Annie - Trailer Debut

I'm not the biggest fan of Annie, and I definitely don't like Jamie Foxx, but I will admit this looks pretty cute.

Cameron Diaz joins Annie

Cameron Diaz has joined the new adaptation of Annie as Miss Hannigan. The role was originally offered to Sandra Bullock but she passed on it. Diaz will play the eccentric orphanage owner who gives her orphans, including Annie, a hard knock life.
Whenever I think of Miss Hannigan I think of Carol Burnett, so Diaz certainly has some big shoes to fill with this one.

So far we have Oscar nominee Quevenzhane Wallis set in the title role of Annie and Jamie Foxx set as the Daddy Warbucks character, Benjamin Stacks. Jay-Z and Will Smith are on as producers and Will Gluck is directing. Annie is set to hit theaters on December 25, 2014.

Jamie Foxx in talks for Annie

Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained) is reportedly in talks to join Quevenzhane Wallis in the upcoming reboot of the classic musical Annie. Foxx's character, if he secures the role, will be Benjamin Stacks. Stacks is a "variation" of Daddy Warbucks and is a hint to a stack of $100 bills.

The name is stupid to me along with Jamie Foxx being considered. Then again that could just be because I'm not really a fan of his to begin with. He annoys the hell out of me.

2013 Academy Award nominations announced; Lincoln in the lead

Lincoln leads this year's Oscar nominations with 12 total while The Dark Knight Rises got snubbed completely. It didn't even get a nomination for visual effects or original score. I am also a little bummed The Avengers only got visual effects. I thought it had a decent shot at a couple other categories. Also among the snubs are Kathryn Bigelow, Tom Hooper, and Ben Affleck for Best Director and Moonrise Kingdom in just about every predicted category. John Hawkes and Leonardo DiCaprio were also left out of the Best Actor category.

So here we go:

Best Picture:
Argo
Amour
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Director:
Ang Lee - Life of Pi
Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
Michael Haneke - Amour
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Actor:
Denzel Washington - Flight
Hugh Jackman - Les Miserables
Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress:
Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Quevenzhane Wallis - Beasts of the Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour

Best Supporting Actor:
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Alan Arkin - Argo
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained

Best Supporting Actress:
Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Sally Field - Lincoln
Amy Adams - The Master
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Original Screenplay:
Mark Boal - Zero Dark Thirty
Quentin Tarantino - Django Unchained
Michael Haneke - Amour
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - Moonrise Kingdom
John Gatins - Flight

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Tony Kushner - Lincoln
Chris Terrio - Argo
David O. Russell - Silver Linings Playbook
David Magee - Life of Pi
Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild

Best Foreign Language Film:
Amour
No
A Royal Affair
Kon-Tiki
War Witch

Best Animated Feature:
Frankenweenie
Brave
ParaNorman
Wreck-It Ralph
The Pirates! A Band of Misfits

Best Documentary:
The Gatekeepers
How to Survive a Plague
Searching for Sugar Man
5 Broken Cameras
The Invisible War

Best Documentary Short:
Inocente
Kings Point
Mondays at Racine
Open Heart
Redemption

Best Production Design:
Lincoln
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables

Best Cinematography:
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Lincoln
Django Unchained
Anna Karenina 

Best Film Editing:
Zero Dark Thirty
Argo
Silver Linings Playbook
Lincoln
Life of Pi

Best Original Score:
Dario Marianelli - Anna Karenina
Mychael Danna - Life of Pi
Thomas Newman - Skyfall
John Williams - Lincoln
Alexandre Desplat - Argo

Best Original Song:
"Skyfall" - Skyfall
"Suddenly" - Les Miserables
"Pi's Lullaby" - Life of Pi
"Before My Time" - Chasing Ice
"Everybody Needs a Best Friend" - Ted

Best Visual Effects:
Life of Pi
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Prometheus
Snow White and the Huntsman
The Avengers

Best Costume Design:
Lincoln
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Mirror Mirror
Snow White and the Huntsman

Best Makeup and Hairstyling:
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables

Best Sound Editing:
Skyfall
Argo
Zero Dark Thirty
Life of Pi
Django Unchained

Best Sound Mixing:
Skyfall
Lincoln
Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Argo

Best Animated Short:
Adam and Dog
Fresh Guacamole 
Head over Heels
The Longest Daycare
Paperman

Best Live Action Short:
Asad
Buzkashi Boys
Curfew
Death of a Shadow
Henry


As far as my predictions go, I expect Lincoln to win as many as it was nominated for because that is how these awards seem to go every year. However, I am really pulling for Quevenzhane Wallis to take home Best Actress. That girl pulled me in and didn't let me go and she deserves the best recognition in the industry for that. If she doesn't win I will be disappointed. I will also be upset if Hugh Jackman doesn't take it home. He was fantastic in Les Miserables.
And for once I think I will be happy with any winner for Best Animated Feature. I would prefer Frankenweenie take the statue, but I won't be upset if Brave or Wreck-It Ralph or ParaNorman beat it out. I don't mention the Pirates flick because I don't think it has a chance of winning. I think it was a filler nomination.
I also want to say that if Adele doesn't win for "Skyfall" I am going to flip my lid. And speaking of Skyfall, how did this not get nominated for Best Picture? That is a shock to me.