Blake Lively Picks Up The Stake For PRIDE & PREJUDICE & ZOMBIES?

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies feels like it has been in pre-production since Jane Austen was kicking around but finally after the likes of Natalie Portman (though she is still producing) Emma Stone, Scarlett Johansson and Mia Wasikowska have all flirted with starring in the genre meshing, revisionist rom/zom/period piece, finally an Elizabeth Bennett seems to be emerging. Twitch (who have been on an undeniable roll recently) are reporting that the lovely Blake Lively has met with Fright Night remake director Craig Gillespie (who despite some reports saying he had jumped shipped, he is still making the film) and a firm offer has been made to the actress who has mostly had supporting roles in her short career to date, appearing most notably in The Town and Green Lantern. She wouldn't exactly be our first choice for a period piece as she comes off as very 21st century girl to us (possibly because of Gossip Girl but also maybe that's just because of the roles she has taken) and actually in my fantasy world I wanted Keira Knightley to do it as a fun redo of her Oscar nominated role in the straight 2005 adaptation (but now with zombies!!) but we have no problem with the casting it if comes off. Production on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is expected to begin rolling early next year as Gillespie re-writes David O. Russell's original screenplay with his Fright Night scribe Marti Noxon to make it more his voice/vision. Of course once they have an Elizabeth firmly in place the rest of the supporting players shouldn't be too hard to find. As we have said from day one we would hope that this would include casting the movie as if it were a serious Austen adaptation and nobody should be on in the joke when it turns into the horror genre. That's how you make this movie work. Seth Grahame-Smith€™s novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has sold multi-millions of copies in just 18 months of shelf life and with the genre meshing fad so hot right now (though it took a huge blow when Cowboys & Aliens didn't catch on), Lionsgate are aggressively looking to get this potential tentpole out by 2013.