After the $350 million success of Will Smith’s film remake of The Karate Kid, starring his son Jaden, the superstar has another property in mind as a vehicle for his budding pop star daughter, Willow: Annie. Variety reports that Smith is in talks to produce a new film musical about the world's most famous orphan, with Willow’s “Whip My Hair” collaborator Jay-Z on board, as well.
Initial reports don’t specify whether the Smith film would include Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin’s songs from the Tony-winning 1977 musical, which was first filmed for the big screen in 1982. Jay-Z previously sampled the orphans’ big first act number “It's the Hard Knock Life” on his 1998 single “Hard Knock Life.”
Ten-year-old Willow Smith made her acting debut in 2007 in her dad’s film I Am Legend and later appeared in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.