Film adaptation of Pete Dexter’s The Paperboy nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes 2012

April 20, 2012

The Paperboy, adapted by Pete Dexter from his novel of the same name and directed by Lee Daniels, has been nominated for the Palme d'Or prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival. Joining Lee in competition are Jacques Audiard, Ken Loach, Michael Haneke and Wes Anderson to name a few. The winner will be announced on the 27 May, the last day of the festival.

The film adaption has been in the pipeline for some years since the highly acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodovar began developing the project with the author Pete Dexter over the course of 10 years. Lee Daniels has joined the team and will be directing the project as well as producing along with Almodovar, Hilary Shor and Ed Canthell.

A host of stars make up the cast with Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughy playing the investigative duo Jack and Ward James, and Nicole Kidman and John Cusack starring alongside them.

The Paperboy is a 1960s-era thriller that follows Ward James, a respected journalist, and his brother Jack, a college dropout, investigating the possible wrongful conviction of a death row inmate who was found guilty of killing the town’s sheriff in Florida. They barrel down back roads and seamy places in search of The Story, racing flat out into a shocking head-on collision between character and fate as truth takes a back seat to headline news...