In the pantheon of troubled projects, the adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's mash-up novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will rank right at the top. Grahame-Smith, who also wrote and adapted Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, has been trying to get it off the ground for years with a number of talented folks dipping their toes into the pool before jumping right back out. David O. Russell was initially going to direct it, having also written the screenplay. He left and was followed up for a hot minute by Mike White (Enlightened), and then Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) was around before he too dropped out.
After a long stretch in limbo, the film is now back on course as Panorama Media has joined Darko Enertainment and others in developing the novel for the big screen. Russell's script is still in play, but it was the inability to find a director or lead actress that was always the sticking point. I don't suspect that will suddenly change. Rooney Mara, Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Blake Lively, and Mia Wasikowska all turned down the role of Jane Austen heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, who in this version is an ass-kickin' ninja warrior. The story is exactly what the title says, tossing the undead into Austen's classic period romance.
We'll see if this pushes the needle forward in any noticeable way. I'm not holding my breath.
