seems wild considering she’s had several movies to do just that. But hey, even Angelina needs to feel heard, am I right?
“So, yeah, you have to give every part of yourself,” she continued, casually implying that she didn’t just pour her heart and soul into this film—she probably left some spleen and kidneys in there too.
Now, if you want to witness this magical moment where Angelina both dazzles and dabs away her tear ducts, there’s a video from the standing ovation below. Go on, grab some tissues. You’ll need them—mostly because you’ll be clapping along for the next eight minutes.
Angelina Jolie brought to tears at one point during electric standing ovation for Maria following world premiere of Pablo Larrain film here at #Venezia81 pic.twitter.com/vxhBvdIyMB
— Chris Gardner (@chrissgardner) August 29, 2024