Stay Connected
Atlanta Black Star/Film
FilmNews

'Annie' Remake Will Star Quavenzhane Wallis

Posted byBy Jarel McRae | Published on: CommentsComments (0)

Columbia Pictures president Doug Belgrad and president of production Hannah Minghella, announced that 9 year-old Quavenzhane Wallis, the Oscar-nominated star of Beasts of the Southern Wild, will play the leading role in the upcoming  Annie remake.

“With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhane Wallis is a true star, and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star,” Minghella said in a recent interview. “She is an extraordinary young talent with an amazing range, not only as an actress but as a singer and dancer, and we can’t wait for audiences to further discover her.”

Will Gluck (Easy A) will direct the film, with James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith will produce through Overbrook Entertainment alongwith Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, Jay Brown and Tyran Smith through Marcy Media.  The Smiths’ daughter, Willow, had originally been slated to play Annie but recentlt opted out of the project.

Annie originally premiered on Broadway in 1977. A new production with Lilla Crawford in the title role has been playing on the Great White Way since November. The first film adaption was in 1982 by director John Huston with stars including Aileen Quinn as Annie, Albert Finney, Carol Burnett, Tim Curry and Bernadette Peters.

Wallis is one of the youngest Oscar-nominated actors ever. She’s also shot a small role in Steve McQueen’s upcoming film, Twelve Years a Slave.

Annie will be in theaters for the 2014 holiday season.

Democracy needs journalism it can trust.

This election season, the stakes are higher than usual — and so is the pressure on newsrooms to soften their coverage, stay quiet, or just disappear. Independent reporting, the kind that answers to readers instead of advertisers or political pressure, matters more in a moment like this, not less.

For over 14 years, Atlanta Black Star has stayed independent and reader-funded. We have no corporate owner and no shareholders telling us what to cover or how to cover it. That independence is also our biggest vulnerability: nothing protects it except readers choosing to fund it directly.

Newspaper ad revenue has fallen more than 80% since 2005, and local newsrooms are closing at a rate of roughly two a week nationwide. When outlets go under in a moment like this, it's rarely the independent, reader-funded ones that get to stick around.

We know a request for support isn't why you came here. But without readers choosing to fund this work directly, the depth of reporting we can do at home and abroad shrinks along with everyone else's. If you're not in a position to give, that doesn't change how much we value you as a reader.

If you are able to, a recurring contribution does more for us than a single one-time gift, because it lets us plan the next investigation instead of just the next invoice. It takes about 30 seconds, no long form, no account. Thank you for continuing to support independent journalism and freedom of the press.

Give once Give monthly Support another way

Related Stories

Back to top