CAMERON DIAZ PLAYS MEAN MISS HANNIGAN IN “ANNIE”

Press release

Most foster moms are kind and devoted people working hard to help a kid who needs a hand. And then there's Miss Hannigan, whom Cameron Diaz plays in Columbia Pictures' new, energetic comedy “Annie” based on the beloved Broadway musical.

For this onetime woulda-coulda-shoulda-been pop star, being a foster mom isn't about giving back - it's about taking all you can get (like a stipend from the state for the kids' care). With five kids sharing one room, Hannigan will do anything to keep that gravy train going.

In creating a new version of Miss Hannigan, Diaz welcomed the opportunity to portray a classic character while also breaking new ground. "I grew up with Annie, and I love Carol Burnett's performance as Miss Hannigan," she says. "When it was announced that I was playing the character, I got people of all ages, all walks of life, coming up to me, 'I hear you're playing Hannigan - I love Hannigan, she's my favorite character!' Everybody knows this character. In this movie, I had a chance to play a role that people are familiar with, but she's been brought into present day in such a fun and contemporary way. So I jumped right on board - it was an amazing opportunity to sing and dance in a film."

Diaz adds, "Miss Hannigan is a wonderful, delicious role to play. You get to be this over-the-top villain while also making kids laugh because you're more ridiculous than scary. Miss Hannigan is like the Wicked Stepmother or Captain Hook - even tiny kids get it: you want to see the hero kid beat the bad guy grownup. So many great comediennes have played this part, and I am proud to be a part of Hannigan's lineage."

In this telling of Annie, Miss Hannigan has a unique history. "She had a failed attempt at being a pop star 20 years ago, and has never gotten over not being famous," Diaz explains. "She thinks that if she were famous, she would be happy. But, in fact, she really needs to learn to love herself."

Which is to say that Hannigan has some very misplaced blame for the reason she's not happy. "She's at the bottom of her barrel - she really thinks these girls are in her life to punish her, somehow. Still, she's not a bad person at heart - she's just really lost her way." As a result, when the wannabe celebrity finds one of those girls taken in by a true celebrity and becomes a media sensation herself, Hannigan takes it as a personal affront.

A Broadway classic that has delighted audiences for generations comes to the big screen with a new, contemporary vision in Columbia Pictures’ comedy “Annie.” Director/Producer/Screenwriter Will Gluck teams with producers James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith & Will Smith, Caleeb Pinkett, and Shawn “JAY Z” Carter, Laurence “Jay” Brown, and Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith with a modern telling that captures the magic of the classic characters and original show that won seven Tony Awards.

Academy Award® nominee Quvenzhané Wallis (Beasts of the Southern Wild) stars as Annie, a young, happy foster kid who's also tough enough to make her way on the streets of New York in 2014. Originally left by her parents as a baby with the promise that they'd be back for her someday, it's been a hard knock life ever since with her mean foster mom Miss Hannigan (Cameron Diaz). But everything's about to change when the hard-nosed tycoon and New York mayoral candidate Will Stacks (Jamie Foxx) - advised by his brilliant VP, Grace (Rose Byrne) and his shrewd and scheming campaign advisor, Guy (Bobby Cannavale) - makes a thinly-veiled campaign move and takes her in. Stacks believes he's her guardian angel, but Annie's self-assured nature and bright, sun-will-come-out-tomorrow outlook on life just might mean it's the other way around.

 “Annie” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

CAMERON DIAZ LEAVES INHIBITIONS BEHIND IN COMEDY “SEX TAPE”

Movie release material

She has starred in more films that have grossed more than $100 million internationally than any other actress. “The Mask.” “There's Something About Mary.” “Charlie's Angels.” “Shrek.” “The Green Hornet.” “Bad Teacher.” These are just a few of Cameron Diaz's global blockbusters, and now she re-teams with her “Bad Teacher” co-star, Jason Segel, and director, Jake Kasdan, in the outrageous new comedy, “Sex Tape.”

In the film, Jay (Segel) and Annie (Diaz) are a married couple still very much in love, but ten years and two kids have cooled the passion. To get it back, they decide – why not? – to make a video of themselves trying out every position in The Joy of Sex in one marathon three-hour session. It seems like a great idea, until they discover that their most private video has gone public. In a panic, they begin a wild night of adventure – tracking down leads, roping in friends, duping Annie’s boss – all to reclaim their video, their reputation, their sanity, and, most importantly, their marriage.Ultimately, much of the execution is about the actors who play the parts, and both Jason and Cameron have this deep, inherent honesty to what they do.”

“I was hoping for the opportunity to work with Jake and Jason again,” says Diaz. “The experience of `Bad Teacher' was so much fun, but it happened so fast. It was one of those films that had to be done very quickly – there was no time to play. `Sex Tape' was very different, and a very intimate experience for the three of us because of the content and the humor.”

Director Kasdan notes that the roles of Annie and Jay were written expressly for Cameron Diaz and Jason Segel. “Working with Cameron and Jason on `Bad Teacher' was one of the great experiences I've ever had,” says Kasdan. “And I really wanted to find something else for them – I knew that they were hilarious together and I knew that, in these very different roles, we could pick up where we had left off on the first movie and do something completely new. I had a strong hunch that there would be something kind of spectacular between them, in these characters, and they surpassed all of my hopes and expectations. As actors, they are both hugely supportive teammates that really commit, and as comedians, they're generous with each other and eager to set each other up to get a laugh. They pitch jokes for each other... And then of course, they're both just hugely appealing, on their own and together"

To portray Annie, Cameron Diaz says she embraced her character’s everywoman qualities. “Annie is a mom, she’s a wife—someone for whom everything is about her family,” describes Diaz. “She loves her partnership with her husband and has an adventurous and playful spirit—she’s content with her life and she utilizes her blog as a release. It’s a way of talking about the things that she cares about, to work them out for herself as well as her readers. As Annie expresses on her blog, you always remember what it was like in the beginning of the relationship and wonder how can we get that back. When you’ve been with somebody for a long time it’s hard to keep the physical part of your relationship going – you really have to work at it.”

Diaz says she was never intimidated by the material, because she knew that she would be working with Segel. “Considering that this is a film where we had to be naked with each other, here was a partnership where I could feel so safe and at the same time, completely playful,” she says. “We could laugh and find humor in what we were doing and at the same time tell the story of these two people who really love each other in a real way. We’re not trying to be shocking just for the sake of shocking. Annie and Jay are doing some crazy stuff that they never thought they would ever do, and they’re doing it with somebody they each feel safe with. And that’s how I feel about Jason – he’s just the guy you can do that with.”

“Cameron is really game,” says Segel, “and she’s a student of comedy. One of my pet peeves is people who settle for pleasant instead of funny, and Cameron goes for it every time.”

“Sex Tape” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.

CAMERON DIAZ IS LENORE, “THE GREEN HORNET'S” BRILLIANT SECRETARY

She's an established star in genres of comedy, action and drama.  Most recently heard in the role of Princess Fiona in the final installation of the enormously successful Shrek franchise, “Shrek Forever After,” Cameron Diaz now stars as the brilliant Lenore Case in Columbia Pictures' exciting new 3D action comedy “The Green Hornet.”

            Directed by Michel Gondry, “The Green Hornet” revolves around Britt Reid (Seth Rogen), the son of LA’s most prominent and respected media magnate and perfectly happy to maintain a directionless existence on the party scene – until his father (Tom Wilkinson) mysteriously dies, leaving Britt his vast media empire.  Striking an unlikely friendship with one of his father’s more industrious and inventive employees, Kato (Jay Chou), they see their chance to do something meaningful for the first time in their lives: fight crime.  To get close to the criminals, they come up with the perfect cover: they’ll pose as criminals themselves.  Protecting the law by breaking it, Britt becomes the vigilante The Green Hornet as he and Kato hit the streets.

            Cameron Diaz brought the updated character of Britt Reid’s secretary to life.  “I was in New York and got a call that Seth Rogen and Michel Gondry were doing “The Green Hornet.”  Those two names separately were incredibly interesting to me.  But hearing those names together?  It made the project completely irresistible.  When I thought of those two minds together, I didn't care what it was.  I just had to be a part of it.”

            Lenore Case was a character that was carried from the original '30s radio serial incarnation of “The Green Hornet” over into the film – in a slightly different incarnation.  In the 1930s, Lenore Case was a woman ahead of her times.  In 2011, Lenore is a woman of her times.  “She’s smarter than both Britt and Kato put together,” laughs Diaz.  “They have no idea what they’re doing, whether it’s running a newspaper or being vigilante crime-fighters.  Lenore is passionate about journalism and she’s obsessed with criminology and forensics.”

            “The only thing Lenore doesn’t know is that she’s the brains of the Green Hornet operation,” says producer Neal Moritz.  “She’s doing the research for Britt and Kato, feeding them information.  She thinks it’s because Britt needs to know all of this for the newspaper, but in reality they’re using her research to go out there and be the Green Hornet and Kato.”

            Moritz says, “We were so lucky to have Cameron play Lenore.  She’s obviously known for her comedy.  It was easy for us to have scenes between the three of them that were not only endearing and emotional but really funny as well.”

            Reflecting on the high level of collaboration that was so evident in the filming of “The Green Hornet,” Diaz says, “It’s really a great partnership and a lot of fun working with them.  You’ll be on set and Michel comes in and gives the direction.  Then Seth and [co-producer and co-writer] Evan Goldberg hear that and talk to Michel about a new line of dialogue.  All of a sudden there’s this synergistic thing that happens – the set is a blender, all these ingredients are being poured in, you push a button, and out comes the perfect piña colada.”

            Cameron Diaz next stars in “Bad Teacher,” also for Columbia Pictures.

            Now showing in cinemas across the Philippines, “The Green Hornet” is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.  Visit http://www.columbiapictures.com.ph for trailers, exclusive content and free downloads.  Like us at www.Facebook.com/ColumbiaPicturesPH and join our fan contests.