It was more than a year ago that Will Smith’s Overbrook Entertainment announced it would be combining with Jay-Z and Smith’s daughter for a remake of “Annie.” With Willow Smith now aged 11 — the same age as the title character in the original stage write — it’s about time everybody got around to making their move.
Will Smith was on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday touting “Men in Black III” but felt comfortable enough to talk briefly about the “Annie” redux. He told his hosts that the new “Annie” will be set in modern-day New York, Emma Thompson is working on the script and Jay-Z — as expected — will be writing new songs for its soundtrack. No word if they’ll be closer to his version of “Hard Knock Life” from 1998 or if they’re tracks from scratch.
There’s also no arrival date yet, though it’d be unwise to feature a 17-year-old little orphan Annie. Jay-Z’s also totally not busy, what with his 2-day Philadelphia-based Made In America music festival and his new daughter, but Hov’s interest in further propelling Willow “Whip My Hair” Smith into stardom makes a lot of sense considering that she’s signed to his Roc Nation label.
Daddy Willbucks has been very active in helping his kids into the limelight, with “Annie” and “The Karate Kid” with his son Jaden both produced under the Overbrook banner.
“Men in Black III” is out tomorrow.