Will Gluck

Peter Rabbit Trailer

Peter Rabbit (James Corden) is a naughty little critter, easily identifiable by his little blue jacket. His favourite activity in the world is eating vegetables, and more often than not that involves sneaking into the garden of the often exasperated Mr. McGregor (Domhnall Gleeson). He takes his friends along with him - some of which you'll definitely recognise from Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle the hedgehog to Mr. Tod the fox - and together they have a whale of a time with an all-you-can-eat buffet of lettuce, carrots and tomatoes.

When Mr. McGregor returns home one day to find his garden ransacked and his house littered with leftovers, he thinks things couldn't get any worse. That is until he realises that there are a load of anthropomorphic animals hiding in his furniture. By the looks of things, he's not the furious farmer we read about in the original story - rather one of Peter's poor victims. But we'll soon discover what happens to the rebellious buck, and whether or not he learns his lesson about stealing from people's gardens.

Beatrix Potter's world famous children's characters have been brought to life in this wonderful CGI / live action comedy 'Peter Rabbit'. Directed by the Golden Globe nominated Will Gluck ('Friends with Benefits', 'Easy A', 'Annie'), who co-wrote the screenplay alongside Rob Lieber ('Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day'), the film is based on the original 1902 story 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit' - with a humorous modern twist, of course.

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Annie Review

By Rich Cline

Weak

A solid cast bodes well for this unnecessary remake of the 1982 movie (based on the 1970s musical), but the filmmakers' decision to turn the catchy songs into bland pop numbers is the real mistake. It leaves the entire film feeling empty, highlighting director Will Gluck's clunky direction, which includes coaxing Cameron Diaz to a squirm-inducingly over-the-top performance. Young children probably won't mind, but as the movie lurches awkwardly from one messy set piece to the next, the lack of a decently arranged musical number makes everything look dull and witless.

In Harlem, 10-year-old Annie (Quvenzhane Wallis) is an orphan living in a foster home with four other girls, run by the greedy Miss Hannigan (Diaz). Smart and quick-witted, Annie longs for a day when she can be reunited with her parents. Then she has a run-in with Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx), a workaholic mobile phone executive who's running for New York mayor. Will's advisor Guy (Bobby Cannavale) suggests that he take Annie in temporarily to boost his poll numbers, and once settled in his spacious penthouse apartment she immediately charms Will's assistant Grace (Rose Byrne) and driver Nash (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). And she begins to work her way into Will's heart as well.

From here, Gluck completely misses the point of the play, trying desperately to crank up a ridiculous scam subplot into some big final-act action mayhem. But this never gains any traction at all because it's clear what has to happen in the story. Indeed, the best thing on screen is the strong chemistry between Foxx and Wallis, who find moments of genuine humour and connection even in the silliest slapstick. And they seem almost reluctant every time they have to dive into yet another insipidly revamped song. Pop star Sia worked on them, but loses all the charm in the attempt to turn each one into a chart-topping clone. Fans of the original music will enjoy the brief riffs of the originals audible here and there, and they'll leave the cinema wanting to revisit the old numbers instead of these Frankenstein versions.

Continue reading: Annie Review

Video - Quvenzhane Wallis Sparkles In Pink At 'Annie' NY Premiere - Part 2

Director Will Gluck brought his family along to the New York premiere of 'Annie', held at the Ziegfeld Theater, where the movie's eponymous heroine Quvenzhané Wallis also appeared.

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We Defy You To Keep A Straight Face With Sia's Rendition Of 'Annie' Song 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile' [Video]

By Holly Williams in Music / Festivals on 24 October 2014

Sia Beck Quvenzhane Wallis Cameron Diaz Jamie Foxx Will Gluck Will Smith Jay Z

The cast of 'Annie' lead New York City in a collective happiness in a moving video.

If anything's going to cheer you up today, let it be the heartwarming video for Sia's rendition of 'Annie' song 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile'. Released ahead of the movie re-boot, it's got us all a little bit choked up.

Sia promo shot
Sia never fails to make us smile

As part of the soundtrack for the new film, Sia has recorded an exceptionally uplifting update on the original song which first featured in the 1977 Broadway run. In the run-up to the new movie's release, an adorable promotional video premiered on 'Good Morning America' alongside the track, featuring the colourful cast doing their best to get commuters and shoppers to smile while out and about in New York City. With signs reading 'Smile' and other encouraging messages, the young actors hand out drawings of smiley faces to strangers as well as free lemonade in return for smiles, high fives, flowers and, for the dedicated joggers of the city, bananas and water.

Continue reading: We Defy You To Keep A Straight Face With Sia's Rendition Of 'Annie' Song 'You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile' [Video]

It's A Hard Knock Life This Christmas With 'Annie' - [Trailer + Pictures]

By Jack de Aguilar in Movies / TV / Theatre on 15 April 2014

Quvenzhane Wallis Jamie Foxx Cameron Diaz Will Gluck Emma Thompson

Quvenzhane Wallis stars in the new trailer

The youngest ever Oscar nominee, Quvenzhane Wallis – with a touch of autotune thrown in for good measure - plays the iconic and titular role of Annie in Columbia Pictures’ upcoming modernisation of the classic, 1977 Broadway smash, 1982 film and 1999 TV-movie.

Annie movie 2014 Quvenzhane Wallis plays the plucky orphen, Annie, upon whom the film centres

The new trailer gives us a glimpse Will Stacks’ (Jamie Foxx) and Annie’s relationship as they move from life-saving encounter, to mutually beneficial work buddies to father & daughter dynamic, all told via the medium of cute dogs, hip-hop infused dancing and Harlem.

Continue reading: It's A Hard Knock Life This Christmas With 'Annie' - [Trailer + Pictures]

Annie - International Trailer

Annie is a young orphan living with her cruel foster mother Miss Hannigan at an orphanage for girls. Having been left on the doorstep as a baby, she has become determined to find out where her parents are to reunite with them. She makes an attempt to escape the hard knock life that is living at the orphanage and discover the location of her folks, but is soon brought back. Things take an unusually lucky turn for her when she is temporarily taken in to the luxurious household of billionaire Will Stacks over the Christmas holiday; though he struggles to connect with Annie, his assistant Grace agrees to help her look for her parents by putting out a generous reward offering for their discovery. However, with such a large sum of money on the table, it's bound to attract a few dishonest and unsavoury characters.

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"Annie" Movie To Feature Cameron Diaz As Grumpy Orphanage Headmistress

By Victoria Pavlova on 27 June 2013

Cameron Diaz Will Gluck Jamie Foxx Quvenzhane Wallis Will Smith Jay Z

Cameron Diaz might be an odd choice, but let's just go with it.

If an Annie movie, produced by Will Smith and Jay-Z and directed by Jay Z sounds a bit strange, wait till you hear this: Cameron Diaz has been cast as Miss Hannigan. According to Deadline, the actress has been selected to play the orphanage matron, who hates children, but loves boozing in a big screen adaptation of the comic strip turned musical. The actress has been showing a sassier (to put it mildly) side in films like Bad Teacher of late, but it’s still a bit difficult to picture her as the vitriolic Miss Hannigan.

Cameron Diaz, The Other Woman Set
Diaz is taking on a new challenge with her Annie role.

Diaz will reportedly partner up with Quvenzhane Wallis, who became the youngest Oscar nominee for her role in Beasts of the Southern Wild. Quvenzhane will be portraying Annie, while the role of daddy Warbucks has been handed over to none other than Jamie Foxx. The Oscar-nominated actor is currently knee-deep in promotional efforts for his new movie White House Down, but will presumably begin shooting later this year, since the release date for the Annie movie is set for 2014.

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Sandra Bullock In Talks For Jay-z And Will Smith’S ‘Annie’

By Elinor Cosgrave on 13 June 2013

Sandra Bullock Carol Burnett Quvenzhane Wallis Jay Z Will Smith Jamie Foxx Will Gluck Emma Thompson Aline Brosh McKenna

Sandra Bullock is in talks with producers of the upcoming Hollywood remake of ‘Annie,’ according to The Wrap. Rumours of Bullock’s involvement started circulating in March, although it is believed talks have since reopened with Sony and Overbrook Entertainment.

The musical, first shown on Broadway in 1977, was made into a film in 1982. Should the studio’s plans come into fruition, the actress would be playing Miss Hannigan: the abusive overseer of Annie’s orphanage. As such, Bullock will be competing with Carol Burnett’s performance.

This role would mark a change for the actress who has previously appeared as the heroine in the majority of her films including The Blind Side, The Proposal and All About Steve.

Continue reading: Sandra Bullock In Talks For Jay-z And Will Smith’S ‘Annie’

Friends With Benefits Review

By Rich Cline

Good

A smart, witty script and a likable cast help overcome the deep-seated rom-com cliches the filmmakers set out to deconstruct. But the central couple's strong chemistry and a stream of lively side characters keep us involved and entertained.

After a humiliating breakup, Dylan (Timberlake) meets with high-achieving headhunter Jamie (Kunis) about a new job. Friendship blossoms, and since Jamie is emotionally damaged after a recent split and Dylan is emotionally unavailable, they decide to sleep together without any deeper attachment.

Meanwhile, they get increasingly involved in each others' lives, most notably as Dylan and his sister (Elfman) cope with their senile father (Jenkins). Of course, the main question is whether Dylan and Jamie can remain friends even if they have sex.

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Easy A Trailer

Olive is a straight up girl, she works hard in classes, she isn't one of the most popular kids in school but she's happy enough being herself and hanging with her true friends - one of which is called Brandon. Olive is the only person he's confided in and told that he's actually gay but that doesn't stop the homophobic school bullies from laying into him every day. Brandon propositions Olive with an idea, a fake fling. Go to a party, lock themselves in a bedroom and let all hear what they want to think is going on.

Continue: Easy A Trailer