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Tag: Quvenzhané Wallis

  • Quvenzhane Wallis’ Name Gets Butchered By Ricky Gervais At Golden Globes

    Quvenzhané Wallis was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the remake of Annie, and she had a real shot at winning it too. However, she lost out to Amy Adams who won for her role in the Tim Burton film Big Eyes. And to make matters (relatively) worse, comedian Ricky Gervais pulled a John Travolta and mispronounced her name when he was announcing the nominees! Gervais, who seemed to be a little tipsy, took to the stage with a drink in hand and his snarky humor going off on all cylinders.

    After mispronouncing Wallis’ name, Gervais (who wasn’t aware of his error) quipped, “I’ve been practicing saying that last name so I don’t have a John Travolta moment.” He was referring to the viral video of Travolta introducing Idina Menzel as “Adele Dazeem” during the 2014 Academy Awards. Gervais added, “I still watch that every day on YouTube. It’s brilliant, eh? It’s just brilliant.”

    The comedian did apologize to Wallis though. In an interview during the Weinstein Company & Netflix Golden Globes After Party, he said, “I apologize to her and anyone else with that name. I did better than John Travolta, though, didn’t I? Gimme that! Nine out of 10?”

    Wallis seems to be used to people mispronouncing her name all the time. The talented 11-year-old actress revealed to Mikey Glazer of The Wrap how to properly pronounce her name (Quvenzhane is pronounced “kwah-ven-zsa-nay”).

    And despite the Golden Globe loss and the Ricky Gervais mishap, Wallis still charmed audiences and looked adorable while doing it as well. Wallis wore a custom-made dress from Armani Junior. The lilac-and-white dress matched perfectly with her cascading curls and pearl jewels. Wallis was recently tapped as the face of Armani Junior, Armani’s children’s clothing brand.

    Wallis received critical acclaim when she was five years old for role as Hushpuppy in the film Beasts of The Southern Wild.

  • Quvenzhané Wallis Is ‘Annie’; Official Trailer Released

    Oscar-nominated child actress Quvenzhané Wallis shines as the famous film orphan in the teaser trailer of Annie, which was finally unveiled on Wednesday. The highly anticipated film is due to hit theaters on Christmas Day.

    Fans of the hit musical Annie who have been waiting for the 2014 remake can finally stop holding their breath. The trailer of the hip-hop influenced film version features scenes of Wallis with co-stars Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. Diaz plays the role of ruthless and alcoholic Miss Hannigan, while Foxx plays the role of Will Stacks, a character based on the Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks of the Broadway musical and 1982 film.

    While the new Annie has a very similar plot to the original movie, it tells a story that is set in a more modern period and a different locale. Audiences are expected to relate more to the updated setting, which features a bustling New York City and a reference to the social media giant, Facebook. The iconic song and dance numbers, however, are very much present in the film.

    The remake, which is co-produced by two of the biggest names in hip-hop, Jay Z and Will Smith, was initially set to feature Smith’s daughter Willow as Annie. Wallis entered the picture when Willow dropped out of the project in 2013 when director Will Gluck was chosen as the film’s director.

    Wallis first turned heads in Hollywood when she starred in the dramatic film Beasts of the Southern Wild as the lead character Hushpuppy. She was nominated in the 2012 Academy Awards for this role, currently making her the youngest Oscar nominee for Best Actress. It was also Wallis’ first major acting job, in which she was said to have lied about her age during the audition. Wallis also starred in the 2013 historical film 12 Years a Slave, which won Best Picture in the 2014 Academy Awards.

    Annie: Official Trailer

    http://youtu.be/luUwSE3M1yk

    Image via YouTube

  • ‘Annie’ Trailer Premieres: It’s a Hard-Knock Life for the Internet

    The beloved Broadway Musical and movie Annie gets a serious makeover in its upcoming remake.

    The modern version of Annie stars Beasts of the Southern Wild‘s Quvenzhane Wallis (Annie), Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx (Benjamin Stacks), Insidious’ Rose Byrne (Grace), and Bad Teacher’s Cameron Diaz (Miss. Hannigan).

    In the original Broadway musical, based on the Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, an orphan named Annie lives in an orphanage run by the terrible Miss. Hannigan. Hannigan basically abuses the children by making them work to extremes. One day Annie’s luck changes, she’s selected to spend time with wealthy Oliver Warbucks. At first Warbucks attempts to distance himself from Annie, but her charm wins him over. Eventually he offers a reward to anyone who finds her real parents. Miss. Hannigan learns about this reward and devises a plan to get the money. She joins forces with impostors posing as Annie’s parents.

    The remake models this plot, with some additional modern twists. In the new Annie, Warbucks becomes Stacks, and he uses Annie to help his political campaign. This version of Annie takes place in the present day-with all the Facebook references and such-while the original musical was set in the 1930s. Another noticeable difference from the original Broadway Annie and this movie version is that it appears auto-tune will be used to alter Wallis’ voice.

    Every time a trailer is released for a highly-anticipated film, the internet has a lot to say. So many people took to Twitter to offer early reviews of the film. They were not impressed.

     

     

    Some, however, remained optimistic and excited by the new Annie.

     

     

     

    Annie hits theaters on December 19.

    Image via Youtube

  • The Onion Apologizes For Quvenzhané Wallis Tweet

    [Warning: one possibly offensive word appears in this article]

    On Sunday night, while the movie industry was celebrating its biggest night, satirical publication The Onion started a Twitter-tantrum by posting a no-holds-barred tweet meant to shock docile red carpet watchers. The tweet involved nine-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis, who was up for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Beasts of the Southern Wild. The tweet was vulgar and quickly deleted, but read:

    Everyone else seems afraid to say it, but that Quvenzhané Wallis is kind of a cunt, right? #Oscars2013

    The tweet was obviously meant to be shocking, but it seemed to have touched that American nerve that is super-sensitive to certain words, especially those that imply racism or sexism.

    Though The Onion issued the internet version of a retraction by deleting the Tweet (why bother?), the sentence had already spread and the flame war had started. Sensing the need to go even further than retraction, The Onion CEO Steve Hannah has issued an apology on the publication’s website and Facebook page. From the apology:

    On behalf of The Onion, I offer my personal apology to Quvenzhané Wallis and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the tweet that was circulated last night during the Oscars. It was crude and offensive—not to mention inconsistent with The Onion’s commitment to parody and satire, however biting.

    No person should be subjected to such a senseless, humorless comment masquerading as satire.

    Hannah also stated that The Onion has put in place “tighter Twitter procedures” and that the publication is “taking immediate steps to discipline those individuals responsible.”

  • Quvenzhane Wallis Scores Big Film Role

    Quvenzhane Wallis, the 9-year old actress who impressed movie-goers and film critics alike last year with her portrayal of Hushpuppy in the Oscar-nominated film “Beasts Of The Southern Wild”, got some good news on Sunday: she’s officially been offered the role of Annie in a new film version of the Broadway classic.

    Wallis has been in talks for the role for a while now after Willow Smith–the daughter of Will and Jada Pinkett-Smith, whose production company, Overbrook Entertainment, is overseeing the project–bowed out due to her age. The young Academy Award nominee was a favorite to win this year for Best Actress, but ultimately lost out to Jennifer Lawrence, who won for “Silver Linings Playbook”.

    Wallis was just six years old when she filmed “Beasts” and has said she still feels confident about her work a few years later.

    “Yeah, I felt like I did good. … [But] I’m not fierce as much anymore. If I have to be fierce, I’ll be fierce,” she said, referring to a comment made about her by director Benh Zeitlin.

    The “Annie” project is one that’s been underway for several years, but those in charge feel they’ve finally found a match to their vision for the lead role.

    “With the recent Academy Award nomination and critical acclaim, Quvenzhane Wallis is a true star and we believe her portrayal as Annie will make her a true worldwide star,” said Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures.

    The film is due out in 2014 and will be helmed by “Easy A” director Will Gluck.

  • Quvenzhané Wallis Adorably Reads an Acceptance Speech from Her Smartphone

    Quvenzhané Wallis is nine years old and has already been nominated for an Academy Award. When I was nine I was kicking ass in schoolyard kickball, so there. I’m a failure.

    Quvenzhané Wallis also thinks that being adorable lets you get away with BRINGING YOUR DAMN IPHONE ON STAGE WITH YOU TO ACCEPT A MAJOR AWARD, which is exactly what she did last night at the 18th annual Critics’ Choice awards.

    After being announced the winner for best actress for her role as Hushpuppy in the also-Oscar-nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild, Quvenzhané lugged her pink-cased smartphone onto the stage with her. At first, I thought it must be serving as some sort of security blanket – the poor girl was nervous, obviously. We know that these damn kids nowadays can’t survive without their devices, so I figured that’s what was happening.

    But no. What Quvenzhané Wallis was doing was killing the crumpled up speech in pocket routine forever and ushering us into the age of digital acceptance speeches. Good on you, Quvenzhané.

    (image)

    It was a short, but cute speech.

    “First, I would like to thank God for all my blessings. I would also like to thank the film critics for this award. Thanks to Mr. Benh Zeitlin and the Court 13 family for thinking I could make a good Hushpuppy. Lastly, to my family, friends and fans. Good night!”

    We’ll have to wait until February to see if she wins and decides to tote her smartphone on stage at the Oscars. She’s facing some tough competition, however.

    [Images via screengrab via BuzzFeed]