The Paperboy, an erotic thriller starring Zac Efron, Nicole Kidman, Macy Gray and Matthew McConaughey, is set to hit theatres across North America this weekend.

 

The film received a lengthy standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival and is directed by the openly gay Lee Daniels, who also directed Precious.

 

The film includes a substantial gay sub-plot and has lots of shots of Zac Efron in his tiny white briefs. But beyond this eye-candy, the film is a serious look at the early days of the civil rights movement. It touches on race and sex in the 1960s.

 

It was a “dark and twisted journey,” Efron says.

 

“I really enjoy that it’s a polarizing film -- that people really love it and get it or some people just want to go home and take a shower afterwards,” he says.

 

Below is an interview with Lee Daniels on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film opens in Canada on Oct 19.