By Tambay A. Obenson
When we last wrote about the Annie remake project in summer 2012, actress Emma Thompson, told BBC that she’d been writing the script for nearly three years, was excited about it, and was heading to LA to work with Willow Smith, who was to star in the film. Jay-Z, one of the film’s producers, had already started working on the music for it and the shoot start date was aimed for this spring in New York.
Skip ahead to the announcement this afternoon that Will Gluck has been tapped by Will Smith and his Overbrook Entertainment producing partners, Jada Pinkett Smith and and James Lassiter, to direct the upcoming Annie remake.
And Willow Smith is no longer going to star in this remake. So, what happened? That answer isn’t public yet; but it could very well be that, given how much she’s grown up in the last three years – and not just physically – she’s likely no longer fit for the role.
So what does that mean for casting? Will the Smiths stay with a black girl in the lead, and cast another young black actress? Your guess is as good as mine.
Read more: Tambay A. Obenson, IndieWire/ShadowandAct
