Will Smith & Jay-Z Seek Emma Thompson For "Annie" Remake

That's certainly a headline I never thought I would read:

Insiders recently spilled the beans to Vulture, announcing that Will Smith and his producing partner, Jay-Z, are in negotiations with screenwriter/actress Emma Thompson to re-adapt Annie for Smith's youngest child, Willow.

One of the Fresh Prince's kids already has his own remake franchise brewing (son Jaden, and The Karate Kid) and the Hollywood mainstay is balancing his family dynamics by doing the same thing for his daughter. Thompson, who scripted both Nanny McPhee films and 1995's Oscar-winning Sense and Sensibility is being courted by Smith's Overbrook Productions to bring her impressive resume as a screenwriter to the table.

If Thompson agrees to pen the new version of Annie, this will mark the beginning of a possible fruitful relationship between Smith and Jay-Z that Columbia Pictures announced back in January.

Vulture also speculates that the energetic writer could possibly star in the film too, in the role of Miss Hannigan, the child-hating head of the orphanage where Annie resides. While Will Smith may have passed on Django: Unchained, he's making sure to build a strong career for his children. Do we see the beginnings of the Smith Dynasty that will dominate filmmaking of the future?

Let's hope she takes the job. Until then, audiences can see Emma Thompson alongside Will Smith as she plays "Agent Oh" in next summer's Men In Black III.