Monday, December 13, 2010 at 12:09PM Hathaway and McAvoy: Zombie Killers?
The last we heard about the film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” School of Rock writer Mike White had taken over David O. Russell’s abandoned director’s chair, after the film had similarly lost it’s rumored star, Natalie Portman. At first, I wasn’t shocked or displeased about Portman’s exit, but after Black Swan, I have to admit it’d be nice to see her using the darker side of her character to swordfight with the undead. Alas, it’s not to be.
Few people can rock that collar with those sideburns like McAvoy.
But White’s got a few other stars in mind to make up for the loss of Tiny Dancer. Namely, it’s rumored that Anne Hathaway will be taking up where Portman left off, and Atonement’s James McAvoy is looking to be the new, slightly more badass Mr. Darcy. Think the abject propriety of Robbie from Atonement mixed with the slow-motion murder-tendencies of say, Wesley from Wanted. That about nails it.
Hathaway is a media darling, so getting her to play Elizabeth Bennet is a smart move for White; it doesn’t hurt that she’s well versed in the “Pride and Prejudice” atmosphere, having played a young Jane Austen in 2007’s Becoming Jane. Coincidentally: her Irish paramour in that film? Yep. James McAvoy.
Hm. Would these two really want to come this close to re-treading old ground in the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies film? Obviously, Grahame-Smith’s book takes the original and turns it on its head (or shoots it in it,) so it’s not completely redundant in a traditional sense. And McAvoy and Hathaway have already showed they can embody that Victorian sense of smoldering, epically unrequited passion. The one concern, if you ignore the fact that they’ve already played vague versions of these characters, is that Hathaway is just the slightest bit unconvincing as a sheltered Victorian maiden. While McAvoy’s got his Scottish sensibility and heaps of BBC drama experience behind him, it’s somehow harder to buy it with Hathaway, despite her skills as an actress. She just seems perpetually “modern,” and thus out of place in period films, though in this action-comedy, it might not matter.
If you search The Internet hard enough, you can find a picture of anyone holding a gun. True story.
All in all, Hathaway’s casting would certainly ensure a rise in audience numbers; a lot of people would flock to see her decapitate something with a machete. And McAvoy is an excellent choice; it would be good to see him doing comedy, and since he missed out on a part in Joe Wright’s recent remake of Pride and Prejudice, he’d get his chance here, he’ll just get a bit...covered in blood in the process.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is due in theaters next year.
Reader Comments (3)
James McAvoy is a sexy beast. Looking forward to seeing him as a victorian zombie slayer.
I approve of these casting choices. Attaching McAvoy, who I think is one of Hollywood's next biggest actors, is a smart move.
I agree wholeheartedly, Josh, McAvoy is incredible. I'd watch him make a sandwich, so watching him bash around the undead would be nothing short of the Best Thing Ever.