To be honest, I’ve been waiting for this to happen almost from the moment it was announced, but Vulture reports that David O’Russell has dropped out of directing Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is due to star Natalie Portman. It seemed an unlikely project for the helmer from the get go, and something he’d probably had difficulty pulling off.
The official reason for the departure is scheduling conflicts (Portman couldn’t shoot when O’Russell wanted to), with David deciding he’d prefer to stick with Old St. Louis, which he’s also written, and which will star Vince Vaughn. The movie is about a traveling salesman who has been an absentee father, and how his life changes when his daughter becomes part of his life, which sounds pretty generic but far more up O’Russell’s street.
Incidentally, Vulture also reports that with the director planning to shoot Old St. Louis next spring, Scarlet Johansson, who was in contention for one of the roles, has had to drop out due to her own scheduling problems, but that Chloe Moretz, who was previously mentioned as the daughter but who at the time had a full diary, is now back in the running.
It appears that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is still going ahead with Portman onbaord, but they’ll have to find a new director pretty soon.