Lionsgate Hires Craig Gillespie to Direct 'Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'

Lionsgate has hired Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl, Fright Night) to direct Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, based on Seth Grahame-Smith's bestselling novel. THR previously reported that he had been on the shortlist.

Natalie Portman is producing the project under her handsomecharlie films shingle with Annette Savitch, who arranged for Darko Entertainment to acquire the rights from publisher Quirk Books. Darko’s Richard Kelly, Sean McKittrick and Ted Hamm also are serving as producers.   President of Motion Picture Production Alli Shearmur and Lionsgate Senior Vice President of Production Jim Miller are overseeing the project for the studio, which has retained worldwide distribution rights.   Pride and Prejudice sets Jane Austen's novel in Regency-era England, where zombies roam the countryside -- and interfere in the lives of Austen's classic characters.    The novel, which shot to No. 3 on the New York Times best seller list in its first week, has sold more than a million copies and been translated into over 20 languages.