Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Sofia Vergara, Zac Efron to Star in 'The Paperboy' (Cannes)

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CANNES -- Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire, Sofia Vergara and Zac Efron will star in an adaptation of the 1995 Pete Dexter novel The Paperboy for Millennium Films.

Lee Daniels is set to direct the sexual thriller, which follows a Miami Times reporter as he returns to his Florida hometown to investigate the imprisonment of a death row inmate. Pedro Almodovar developed a feature project with Dexter for more than a decade before Daniels became involved early this year.

Hilary Shor is producing with Daniels. Avi Lerner, Trevor Short and Danny Dimbort are executive producers.

“This is a good film for us,” said Lerner, “a project that has Pedro Almodovar attached, is set in the steamy South, directed by Lee Daniels, Hilary Shor producing, and with the incredible cast of Matthew, Tobey, Sofia and Zac.”

CAA’s Roeg Sutherland and Maha Dakhil put the package together. Nu Image is repping foreign sales.

E-mail: jay.fernandez@thr.com