Craig Gillespie has left Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, making him the third attached director to do so and this project is on its way to becoming mission impossible.
David O. Russell was to direct the seemingly-doomed adaptation based on Seth Grahame-Smith's zombie-style re-interpretation of Jane Austen's 'Pride & Prejudice,' but he exited late last year; Russel was replaced last November with Mike White, who dropped out in January. Gillespie has been attached to helm the film since April and, though rumors that the director had left the project hit in August, they were denied by Lionsgate reps; not to mention Christopher Smith was also rumored to be in the running after White has left his poster.
It seems that disagreements over casting made Gillespie leave period romance remix. In fact, it is a similar problem with low budged that caused Russell, who wrote the script, to leave. (White was forced to exit due to scheduling conflicts with his HBO series Enlightened)
If you remember, actresses who turned down offers to play heroine Elizabeth Bennett include Natalie Portman, Mia Wasikowska, Scarlett Johansson, Emma Stone and Blake Lively.
However, Lionsgate must be thinking about reorganizing their diary since the beginning of next year doesn't seem likely.
Earlier this year Fright Night's director told ShockYa:
It really stays true to Jane Austen's dialogue and storyline, which contains a lot of humor… and then they take the zombie threat really seriously, and it can be very scary. It's this great mash-up, and with martial arts everywhere. (laughs) [Except for one] large plot point, they stay true to the book, so there's a lot of those sequences, and it really motors along. We're out to actors now, and we're hoping to be shooting by the end of the year.
After all, money talks. The book that launched the Seth Grahame-Smith's popularity is now available in eBook format in case it might be time to just let the movie dream die…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkezjF1SOBE[/youtube]
Pride & Prejudice & Zombies: The Interactive Book App
