‘Annie’ Remake Gets Lyrical Make-Over And More!


The Annie remake, which is set to be released this December, is definitely going to be different from the ones you watched growing up. The era, characters and even the songs are going to be treated differently, giving us a brand new Annie that we’ve never seen before.

Salon observes that some aspects of the movie’s trailer, like the heavy emphasis on plot, might turn kids away from the film. Another aspect that might give the Annie remake a PG rating is the producer.

Jay Z, who is reportedly a huge fan of Annie, is producing the film alongside Will Smith. This means that the classical songs will surely get the Jay Z treatment. It’s The Hard Knock Life had already been sampled by Jay Z in 1998, a year after the TV movie Annie was released. The Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem) remains to be one of Jay Z’s most memorable songs.

Because the original Annie took place during the Great Depression, some lyrical changes would be inevitable in order to allow Annie to reside in modern-day New York. Annie’s trailer, which honestly features It’s The Hard Knock Life a little too much, gives us a glimpse at what they could possibly change in the songs and the overall treatment.

The Annie remake will be the first one to feature an African-American Annie, played by Quvenzhané Wallis. No one doubts Wallis’ acting ability, especially that she’s the youngest person ever to be nominated for an Oscar.

Wallis has quite the resume for an actress who has just started acting two years ago. 12 Years A Slave, her most recent offering, went on to make millions from movie houses and trophies from award-giving bodies. Everyone is excited to see Wallis play Annie – and so far, based on the very engaging trailer, so good.

The horrible Ms. Hannigan will be played by Cameron Diaz, who is still nursing her wounds from the trainwreck “comedy” The Other Woman. This was posted on her Instagram:

Cameron Diaz looks promising in Annie. The trailer opens with her character barging through the children’s quarters, mirroring the classic scene in the musical. The last Hollywood A-lister to play Ms. Hannigan was Kathy Bates in 1999, who did a great job playing the horrendous housekeeper. Would Cameron Diaz be able to beat that? We will learn in a few months.

Jamie Foxx plays Will Stacks, who is loosely based on Oliver Warbucks, the original rich-guy counterpart in Little Orphan Annie. Seated behind the cameras is Will Gluck, who brought us Easy A and Friends With Benefits.

All in all, the Annie remake seems to be quite promising. Don’t get your hopes up too much, though. Remakes have a reputation for being disappointing.

[Images Via Bing and the Annie trailer from YouTube]

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