R&B Star Maxwell Heads to Lee Daniels’s “Paperboy”

Lee Daniels’s follow up to “Precious” is starting to get interesting. Daniels is adding R&B star Maxwell, a multi-Grammy nominee and award winner, to his cast for “The Paperboy.” Maxwell, who’s 37, is also getting ready to launch a new album at Columbia Records sometime this fall. So he’s about to get hot again. Maxwell’s last album, “Black Summers Night,” was a bestseller in 2009. Now he’s following the lead of Lenny Kravitz, who made his acting debut in “Precious.” Maxwell (real name Maxwell Rivera) was a guest last night at the premiere dinner at Circo for “Sarah’s Key,” arriving with actress Malin Ackerman. Once the owner of a huge Afro, the singer is now going very Don Draper meets Smokey Robinson circa 1962, with a sharp hair cut, 60s classes, close cropped beard and slim suit. He says people keep telling him he should play Marvin Gaye. “But frankly, Jesse L. Martin should have that wrapped up,” admits Maxwell. Still, for a Sam Cooke or Jackie Wilson movie, this is your man, Hollywood. “The Paperboy” already boasts an eclectic cast with Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConnaughey, and Zac Efron.