How Lee Daniels found his 'Paperboy' cast

Even without knowing the plot to Lee Daniels' "The Paperboy," you probably know who's starring in it.

Thanks to a now infamous scene between Nicole Kidman and Zac Efron, in which Kidman urinates on her younger co-star, those two actors have drawn plenty of attention to the project.

But arriving at such a varied cast, which also includes John Cusack, Matthew McConaughey, Macy Gray and David Oyelowo, was certainly an evolution, director Daniels told us.

"The universe had me with a completely different cast. Sofia Vergara, Bradley Cooper, Tobey Maguire. It happens like that on every movie that I work on," he said Wednesday at "The Paperboy's" New York Film Festival premiere. "You know, because we don’t pay any money - people have to take jobs. Real jobs. ‘Cause we only offer, like, skittles and pretzels and a couple dollars. You better hope your check don’t bounce! Seriously!"

Instead of a promising payday, Daniels said he hooks actors with a strong script.

“If it’s a really good script you can get enormous talent because it all starts with the word," he said. "If the word is good, the characters are good ... We can rock and roll from there.”

Daniels found himself "putting together this great ensemble of talent together at the last minute," and on set it was akin to "putting on a play," he said.

"Nicole is putting on her own makeup, and Zac is the craft services, and John Cusack is pushing furniture. We’re there as a family to tell the story, and it’s a beautiful thing.”