Following the lead of both Mike White and David O. Russell before him, director Craig Gillespie (“Fright Night”, “Lars and the Real Girl”) has exited “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”, the seemingly-doomed adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s bestselling 2009 mash-up novel that put a zombie spin on the Jane Austen classic.
Though Gillespie reportedly left the Lionsgate project on friendly terms – according to Deadline, the director and studio couldn’t agree on casting, among other issues – it calls into question the viability of the project going forward. And as noted by our own Drew McWeeny earlier this month (who practically predicted Gillespie’s departure), even Blake Lively turned down an opportunity to star in the film. Was the rejection by a B-list TV (and sometime film) actress too much for the director to handle? I vote probably.
What do you think? Is there still potential for the project, or do you think it’s time for Lionsgate to throw in the towel?