Pride and Peculiarity
Jane Austen's classic tale of manners, class and romance, Pride and Prejudice has already been thumbed through by millions of readers - admittedly many of them disinterested high school and college students - over the past 2 centuries. Then there were the countless film and mini-series adaptations, chronicling the romantic exploits of the Bennet sisters. Hell, there were even a few novels (of varying quality) written by other authors who wanted to continue the story.
Now, Pride and Prejudice goes fully Pop Culture! And no doubt it has sent Jane Austen spinning in her grave.
First up is the release of a novel entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, in which author Seth Grahame-Smith, responsible for such "classics" as How to Survive a Horror Movie and The Big Book of Porn, utilises and enhances Jane Austen's original text with passages about zombie attacks.
Here's the press release:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen’s classic novel to new legions of fans.
Check out an extract from the book here, by clicking on the Interior Spread button.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is set for release in May. And for non-readers, a movie deal is apparently already under way, so you probably won't need to pick up one of those strange rectangular objects that consist of hundreds of pieces of paper all bound together.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was announced at the beginning of 2009. And barely one month later, another project based on Pride and Prejudice was announced... this time an action sci-fi movie!
From Elton John's film company, Rocket Pictures, comes Pride and Predator, in which an alien crash-lands in rural England in the early 19th Century and starts slaughtering the local inhabitants, many of whom only have gossip, parties, marriage and inheritance on their minds.
Writer-director Will Clark had this to say, "It felt like a fresh and funny way to blow apart the done-to-death Jane Austen genre by literally dropping this alien into the middle of a costume drama, where he stalks and slashes to horrific effect."
Filming of Pride and Predator is set to start in London later this year.
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Now I'm all for transplanting horror and sci-fi outside of their usual contemporary and futuristic settings - see the middle portion of The 13th Warrior for some unnerving Viking Vs. Monster encounters.
It's just that when it comes to Jane Austen, I don't know. These adaptations sound so gimmicky that I'm astounded Hollywood studios are as excited about the projects as they clearly are. I'd equate it with putting millions of dollars into film adaptations of the spoofs Bored of the Rings and Barry Trotter. With both Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Pride and Predator, chances are high that the concept is far stronger than the actual execution. This said, I'm morbidly curious about both projects, which honestly sound so freaking bizarre.
Now, Pride and Prejudice goes fully Pop Culture! And no doubt it has sent Jane Austen spinning in her grave.
First up is the release of a novel entitled Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, in which author Seth Grahame-Smith, responsible for such "classics" as How to Survive a Horror Movie and The Big Book of Porn, utilises and enhances Jane Austen's original text with passages about zombie attacks.
Here's the press release:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie action. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield as Elizabeth wages war against hordes of flesh-eating undead. Complete with 20 illustrations in the style of C. E. Brock (the original illustrator of Pride and Prejudice), this insanely funny expanded edition will introduce Jane Austen’s classic novel to new legions of fans.
Check out an extract from the book here, by clicking on the Interior Spread button.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is set for release in May. And for non-readers, a movie deal is apparently already under way, so you probably won't need to pick up one of those strange rectangular objects that consist of hundreds of pieces of paper all bound together.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was announced at the beginning of 2009. And barely one month later, another project based on Pride and Prejudice was announced... this time an action sci-fi movie!
From Elton John's film company, Rocket Pictures, comes Pride and Predator, in which an alien crash-lands in rural England in the early 19th Century and starts slaughtering the local inhabitants, many of whom only have gossip, parties, marriage and inheritance on their minds.
Writer-director Will Clark had this to say, "It felt like a fresh and funny way to blow apart the done-to-death Jane Austen genre by literally dropping this alien into the middle of a costume drama, where he stalks and slashes to horrific effect."
Filming of Pride and Predator is set to start in London later this year.
----------------------
Now I'm all for transplanting horror and sci-fi outside of their usual contemporary and futuristic settings - see the middle portion of The 13th Warrior for some unnerving Viking Vs. Monster encounters.
It's just that when it comes to Jane Austen, I don't know. These adaptations sound so gimmicky that I'm astounded Hollywood studios are as excited about the projects as they clearly are. I'd equate it with putting millions of dollars into film adaptations of the spoofs Bored of the Rings and Barry Trotter. With both Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Pride and Predator, chances are high that the concept is far stronger than the actual execution. This said, I'm morbidly curious about both projects, which honestly sound so freaking bizarre.
Comments
The typing sound is not that of my keyboard...it's that of untamed brilliance being unleashed upon the page!
I've often contemplated doing something like this if I ever get established as a writer. I could always tag Bridget Jones and West Side Story as being my influences.