The Playlist

Minka Kelly To Play Jackie Kennedy Opposite Matthew McConaughey's JFK In Lee Daniels' 'The Butler,' Lenny Kravitz Also Joins

By Ryan Gowland
|
May 23, 2012 9:20 AM
|
3 Comments

News

While "Precious" helmer Lee Daniels is nominally in Cannes at the moment to promote the debut of the follow up to his Oscar-nominee, "The Paperboy," which screens tomorrow morning (keep your eyes peeled for our review), it seems the director also intends to leak out casting news for his upcoming project, "The Butler." Earlier this week, it was revealed that Daniels would reunite with his "Paperboy" star Nicole Kidman on the project, and now Daniels has revealed that "Friday Night Lights" star Minka Kelly and "Precious" actor Lenny Kravitz have been added to the growing ensemble of "The Butler" as well.

More:

Nicole Kidman To Reunite With 'The Paperboy' Helmer Lee Daniels For 'The Butler'

By Simon Dang
|
May 21, 2012 8:20 AM
|
2 Comments

News

With their teaming on "The Paperboy" set to unveil this Thursday at Cannes, it seems Lee Daniels and Nicole Kidman aren't sick of each other's company just yet, with the two lining up a reunion on the helmer's next project, "The Butler."

More:

Watch: Lee Daniels Is Playing With iMovie Transitions Again In New Clip From 'The Paperboy'

By Simon Dang
|
May 18, 2012 9:30 AM
|
3 Comments

News

Remember Lee Daniels juxataposing a rape scene with the carving of a turkey in "Precious"? Yeah, subtlety isn't exactly the director's strong point, showy, sub-film-student directorial flourishes having tarnished his previous film, and the helmer is at it again with the uneccessary iMovie transitions in this latest clip from "The Paperboy," which showcases the stellar cast of Matthew McConaughey, Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and David Oyelowo.

More:

Watch: First Clip Of John Cusack & Matthew McConaughey In Lee Daniels' 'The Paperboy'

By Oliver Lyttelton
|
May 10, 2012 8:02 AM
|
17 Comments

News

Of all the movies that start to unspool at the Cannes Film Festival next week, perhaps the biggest question mark for us is "The Paperboy." Based on the novel by Pete Dexter, it seems to be, on the surface at least, a crime procedural that might make a decent amount of money, but wouldn't necessarily be the kind of fare that traditionally ends up in the Official Selection at Cannes. The cast is led by a number of actors -- Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack, Zac Efron -- who in recent years have found critical acclaim elusive, along with a lead actress, Nicole Kidman, who's done great work of late, but also some pretty terrible work too. And director Lee Daniels made his debut with the laughable "Shadowboxer," and his directorial excesses came close to unbalancing his breakthrough "Precious."

More:

Matthew McConaughey, Terrence Howard & Cuba Gooding Jr. Circling Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

By Edward Davis
|
May 9, 2012 6:45 PM
|
2 Comments

News

Post "Precious" in 2009, the world seemed to be filmmaker Lee Daniels' oyster. The aforementioned drama had scored six Oscar nominations, won two and the gestating projects started to pile up. There was the civil rights drama "Selma," which garnered interest from Robert DeNiro, Hugh Jackman and Liam Neeson, a potential adaptation of "Miss Saigon," and Denzel Washington was attached to his project "The Butler."

More:

New Photos Of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron & Matthew McConaughey In Lee Daniels' 'The Paperboy'

By Simon Dang
|
April 22, 2012 8:57 AM
|
7 Comments

News

Fresh off news about its appearance at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival, we now have a few new stills from Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy," his sophomore directorial effort featuring the leading trio of Nicole Kidman, Zac Efron and Matthew McConaughey.

More:

Oprah Winfrey, Hugh Jackman, Mila Kunis, John Cusack & David Oyelowo Sought For Lee Daniels' 'The Butler'

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
February 15, 2012 11:17 PM
|
0 Comments

News

Lee Daniels certainly knows how to draw in the stars. After breaking through with his low budget indie "Precious," which found people like Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey and Mo'Nique appearing, the director (after a highly publicized stalled project in "Selma" -- which we'll get to in a moment) put together "The Paperboy" with Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, Zac Efron, John Cusack, David Oyelowo and more. And now, a project Daniels became involved with nearly two years ago is bubbling back to life, and it seems like he's slowly building a roster of regular players.

More:

David Oyelowo Says Lee Daniels' Aborted 'Selma' Is Still Happening

By Gabe Toro
|
January 12, 2012 10:59 AM
|
0 Comments

News

With roles in "Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes" and "The Help" last year, David Oyelowo has maintained a high level of visibility, and that's bound to continue into 2012 as he re-surfaces in next weekend's "Red Tails," "The Paperboy" and "Lincoln," with the Tom Cruise vehicle "One Shot," already slated for 2013. But his star would have rocketed to a distinctly different level had shooting not been scuttled on "Selma," Lee Daniels' ("Precious") planned film about the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march. Oyelowo was set to star as Martin Luther King Jr. in a cast that would have included Robert DeNiro, Hugh Jackman and Liam Neeson.

More:

'Precious' Filmmaker Lee Daniels To Direct Untitled LGBT Showtime Drama

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
October 11, 2011 3:49 AM
|
0 Comments

Director Lee Daniels continues to spend his post-"Precious" time stacking up projects. He's finally at work on his next full length picture, "The Paperboy" after his MLK project couldn't get off the ground due to financing and a lack of support from the civil rights leader's estate. As it goes for many high profile directors these days, television is proving to be a new and fertile creative ground, and for Daniels that's no less true.

More:

Lee Daniels Will Visit 'Valley Of The Dolls' For NBC

By Kevin Jagernauth
|
September 27, 2011 4:24 AM
|
0 Comments

In case you didn't get the memo, period programming is the new black. Thanks to the runaway success of "Mad Men," ailing network channels who have been losing viewers to better programming on their cable rivals have been falling over themselves to try and replicate the popularity of AMC's show. This past weekend, ABC bowed the very expensive looking, though somewhat middling "Pan Am," while NBC is already two episodes deep in their poorly received "The Playboy Club." Perhaps sensing they might need to get another show moving if 'Playboy' doesn't pick up, the network is looking to one of the most popular melodramas of all time to try and find a winner, and have now found a helmer who knows his way around a genre to help out.

More: