Annie (2014)

A foster kid, who lives with her mean foster mom, sees her life change when business tycoon and New York City mayoral candidate Will Stacks makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in.

Director:

Will Gluck

Writers:

Will Gluck (screenplay), Aline Brosh McKenna (screenplay)

Stars:

Quvenzhané Wallis, Cameron Diaz, Jamie Foxx

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jamie Foxx	...	Will Stacks
Quvenzhané Wallis	...	Annie
Rose Byrne	...	Grace
Bobby Cannavale	...	Guy
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje	...	Nash
David Zayas	...	Lou
Cameron Diaz	...	Hannigan
Zoe Margaret Colletti	...	Tessie
Nicolette Pierini	...	Mia
Eden Duncan-Smith	...	Isabella
Amanda Troya	...	Pepper
Dorian Missick	...	Annie's "Dad"
Tracie Thoms	...	Annie's "Mom"
Mike Birbiglia	...	Social Services Inspector
Stephanie Kurtzuba	...	Mrs. Kovacevic

Storyline

The 1977 Broadway musical returns to the big screen with this Overbrook Entertainment/Sony Pictures production surrounding a 10-year-old Harlem foster child (played by Beasts of the Southern Wild's Quvenzhané Wallis) taken in by a calculating billionaire (Jamie Foxx) who's campaigning to be mayor. Abandoned by her biological parents as a baby, Annie (Wallis) spends every moment of every day attempting to avoid the wrath of her cruel foster mother Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). Thing start to look up for Annie, however, when she has a very public encounter with Will Stacks (Foxx), a local cell-phone mogul with mayoral ambitions. Stacks campaign isn't going too well until he meets Annie and invites her into his home at the suggestion of his trusted top assistant Grace (Rose Byrne) and his ambitious PR advisor Guy (Bobby Cannavale). Meanwhile, what was originally conceived as a PR stunt to win over skeptical voters becomes something much more personal when the jaded tycoon realizes his ...

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Plot Keywords:

cultural appropriation | forename as title | remake | twister the game | character name as title | 

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Taglines:

Family is the greatest gift of all

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Musical

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and rude humor

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 December 2014 (USA)

Also Known As:

Annie

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,861,939, 21 December 2014

Gross USA:

$85,911,262

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$136,853,506

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marcy Media, Olive Bridge Entertainment, Overbrook Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Datasat Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In Harold Gray's campaign video with Michael J. Fox, the music behind it is the song "NYC" from the original Broadway musical, sung by Mr. Warbucks.

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Goofs

During the reprise of "Tomorrow," Annie, Grace, and Will are running holding hands. In the next shot, Grace is a few steps behind, not holding Annie's hand. In the next shot, they are all holding hands.

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Quotes

Annie: [over her neighborhood in helicopter] This is *my* New York City.
Will Stacks: Where'd you live?
Annie: Everywhere.

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Crazy Credits

There is a very brief scene after the credits.

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Connections

Referenced in Chelsea Lately: Episode #8.108 (2014)

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Soundtracks

I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here (2014 Film Version)
Original Music by Charles Strouse
Original Lyrics by Martin Charnin
2014 Music and Lyric by Greg Kurstin, Sia (as Sia Furler) and Will Gluck
Produced by Greg Kurstin
Performed by Quvenzhané Wallis, Rose Byrne

User Reviews

It's a hard knock life...having to watch this.

Where to start...I loved the original and really, really, REALLY wanted to like the remake....but I didn't.

Taking into account that it is a modern remake and is so obviously aimed at the youth of today, it just disappointed me from the very start. The actors were fantastic, having to step into the shoes of such iconic characters and portray them in a modern way whilst keeping the vibe of the original was done really well. Hats off to all the actors that took on these roles and paid homage to the classic film we all know so well.

Having said that, I turned it off after 25 minutes. The lack of depth in this film was agonisingly painful, I kept waiting for that engaging moment, but it never came. I just found myself sitting through it in order to sing the songs. The dialogue was terrible and if the acting wouldn't have been so great then this film would have been a complete failure.

Not my cup of tea and I would choose the original over this any day