Will Smith,Jay-Z team to remake Annie

Jay-Z sampled the tune Its A Hard Knock Life,from the Annie musical,in his hit Hard Knock Live Ghetto Anthem. The film will be developed with Sony Pictures Entertainment and produced by Overbrook Entertainment and Jay-Z real name: Shawn Carter. Jada,Will,Lassiter and Jay-Z decided to form the partnership over a recent dinner. They also co-invested in beauty products line Carols Daughter,and co-produced the Broadway production of Fela!,which earned 11 Tony Award nominations in 2010.

Willow Smith signed onto Jay-Zs record label,Roc Nation,which produced her first single titled Whip My Hair,which has been certified Platinum.

The time is right to bring back Annie to the big screen. Of course,were true believers in Willows talent and believe she will be perfect in this role, said Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad in a statement. Combining Willow with the Overbrook team that reimagined Karate Kid and the spectacular Jay-Z makes this a dream project. Said Jay-Z in a statement,The Overbrook Entertainment family and I have a unified vision. Weve already produced a Tony Award-winning play and were developing a true superstar in Willow.

Overbrook Entertainment has generated more than 2.5 billion in revenue by producing some of Smiths films like Ali,Hitch,Pursuit Of Happyness,I Am Legend and The Karate Kid.

Michael Fassbender to star in Prometheus
Michael Fassbender will star opposite Noomi Rapace in Prometheus,20th Century Fox studio8217;s science-fiction project that was once an Alien prequel.

Ridley Scott is directing the movie,which just shifted release dates,moving from March 2012 to a high-profile summer release of June 8,2012.

Much of the story line is shrouded in secrecy,but Scott said the movie will have Alien DNA with Fassbender playing an android. He was one of the breakouts from Inglourious Basterds,booking several high-profile roles off that film,including that of Magneto in Fox8217;s X-Men: First Class.

He was offered the Prometheus role last year when it was still the Alien prequel,with talks on and off throughout the fall. His other film credits include 300,Jonah Hex and the indie feature Fish Tank.

Viggo Mortensen eyeing role in Snow White movie
Viggo Mortensen is in negotiations to star in Snow White And The Huntsman,one of two high-profile Snow White projects around town.

Charlize Theron is in talks to play the evil queen,and Universal is screen-testing actresses for the role of Snow White. Emily Browning,who appears in Zack Snyder8217;s Suckerpunch,tested last weekend. This retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale plays up the character of the Huntsman,a secondary character in the centuries-old tale,who becomes Snow White8217;s protector and mentor.

Michael Fassbender had been in news for the part; the actor is now co-starring with Noomi Rapace in Fox8217;s Prometheus. Mortensen last starred in The Road.

The other Snow White project,by indie financier Relativity Media, is in the development stage. Tarsem Singh The Cell is likely to direct this untitled movie. The action begins with the evil stepmother killing Snow Whites father and destroying the kingdom. The heroine then bands together with a gang of seven quarrelsome dwarves to reclaim what is rightly hers.

Director Jacksons surgery to delay Hobbit filming
Filming of the widely-anticipated Hobbit movies will be delayed because director Peter Jackson is recovering from surgery for a perforated ulcer,a spokeswoman said. Jackson,49,who directed the hit Lord Of The Rings film trilogy in his native New Zealand,was admitted to a hospital in Wellington last Wednesday evening with acute stomach pains.

Sir Peter is currently resting comfortably and his doctors expect him to make a full recovery, spokeswoman Melissa Booth said in a statement. The surgery is not expected to affect his directing commitment to the Hobbit beyond a slight delay to the start of filming.

Filming of the two movies of The Hobbit,based on the J.R.R. Tolkien fantasy novel,had been expected to start around the middle of February. The first movie will be released in December 2012 and the second is expected a year later. The movies have been beset by a succession of problems,most notably the threat last year by Time Warner Inc unit Warner Bros. to move production overseas because of fears that the unions would impose a boycott to back demands for a collective contract.

The move could have cost New Zealand an estimated 1.5 billion and threatened the country8217;s fledgling film industry.

In response,the government last year changed labour laws to keep the estimated 500 million production and increased tax breaks for Warner Bros.