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"Annie" With A Modern Twist On The Big Screen

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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – "Annie," a Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations, is back on the big screen with a new, contemporary spin.

The film has an A-list team of producers including Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z.

It's a modern, hip tale that captures the magic of the original show, which won seven Tonys.

CBS4's Lisa Petrillo sat down with some of the cast.

It's a whole new "Annie" on the big screen.

Annie is no longer a red-headed orphan; she's an African-American foster child who is happy and tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York City.  Gone is Daddy Warbucks, in the modern movie version it's Will Stacks, played by Jaime Foxx, a hardnosed billionaire and mayoral candidate whose scheming campaign advisors see this little girl as an opportunity to win.

Academy award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis plays Annie.

"It was really fun doing everything playing Annie. I watched the original a million times. It was just great doing it all and being Annie," said Wallis.

Jamie Foxx patterned his tough but loveable tycoon's character after a personal friend.

"I patterned myself after P. Diddy Combs if he was running for mayor. I thought about how he would approach it today's world and then you see him with his family. I watched Puffy with his kids and how sweet he is with them and said that's what I need to be," said Foxx.

"Mrs. Hannigan," played by Cameron Diaz, is Annie's foster care mother who is also a frustrated pop star.

Miss Hannigan represents an epidemic in our society where we put our self-worth on how many likes we have and how many people follow us on our social media. "It's actually sad," Diaz said.

Bobby Cannavale is a scheming campaign advisor who only thinks of winning.

"He's not unlike anyone we get to see Sunday morning on the news channel punditing away" he said.

Still, the sun will come out tomorrow despite the hard-knocked life and a few new songs as well.

For more info, visit www.Annie-movie.com.

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