Resembling a little of the 1982 film adaptation of the same musical, this remake stars Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) as Annie, a cherubic but street-tough foster kid living with a mean Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz) who is taken in by New York billionaire mayor candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) in a thinly veiled campaign move.
Produced by Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z, the film also stars Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and David Zayas.
Here’s the trailer:
Here’s the official synopsis for Annie:
A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ comedy, Annie. Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Will Smith & Jada Pinkett Smith, and Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, Laurence “Jay” Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards. Celia Costas serves as Executive Producer. The screenplay is by Will Gluck and Aline Brosh McKenna, based on the musical stage play “Annie,” book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and on “Little Orphan Annie,” © and ® Tribune Media Services, Inc.
Academy Award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who’s also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they’d be back for her someday, it’s been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything’s about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) – advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) – makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he’s her guardian angel, but Annie’s self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it’s the other way around.
Annie opens in theaters on 18 December 2014.