Will Smith Confirmed to Produce Annie Remake Starring Daughter Willow

Looks like it's going to be a hard knock life for Willow Smith after all. Deadline.com confirms recent reports that the pop star's father, Will Smith and his fellow Fela producer Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter will adapt the Tony-winning musical Annie as a film, with the "Whip My Hair" singer starring as the title character.

The movie will be developed by Sony Pictures Entertainment alongside Smith's Overbrook Entertainment and Carter. "The time is right to bring back Annie to the big screen," said Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad. "Of course, we're true believers in Willow's talent and believe she will be perfect in this role. Combining Willow with the Overbrook team that reimagined The Karate Kid and the spectacular Jay-Z makes this a dream project. A decade ago, Jay-Z proved that the power of the underlying Broadway property remains, by showing how these songs could be reinterpreted for a new generation with 'Hard Knock Life.'"

Annie first opened on Broadway on April 21, 1977 and ran for 2,377 performances. Featuring music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin and a book by Thomas Meehan, the musical took home seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. The musical has previously been adapted for the big screen in 1982 and again as a 1999 made-for-TV movie. A James LaPine-directed revival is eyeing a Broadway run in 2012.

In a recent poll Broadway.com readers voted that they'd like to see Tony winner Hugh Jackman take on the role of Annie's father figure, Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks.

Just for fun, click below to watch Jay-Z's 1998 sampling of "Hard Knock Life" from Annie: