I Heart Huckabees director joins Natalie Portman for Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
David O. Russell to helm Jane Austen/zombie adaptation
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at first appeared to be a one note literary effort. The title was kind of amusing, to a degree, but surely there was not much more that could be done with this idea? Well apparently a slew of film companies thought otherwise at Seth Graham-Smith’s book, Jane Austen’s original tome with inserted undead characters, was announced as a go project by Richard Kelly’s Darko Films. Then, to add the project some credence, it was surprisingly declared that Natalie Portman, demure enough to play period and kooky enough to be hip, had signed on for the project.
Today, according to Pajiba, the film has taken an even more interesting turn. David O Russell, the hot tempered director of Three Kings, Flirting With Disaster and I Heart Huckabees, is apparently finalizing a deal to direct and adapt the project from page to screen. Although Russell has proved himself a man of some considerable talent, his temper has long been an issue famously starting on set rivalries with George Clooney and Lily Tomlin, whilst James Caan temporarily quit Russell’s unfinished project Nailed due to a clash with the director.
Portman has recently taken on a number of interesting roles ranging from her casting in Thor to her appearance in Darren Aronofsky’s forthcoming Black Swan, already notorious for a sex scene featuring the Harvard graduate and Mila Kunis.
