Quvenzhané Wallis let herself cut loose during an interview with Times magazine, which took place at her favorite hangout, Airline Skate Center.
The interview is an in-depth look at the young star’s charmingly childish presence — a welcome change from the serious characters she has been portraying since she was only nine years old. Early on, Quvenzhané pointed out that some journalists only ask very serious questions and the interview gets a little boring. To keep things interesting though, the young Oscar nominee skates around the rink, eats pizza, and tells jokes here and there.
“Why doesn’t a bicycle stand up on its own?” she asked at one point. The answer? It’s two-tired.
Quvenzhané is all the hype right now, with Annie opening in theatres this month. Director Will Gluck admits that he was “really concerned about not casting broadway kids,” but Quvenzhané did take vocal lessons to prepare for her role as Annie. The soundtrack has already been released, and her natural, young, hopeful voice is surely not disappointing anyone.
Unlike her first big movie, Beasts of the Southern Wild, which is thought of as a post-Katrina parable, Gluck says Annie has no sociopolitical motives. Catsing the film race-blind was only a way to update the film, and modernize it for a new generation.The film stars Jamie Foxx as William Stacks (as opposed to Daddy Warbucks), and Cameron Diaz as Ms. Hannigan. This time around, Annie is living in Hannigan’s foster home, rather than an orphanage. Despite these minor changes, that which made the story a classic is sure to remain. That is, of course, a story of hope.
“There were certain moments when I read the script with her, when she’s supposed to be optimistic, and she was able to do it on her face without being like, ‘I’m optimistic!'” Gluck explained.
Yes, Quvenzhané is definitely something special, but even with all the fame and fortune, she insists things haven’t changed much at home. She still has her two dogs, her school friends (who are curious but treat her just the same), and still loves pizza. Although, she admits, “I’m only 11 and a quarter. Two slices is all I can eat.”
By the end of the interview, the young star was excited to call it quits, offering herself up for only three more questions (which she called after two). She turned her attention to a shooting arcade game, which made her mother a little nervous. However, once she saw how well her daughter was doing, she couldn’t help but let out a celebratory, “who da man?” to which Quvenzhané replied, “I’m da man!”
Photo: Times
