While Quvenzhané Wallis didn’t win an Oscar last night for Best Actress in BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, she did get a bit of a consolation prize before the awards. It was officially announced by the Doug Belgrad, president of Columbia Pictures, and Hannah Minghella, president of Production for Columbia, that she has been cast as ANNIE. Minghella had this to say about the young actress:
With the recent Academy Award® nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhané Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star. 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.
The film comes from director Will Gluck (EASY A, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS) with new Annie songs written by rapper Jay-Z, and produced with Overbrook Entertainment, which is co-owned by Will Smith.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend I’m a huge ANNIE fan. I don’t hate ANNIE; I nothing it. Could it be a decent update of a classic character? Maybe. Could it be a colossal waste of time? There’s a good chance of that as well. But I hope it doesn’t define Quvenzhané Wallis as an actress, if acting is the career she wants in life. It can be hard as hell for a child actor to transition from kid roles to adult roles once they get older, and even harder when in the past they were cast as one of the leads in a big kids film. So while ANNIE might bring her plenty of young fans, hopefully she’ll also get more roles like the one she has in the upcoming 12 YEARS A SLAVE with Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender.
ANNIE will be released during the winter Holiday season of 2014.