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Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
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Showing posts with label
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.
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"Pride and Prejudice And Zombies" is back from the undead. Err, it's come back to life? No that doesn't work either....
Though within the span of one week it lost its director (David O. Russell, who left to take on the video-game adaptation, "Drake's Fortune") and its lead actress (Natalie Portman, who will still remain on as a producer), the picture is actually rising from the grave once again.
Deadline is reporting that Bradley Cooper and Scarlett Johansson are names that O. Russell had in mind for the lead roles of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet before he left and still should be considered the frontrunners. Meanwhile Lionsgate is claiming no cast has been named yet, but "other actors" are in the mix.
And Pajiba, who seem to shying away from reporting news stories on their blog, instead noting news on their Twitter feed, may have solved who those people are reporting that, Mia Wasikowska, Tilda Swinton and Catherine O'Hara are also possible actresses for the lead, Bennet, Lady Catherin and Mrs. Bennett respectively. Wasikowska would be a good fit, but won't Cary Fukunagas "Jane Eyre" be slightly too similar of period pieces even though Bronte and Austen's style and tone are vastly different? Swinton and O'Hara though, do sound like deliciously good choices and we hope they stick.
Evidently, now that O. Russell is off the project, directors are lining up for the gig and Deadline says one of them is likely going to be David Slade who was on the short list to direct "Wolverine 2" which now looks like it's all but Darren Aronofsky's gig (we still feel odd about this).
Update: Deadline have added another couple of tidbits to their story, suggesting that Mike Newell ("Prince Of Persia," "Donnie Brasco") is the current front-runner to take over from Russell in the director's chair, and that Neil Marshall ("Centurion") is also in consideration. If it's going to be one of the two, please say it'll be Newell, even if he is coming off the worst film of his career...
It's been a busy few weeks for director David O. Russell. With his comeback film "The Fighter" on its way, and looking set to be a major player in the awards season, he's leaping on and off projects like a man possessed. He was reported not so long ago to be considering the Jim Carrey comedy "Under Cover," and it was reported only a few days ago that, along with star Natalie Portman, he'd dropped out of "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" in favor of the comedy "Old St. Louis," with Vince Vaughn and Chloe Moretz, which is set to shoot next March.
Now, the maverick director, who seems to become less and less of a maverick as time goes on, has signed on to another project that he'd been linked to, one that, not so long ago, it seemed that he had turned down. Columbia Pictures announced last night (via Coming Soon) that Russell had signed on to write and direct the tentpole "Uncharted: Drake's Fortune," an adaptation of the blockbuster Playstation 3 game.
The game focused on Nathan Drake, a descendant of Sir Francis Drake and a treasure hunter, as he searches for the lost treasure of El Dorado, with the help of a journalist. Russell was reported to have been offered the project, the first draft of which was written by "Conan" scribes Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer, back in May, but by August negotiations were said to have fallen apart. Clearly, whatever the sticking point was, it has been resolved, as Russell will rewrite Donnelly and Oppenheimer's script, and direct the film. Columbia president Matt Tolmach said in a press release that "David is a tremendous choice to take on this film. He's equally adept at combining all the classic elements involved in this property: great character development, strong comedy and amazing action sequences. He has a brilliant vision for this material and we know he will bring his original, unique voice to this adaptation."
We certainly hope so, because we're not wild about this announcement. The list of good movies made from video games currently stands at a big fat zero, and the derivative nature of "Uncharted" — basically Indiana Jones meets... no, just Indiana Jones — doesn't suggest anything groundbreaking. Having said that, Russell will hopefully be able to bring something fresh to the genre — among its many qualities, "Three Kings" also managed to be a kick-ass action film, so it's not entirely new territory for the filmmaker. But between this, the rather conventional trailer for "The Fighter" and the not-hugely-promising-on-paper "Old St. Louis," we rather pine for the filmmaker who could get something as bonkers as "I Heart Huckabees" made.
There's no word on a start date for the project — Sony were once fast-tracking it for a release next summer, but that certainly isn't happening. If the rumors of filming in March are correct, we imagine that "Old St. Louis" will come first as Russell works on the script. Fans of the game, start your fantasy casting now! (n.b. anyone who says the words "Fillion" and "Nathan," in any order, is sadly deluded.). And note according to the LAT, O. Russell has officially passed on "Under Cover" so we can wipe it off his long-list of potential projects.
Natalie Portman seems determined to break our tiny little geek hearts this week. First, she turned down the lead role in Alfonso Cuarón's "Gravity," and now word arrives that citing scheduling conflicts, the actress will no longer be starring in the adaptation of the best-selling "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies."
This isn't the first roadblock to hit the film as earlier this week, long-attached director David O. Russell left the film after Portman couldn't agree to a start date with the director. He instead has moved on to the road-trip comedy "Old St. Louis" which will shoot next spring. Portman will stay on board the project producing under her Handsomecharlie banner, but it now remains to be seen who take over the lead role of the ass-kicking Elizabeth Bennett (let the rumors begin).
So just to recap: no Portman in either "Gravity" or "Pride And Prejudice And Zombies." But the question now is, what is the project causing a schedule conflict? Could it be the Wachowskis' "Cloud Atlas"? If so, that could go a long way in making up for passing on these two gigs.
"Pride and Prejudice And Zombies" is back from the undead. Err, it's come back to life? No that doesn't work either....
