Consider this an official announcement: Craig Gillespie will direct PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES for Lionsgte!
Word comes from Deadline, who notes that after Mike White bowed out of the project, Gillespie has been the frontrunner all along. David Katzenberg was also in the race, but it appears Lionsgate will shortly go public with the announcement that Gillespie is their man!
Gillespie, who has FRIGHT NIGHT in the can, also directed LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, MR. WOODCOCK, and five episodes of Showtime series “The United States of Tara.” Looks like he’s staying in the comedic-horror subgenre!
Scripted by Seth Grahame-Smith (adapted from his own novel) PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES will tell the timeless story of a woman’s quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers.
Of course, with one solid flick to his name so far, and reports of a disappointing FRIGHT NIGHT preview screening, it may behoove Gillespie to sign onto his next project before FRIGHT NIGHT hits screens this August. Just a thought.
Anyway, you like the decision from Lionsgate? Is Gillespie competent enough to bring the novel to life, or should Grahame-Smith been given the opportunity to direct his own material? Remember, he was jointly in talks with Katzenberg to see the film through.
FRIGHT NIGHT’S Imogen Poots!