The act of directing suggests, well, direction — that whether it comes together as planned or not, a filmmaker is pursuing a particular vision he or she wants to put on screen. But this is not the sense you get from The Paperboy, the new film from Precious' Lee Daniels, a feature that feels like it's been assembled scene by scene on whatever whims were guiding the director that day. No return to an opening framing sequence with narrator Macy Gray? Zac Efron's face superimposed over the bright Florida sky? The already infamous jellyfish-enabled watersports scene? Another in which Nicole Kidman and John Cusack have mind sex in a prison visiting room in front of an audience?
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This is Thursday in Cannes: Zac Efron in tighty-whities, Nicole Kidman as a luscious sex kitten, Matthew McConaughey as a journalist with a sexual secret and a very creepy John Cusack. Such was just the tip of the iceberg this morning in Lee Daniels's outrageous The Paperboy, which will have its world premiere tonight as the festival hits its final swing. Opinions seemed to range wildly in all directions following the film's early morning screening: Applause and cries of "Bravo!" mixed with boos, laughter and a swift rush out of the huge Lumière Theatre to get reaction from Daniels and the cast at the press conference. The conversation in the press room took cues from the film's flamboyant flare, and then it went from there.
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There've been updates about The Paperboy's casting for awhile, but only now do I realize the gravity of what's occurring. Um, wow: Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron are sharing a screen! And John Cusack! And Matthew McConaughey, for the hell of it! And -- what now? -- Lee Daniels is directing! They should call this quaint tale Extra Precious: Based on the Cutie 'Zac' by Efron. Synopsis and impressive poster after the jump.
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Answer: A film entitled The Paperboy, based on Pete Dexter's 1995 novel. I know, I know; when you hear the word "paperboy" you think A) minimum wage-earning neighborhood scamp, B) the 1984 Atari video game, or C) the 1993 hip-hop jam "Ditty," by the rapper Paperboy. But no! Pedro Almodovar, Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, Tobey Maguire, Sofia Vergara, and Precious director Lee Daniels have another Paperboy in mind.
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