Getty (2)
Celine Dion Begs Angelina Jolie to Play Her in Planned Biopic: She’s ‘Perfect for the Role!’
Céline Dion was devastated when Angelina Jolie turned down the chance to star in her biopic – but she’s not given up hope and would love her to reconsider, an insider exclusively reveals to Life & Style.
“For years now, Céline’s big passion has been a musical movie adaptation of her life, career and marriage to René Angélil,” a source previously told Radar Online in May 2019. “She wants this to happen for both her kids and her fans, and was dead-set on Angie landing the part.”
However, the Mr. & Mrs. Smith star, 49, rejected the starring role playing Céline, opting instead to play tragic opera singer Maria Callas in an upcoming movie about her life relationship with Aristotle Onassis.
But now, an insider reveals Céline, 56, won’t give up on locking Angelina in for the role, even if she has to wait.
“They have discussed it many times over the years,” the source says. “Despite all the personal issues Céline has been dealing with, she still has this dream of telling the triumph-and-tragedy story of her relationship with her late husband René and her climb to stardom.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer, “has always envisioned Angelina as perfect for the role,” the source continues. “Angelina’s age isn’t an issue either – the idea has always been to de-age Angelina using CGI so she can offer a full portrait of Céline’s journey.”
The Québécois singer is feeling the pressure to have an honest retelling of her life story put to the big screen after being diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, which is affecting her motor abilities. Even though Céline recently made a grand return to the stage at the Paris Olympics after canceling the remainder of her tour in 2023 due to her condition, insiders close to the Grammy winner are concerned for her health and the longevity of her working career.
“As Céline’s health issues have ramped up in recent times,” the source says, “there is more urgency than ever around making a real movie about her incredible journey and featuring her amazing music.”
Hollywood is no stranger to heavy-hitting actors playing heavy-hitting singers in biopics, either. Joaquin Phoenix gave a stellar performance as Johnny Cash in 2005’s Walk the Line, and, more recently, Austin Butler learned to shake his hips portraying the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis, in 2022.
“But the thing to remember is that Céline doesn’t see this as a music biopic,” the source reveals. “She sees this as an all-time classic love story with Oscar-worthy parts for whoever plays her and whoever plays René.”
“That’s all well and good but where’s the script? Céline has a fully developed story based on her own memories and experience but I don’t see Angelina committing to anything without a world-class, pedigreed screenplay that everybody on her team loves,” the source admits, stressing the fact that there are plenty of other options on Angelina’s doorstep.
“That hasn’t materialized yet and Angelina has moved on to make her Maria Callas movie, which has a lot of overlap with Céline’s story, at least on the surface.”
