It was anything but a hard-knock life for two distinct audiences that got surprise visits Wednesday from the stars of the upcoming feature film "Annie."

Oscar winner Jamie Foxx and young Oscar nominee Quvenzhané Wallis ("Beasts of the Southern Wild") spent a good chunk of the morning at Brooklyn Center's Northport Elementary School, one of 35 schools in the country that the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities is working with to add more culture to their curriculum.

Private and public funding is helping Northport stage its first musical — which just happens to be "Annie."

Foxx, Wallis and the movie's director, Will Gluck, greeted about 500 students during a high-energy assembly, followed by an "American Idol"-type audition in the school library.

Not that Foxx bore any resemblance to Simon Cowell. The actor showered praise on the four youngsters who got a chance to sing for him.

"Stylish, brother," Foxx said after a courageous fifth-grader boldly announced that he was trying out for the title role and sang a version of "Tomorrow." "Just remember: What's on the other side of fear? Nothing!"

Actor Jamie Foxx

Foxx himself didn't sing — with the exception of an effort to learn the school's gospel-inspired theme song, "Do the Right Thing."

"He's so cute," said the school's upbeat principal, Leona Derden, resting her head on Foxx's shoulder.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the trio headed to the Mall of America, where 150 members of the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program assembled for the very first advance screening of the movie. Foxx welcomed the packed theater by strolling down the aisles, high-fiving as many people as he could and grabbing a few handfuls of popcorn

The film, which co-stars Cameron Diaz and Rose Byrne, will be released nationwide in December.

Neal Justin • 612-673-7431