By Rob Bricken in
Miscellaneous, Movies
Friday, Dec. 11 2009 @ 11:15AM
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Given Natalie Portman's elegant demeanor, a turn in a period Jane Austen adaptation was inevitable. Portman will star in and produce "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," a film that is based on the bestselling book written by Seth Grahame-Smith and Austen. Lionsgate will finance and distribute. Quirk Books published the tome.I'm totally excited by this. I love Pride & Prejudice and Zombies, mostly for the way it keeps and amplifies all the meaning and themes of Austen's original while adding zombies and ninjas; I think the book works because it's played so incredibly straight, and I think casting Natalie Portman implies that producers understand that. Portman may not be the world's greatest actress, but she's exactly the type of actress to be cast in an Austen movie -- she legitimizes the Austen half of the story perfectly. Plus, I think played an emotionally reserved Victorian girl plays to her strengths. Oh, I wouldn't mind watching her take out a room full of zombies with kung fu while in a ballroom gown, either. (Via /Film)
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Described as an expanded version of the Austen classic, the book tells the timeless story of a woman's quest for love and independence amid the outbreak of a deadly virus that turns the undead into vicious killers. Portman will play feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet, who is distracted from her quest to eradicate the zombie menace by the arrival of the arrogant Mr. Darcy.
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"Natalie and I are longtime passionate fans of Jane Austen's books and this a fresh, fun and thought-provoking way to approach her work," Savitch said. "The idea of zombies running rampant in 19th Century England may sound odd, but it lends a modern sense of urgency to a well known love story."
15 comments
Comments
Hmmm... said:
Great casting! I'm looking forward to this more and more.
keyblade5 said:
*head asplodes* This is the best news EVER! SO AWESOME!
emerson999 said:
This elevates my feelings about the movie from "that's kinda cool" to "hells yah!!!".
ZADL said:
We at the Zombie Anti Defamation League have sent her a request not to do this film, as P&P&Z is nothing more than vitalist hate propaganda. None of the zombies in the book are depicted in a positive light. All of them are simply slaughtered on sight.
Remember, inside every living person is a dead one waiting to get out.
Down with vitalism!
cocacolaoso said:
*Jaw Drops* Wow! They are going to make a movie about "Pride & Prejudice and Zombies"?!?! That is insane & awesome at the same time. I agree, Natalie Portman will be a great Austen's heroine.
But now, as in anything related to "Pride and Justice" (with or without Zombies), the biggest question is: WHO is going to play Mr Darcy, who could have the talent to be haughty and fight zombies? My choice: Alexander Skarsgard!
Ms. Eye-Roller (esq.) said:
Dear Mr. Bricken,
Perhaps you should say Ms. Portman would play a Regency girl, not a victorian one.
Sorry about the nitpicking, Jane Austen fans can be a little bit uptight about these little details. And by that, I mean insane.
As for the movie, I'm more of a mummy kind of gal, but hey, rotting flesh is rotting flesh. So yay.
Motorthing said:
I am fucking bored with Zombies, can't we have something with Vampires insteed....it's not like they have been overused and ground into the fucking floor lately is it........
Gleeman said:
This is all kinds of WIN.
Sarah said:
The best bit is she also looks a bit like Keira Knightly, who played Elizabeth in the recent move adaptation of P&P. If they end up with a whole cast of lookalikes, and style the decor in a similar way, it'll be awesome!
Although I'd probably choose Hugh Jackman as Darcy.
Ad said:
Wow, Natalie Portman, hot grits & zombies.
Remind me to avoid Slashdot when the movie comes out :D
Poe Ghostal said:
I can't wait for the book's fans to complain about how the movie isn't like the book. Y'know, the book that's a rewrite of another book.
Brion said:
I'm really excited about this. Just started reading the book last week. A lot of fun.
Church said:
Oh gods this book sucked. It was an awesome idea, but executed as if by a twelve year-old. (The writing is about as good as the above illustration, which is also from the book.)
Maybe a good writing/directing team can make a go of it. Maybe. I'm not holding my breath, though.
Winzerous said:
I dunno about Natalie Portman... I still have this bit of dialogue in my head
Padmé: [crying] Anakin, you're breaking my heart! You're going down a path I cannot follow!
Anakin Skywalker: Because of Obi-Wan?
Padmé: Because of what you've done... what you plan to do! Stop! Stop now... come back... I love you!
[Anakin looks beside Padme and sees Obi-Wan standing at the ship's exit overhearing them]
Sefiz said:
Unfortunately, the fatal flaw in this fun plan is that Portman's Engerlish accent sucks balls. Her voice is annoyingly flat anyway but even worse when she tries to do a 'voice'. She was dreadful in V for Vendetta and the Boleyn movie. Rubbish.
But I suppose some find her cute and endearing. She says amusingly naive things in HuffPo. WHen she swore on SNL, that was amusing. And copped-off with Sean Penn which is GROSS.
And I like zombies.
