FILM · 2014 · USA
Annie
31 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (31)
- #001
This was Cameron Diaz's last film before a long hiatus that lasted until Back in Action (2025). Some say that winning the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress for her performance pushed her to step away from acting.
- #002
In 2011, Will Smith envisioned this film, in which Jay-Z would play Will Stacks, as a star vehicle for his daughter Willow Smith. By the time production was ready in 2013, Willow was too old to play Annie.
- #003
While serving mashed potatoes, Will Stacks quotes The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), in which Will Smith starred and later served as a producer in subsequent seasons.
- #004
When Will Stacks takes Annie and her friends to a movie, the film's cast includes Andrea Alvin and Simon Goodspeed. Andrea McArdle played Annie at the show's Broadway premiere at the Alvin Theatre. Goodspeed is the theatre where Annie premiered before Broadway.
- #005
Emma Thompson served as a screenwriter for a long time. She wrote several drafts, but in the end her version was not considered for the final result.
- #006
Annie gives a report about F. D. R. and the New Deal. In the original, Annie met Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President.
- #007
This is the first musical for writer-director Will Gluck, producers Jay-Z and Will Smith, and actresses Quvenzhané Wallis and Rose Byrne.
- #008
This is the third cinematic adaptation of Strouse and Charnin's Annie. The first was director John Huston's 1982 original big-screen version, in which star Albert Finney imitated Huston's voice. Annie (1999) was Rob Marshall's respected and more faithful adaptation.
- #009
The clips from the fictional film MoonQuake Lake were directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, and their names appear in the clips.
- #010
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the owner of Columbia Pictures, planned to release this film on December 19, 2014, where it would face major competition from Into the Woods (2014).
- #011
Ryan Murphy was one of the first candidates to direct the film. He declined.
- #012
William Stacks, a tribute to the Daddy Warbucks character, is actually bald; he only wears a wig to hide it.
- #013
The incumbent mayor takes his name from Harold Gray, the original creator of "Little Orphan Annie."
- #014
In Lou's shop, there is a signed photograph of Cameron Diaz next to the counter.
- #015
On the board of presidents' names at the start of the film, there are also Thomas Meehan, who wrote the book of the original musical, Charles Strouse, who wrote the music, and Martin Charnin, who wrote the lyrics.
- #016
This is Jamie Foxx's second musical, after Dreamgirls (2006), and Bobby Cannavale's second, after Romance & Cigarettes (2005).
- #017
Melissa McCarthy was seen as a strong contender for the role of Miss Hannigan.
- #018
Jamie Foxx's hairline looks quite different from most of his on-screen appearances. His usual barber, his stepsister Deidra Dixon, was not available to work on the film.
- #019
In late 2014, Sony Pictures fell victim to a major cyberattack in which confidential corporate information and several unreleased full films were exposed to public consumption. Among much other information, DVD-quality downloads of this film were released online before its official theatrical release.
- #020
Annie was inspired by a comic strip, which in turn was inspired by a much older poem written in 1885 by the famous poet James Whitcomb Riley: "Little Orphan Annie's come to our house to stay, An' wash the cups and saucers up, an' brush the crumbs away, An' shoo the chickens off the porch, an' dust the hearth, an' sweep, An' make the fire, an' bake the bread, an' earn her board-an'-keep; An' all us other children, when the supper things is done, We set around the kitchen fire an' has the mostest fun A-list'nin' to the witch-tales 'at Annie tells about, An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you Ef you Don't Watch Out!"
- #021
Quvenzhané Wallis is the first Black woman to play Annie on the big screen. The first Black woman to play the lead role, and the first Black woman to be credited in the role, was Adrienne Warren, who appeared in a local stage production of "Annie" near Norfolk, Virginia, in 1997.
- #022
Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz appeared together in Any Given Sunday (1999) and in the upcoming Back in Action (2025).
- #023
Overbrook and Columbia Pictures' announcement that they had hired Black actress Quvenzhané Wallis to play Annie in the 2014 production was met with controversy; critics argued that Annie had always been red-haired rather than Black, and the studios consequently faced accusations of stunt casting. Despite the casting controversy, the film was moderately successful and grossed more than $100 million in ticket revenue in 2014.
- #024
In Head Cases (2004), the main character dealt with the situation of a touring production of "Annie" in which the producers refused to cast a Black actress in the title role.
- #025
This is the second film in which Jamie Foxx takes a child on a helicopter ride. In White House Down (2013), Foxx takes Joey King aboard his helicopter.
- #026
The fictional film the girls go to see stars Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher and Rihanna.
- #027
Because of the film's negative reception, this is the first Annie adaptation not to be nominated for a major award in any category at the Emmys, Grammys or Oscars (the Tony Awards are reserved solely for Broadway stage productions). The original Annie (1982) received 2 Oscar nominations, for Best Art Direction and Best Original Score; its sequel Annie: A Royal Adventure! (1995) received 1 Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition; and Disney's 1999 adaptation Annie (1999) received 12 Primetime Emmy nominations and won 2, for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Music Direction. By contrast, this film was nominated for 2 Razzies and won the award for Worst Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel.
- #028
Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Bobby Cannavale, Cameron Diaz and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje have all appeared in superhero films. Foxx played Electro in The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014). Byrne played Moira MacTaggart in the X-Men series. Cannavale played Paxton in Ant-Man (2015). Akinnuoye-Agbaje played Algrim (Kurse) in Thor: The Dark World (2013) and Killer Croc in Suicide Squad (2016). Cameron Diaz appeared in The Green Hornet (2011). Though not a film production, David Zayas plays Sal Maroni in Gotham (2014).
- #029
Bobby Cannavale, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and David Zayas had previously appeared in Oz (1997).
- #030
Bobby Cannavale and Patricia Clarkson appeared together in The Station Agent (2003).
- #031
The cast includes one Oscar winner, Jamie Foxx, and two Oscar nominees: Quvenzhané Wallis and Patricia Clarkson.
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