After having a tough time getting a follow-up to precious off the ground, it seems director Lee Daniel is having a few difficulties firming up the cast for the movie he’s settled on, The Paperboy. Back in May, we reported that Tobey Maguire, Sofía Vergara, Matthew McConaughey, and Zac Efron had joined the cast. However shooting was pushed back after Tobey Maguire stepped away from the project last week. The delay also cut into Sofía Vergara’s shooting schedule on the sitcom Modern Family, which means she’s had to drop out as well.
Matthew McConaughey and Zac Efron are still attached to The Paperboy, and it looks like Vergara’s replacement may already have been found, as THR reports that Nicole Kidman is now in talks to take her place.
The Paperboy a reporter, who, along with his brother, starts investigating a Death Row inmate to try and clear his name. Nicole Kidman will play a mysterious woman who writes letters to Death Row inmates, and develops a relationship with the reporter.
Lee Daniels will direct The Paperboy from a script by Pedro Almodóvar and author Peter Dexter, which is adapted from Peter Dexter’s 1995 novel of the same name.