Zac is back. Bruce is back, too. And so are Sly, 50 Cent, Channing Tatum, Matthew McConaughey, WWE Studios and any number of return visitors to Hollywood South. In fact, aside from the sheer number of major feature-film productions preparing to set up shop in New Orleans this summer – which comes on the heels of an already bustling spring 2011 – the standout feature of the slate of arriving movie productions is the number of familiar faces it contains.

Call it the “Boomerang Summer.” Not only is it fun to have so many famous faces in town, but it also speaks volumes to the maturity of the local film industry that so many stars are on their second – or third or even higher – trip to the Crescent City.

For those keeping score at home, here’s a quick rundown of all the major comings and goings on the local film scene…

“The Paperboy”
Director Lee Daniels’ follow-up to his Oscar-nominated 2009 drama “Precious” will apparently bring him to New Orleans in July, with Matthew McConaughey, Tobey Maguire and Zac Efron in tow. (McConaughey’s local credits include 2006′s “Failure to Launch” and this past spring’s “Killer Joe.” Efron spent last winter here on “The Lucky One.”) “Paperboy,” based on the novel by Pete Dexter, is a dark crime drama about a small-town newspaper carrier – the son of the paper’s publisher – who signs on to help his hot-shot reporter brother investigate the death of a death-row inmate. Nu Image / Millennium Films – the same outfit behind such local films as “The Expendables,” “The Mechanic,” “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” and “Drive Angry 3D” – is producing.

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