Some things just aren’t meant to be. One of those things might unfortunately be a film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE AND ZOMBIES; the thing just can’t seem to hold on to a director.
According to the boys over at Twitch, Craig Gillespie (FRIGHT NIGHT) has departed the project, the third director to do so after David O. Russell and Mike White. If true, Gillespie’s departure comes only a few weeks after he told the AITH Podcast that he was in pre-production on the flick and in the casting stage. Curious stuff…
Lionsgate, the studio developing the film, has had a rough go of it. Aside from the director situation, the movie hasn’t been able to lock down a lead actress, with Natalie Portman opting to be involved only as a producer, and Emma Stone reportedly turning down the opportunity to slay the undead in a corset. Apparently, actor Dominic Cooper is still attached to play the male lead, Mr. Darcy.
Thankfully, things are going well for Mr. Grahame-Smith’s other projects: Filming was completed on the adaptation of his ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, while shooting moves forward in London on DARK SHADOWS, for which he wrote the screenplay.
We’ll keep you updated on the troubled flick as more news comes in…
Natalie Portman