Pride and Prejudice and Zombies seems like an excellent project for any director, but after losing it's third, you gotta wonder if the project is just too much for a director to tackle.
Deadline reports that Craig Gillespie (Fright Night) has dropped out for amicable reasons, mostly due to casting issues. Gillespie was rumored to have left the movie in August, and it looks like those rumors have finally been vindicated. Gillespie took over for Mike White, who took over for David O. Russell, who also wrote the initial script. During Gillespie's tenure, he brought his Fright Night screenwriter Marti Noxon on board for rewrites.
The changes to Russell's already terrific script didn't aid casting. Blake Lively reportedly turned down the lead role of Elizabeth Bennett earlier this month, joining Emma Stone, Mara Rooney and Natalie Portman on the growing list of actresses who have rejected the part.
What happens next is anyone's guess, though the report says that Lionsgate will look for an agency to approach with a director and cast for the movie. Having read Russell's script, I have no explanation why this movie hasn't stepped in front of cameras already, only that a mash-up of this kind is likely too difficult for most directors.
