Lee Daniels has been having more trouble than you might expect since winning plaudits for Precious, finding it difficult to get funding for projects despite his critical success. He’ll be hoping for more luck with The Paperboy, especially as Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Sofía Vergara, and Zac Efron have all joined the cast (although a big name cast didn’t help hi Civil Right drama, Selma, which is currently on hold)
The project is an adaptation of Peter Dexter’s 1995 novel of the same name, which follows a Miami Times reporter who comes back to his Florida hometown to investigate a death row inmate and how he was imprisoned. There’s no news on what roles the actors are playing, although it seems it’s McConaughey who’s in the lead.
The adaptation was being developed for over a decade by filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar and author Peter Dexter. It appears Almodovar is still involved in some capactity, but Lee Daniels will now direct. (THR)