With David O. Russell’s “The Fighter” gearing up for release soon, it had been believed that his next project was going to be an adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s incomparably awesome-sounding novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Sadly that now seems to not be the case and it is also unclear where this leaves the project in general.
David O. Russell was due to start filming shortly with Natalie Portman in the lead role. Portman (who was also producing) has withdrawn due to a scheduling conflict and Russell has therefore decided to withdraw and work instead on Old St Louis, a “dramedy” starring Vince Vaughn.
Russell will start filming Old St Louis in the spring, with Chloe Moretz (Let Me In, Kick-Ass) playing Vaughn’s daughter. Scarlett Johansson was to play Vaughn’s secretary/on-off love interest in Old St Louis, but with Russell now starting filming in spring 2011, she now has a scheduling conflict and will not be able to proceed.
Goodness. What a great big game of musical chairs. Hopefully Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will not get lost in the mix. It is such an intriguing project and hopefully Lionsgate can get a different director on board before too much momentum is lost. As always, we’ll tell you more as we hear it.
Thanks to Vulture for the story.
