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it's time to play the music

Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Quvenzhané Wallis Possibly to Live a Hard Knock Life in Annie Remake

by Rebecca Pahle | 4:15 pm, February 8th, 2013


Blast it, Annie remake. I didn’t want anything to do with you, and then you have to go and possibly be casting Quvenzhané Wallis as your lead. Stop it. I don’t want to look forward to you.

The casting report is courtesy of EW, which is careful to note that Wallis is only being considered and that no casting has yet been decided upon. The musical was previously going to star Willow Smith (Jay-Z and Smith’s parents, Will and Jada Pinkett, are three of the producers), but at 12 years old she wouldn’t be the right age by the time the movie starts shooting.

So they need a new spunky, streetwise tyke, and the nine-year-old Wallis might just fit the bill. She turned in one of the best performances of the year in Beasts of the Southern Wild, and she seems quite spunky in interviews, so I might have to see the movie if she gets cast.

Really, why was I so against it in the first place? It did have that uncomfortable eau de “Will Smith buying a movie for his daughter” thing going on at first, but… Emma Thompson wrote the original script! Yes, that Emma Thompson. And Aline Brosh McKenna, who wrote The Devil Wears Prada , is revising it! And it’s being directed by Will Gluck, who directed Easy A, which I quite enjoyed.

That’s it. I’m done. I’m usually not particularly into movie musicals, but Annie remake, if you cast Quvenzhané Wallis, I’ll give you a shot.

I hope she can sing.

(via: Collider)

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  • Betty Windsor

    Oh, I thought that Willow pulled out because she decided that she just didn’t feel like doing the movie. It was my belief this giant thing was orchestrated by Will Smith who got Jay Z to do crap and whatever, because things and children and family millionares. I don’t know anymore.

  • Emmanuelle

    I think she’ll do a better job than Willow Smith, Willow is an awesome singer but i don’t think she has proved herself to much as an actress

  • jedi_penguin

    I can understand not being into musicals, but the soundtrack to “Annie” got me through my 1930′s history class. The reprise version of “Tomorrow” has the names of every single person in FDR’s cabinet. I was humming under my breath during the exam. So I’ll go see any version of “Annie” through pure gratitude.

  • Brian

    That remake with Victor Garber and Kathy Bates and Alan Cumming was pretty good. And Cumming’s fake American accent is way better than Tim Curry’s.

  • Rebecca Pahle

    I am convinced Alan Cumming can do anything.

  • Rebecca Pahle

    I feel you. Monty Python’s “Oliver Cromwell” song helped me out on my World History final in 10th grade.

  • http://twitter.com/FroWillis Sarah

    I seriously did not realize Rooster was Tim Curry in the 1982 version until this comment. Wow. Mind blown.

  • Anonymous

    But… But… she’s black! People won’t be as invested in her character because the all-important white demographic just won’t be as sad when she’s suffering, or as happy when she’s joyful! Didn’t studios learn from that Hunger Games fiasco? People just can’t empathise with anyone not of their ethnic heritage, because they’re like totally different and stuff. Hollywood focus groups told me so.

    Sarcasm aside, the main problem as I see it, of course, is that the story of the film is so intrinsically tied to the 1930s that depicting Annie as black would mean one of three things: either her ethnicity is ignored (thus making a mockery of the heart-wrenching and turbulent life of ethnic minorities in that period and insulting the audience), further changes to the musical are made which acknowledge those changes (which would be bold, challenging, and refreshing, albeit very difficult), or they just update it to a modern setting, swapping the Depression for the current recession despite the vast differences in degree (which is almost certainly the route they’re going for).

    That said, I’d much prefer QW over Willow Smith, since the former can, you know, act.

  • http://www.facebook.com/tamara.griesel Tamara Griesel

    The differences in degree are not so vast anymore, and getting less so everyday, jerry-rigged stock recovery notwithstanding.

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