Here's something I keep forgetting about the upcoming “Annie” remake: Emma Thompson (the Oscar-winning screenwriter of “Sense and Sensibility,” lest we forget) is one of its three credited writers. I'm not sure at what stage Thompson worked on the project — early, I'm guessing, unless she's tighter with producer Jay-Z than I'd previously imagined — but from everything we've seen of the project thus far, it doesn't bear much trace of the Englishwoman's involvement. Anyway, that's an aside: the second trailer for “Annie” has landed, and it looks, if anything, even brasher than the much-maligned first glimpse suggested.
Clearly, the updates to the material — Cameron Diaz's pimped-out Miss Hannigan included — will be a matter of taste. I don't hold the original musical (much less John Huston's bloated 1982 film) particularly sacred, but am still sensing something off-key about Will Gluck's very high-key take on the material. Still, what does emerge from the new trailer is a clearer sense of the plotting and the contemporary story world, so that's something. What doesn't emerge is much sense of this as a performed musical — “It's a Hard Knock Life” may as well be a backing track here. (Interesting, then, that pop producer du jour Greg Kurstin — known for his work with Lily Allen, Kelly Clarkson, P!nk, et al — is handling music duties here.)
Anyway, all will be revealed on December 19. Check out the new trailer below and give us your thoughts — more convinced? Less convinced? Same as before?