Jonathan Demme, Matt Reeves, Mike White, Phil Lord And Chris Miller Also Up For 'Pride & Prejudice & Zombies'

Jonathan Demme, Matt Reeves, Mike White, Phil Lord And Chris Miller Also Up For ‘Pride & Prejudice & Zombies’

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Yesterday it wasreportedthatNeil Marshall,Mike NewellandDavid Sladeare on the short list of filmmakers being considered to directPride and Prejudice and Zombies, andScarlett JohanssonandBradley Coopercircling the lead roles.The Wrapnow adds a couple more interesting names to the list:

Jonathan Demmehas read the script and wants to direct the movie, but he’s not the only one interested in the job, as TheWrap has learned thatMatt Reeves(“Cloverfield”),Mike White(“Year of the Dog”) and the “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” team ofPhil Lord and Chris Millerare also in the mix.

I can understand Demme’s interest, but Matt Reeves seems like a more natural fit coming off of Let Me In. Mike White’s humor seems like an odd match for this property, and his directorial debut Year of the Dog left me thinking he should stick to screenwriting. I have yet to see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, despite constant encouragement to do so from friends. I’ve heard it’s hilarious. I really liked Lord/Miller’s animated television series Clone High U.S.A., but does their cartoon-like sensibility fit this period zombie film (even if it is a ridiculous comic take?).

Previously:

Before he left, David O. Russell had apparently lined upScarlett Johanssonto play Elizabeth Bennett andBradley Cooperto play Mr. Darcy in Seth Grahame-Smith’s zombie-addled take onJane Austen’s classic novel. In addion to the Johansson / Cooper pairing,Bloody Disgustingsays that an offer has been out toMia Wasikowska, with ‘strong interest’ inTilda Swintonto appear as well. David O. Russell wrote the current draft of the script, and we assume that when a new director comes on board he will be involved in a rewrite.

Here is the official plot description from the book:

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.” So beginsPride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Can she vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses,Pride and Prejudice and Zombiestransforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read.