As you may have heard, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies author Seth Grahame-Smith is making a new Beetlejuice movie. Although the script isn’t even written yet, and the general assumption bad been that it would be a reboot, he and co-producer David Katzenberg recently clarified in an interview with Entertainment Weeklythat it will be an honest-to-goodness sequel. Not only that, but Grahame-Smith said he would only make the movie with Tim Burton’s blessing… and if Michael Keaton agrees to reprise the title role. “[T]he star of the movie has to be Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice, and it’s a true continuation 26 years later,” he told EW. ”Not just throwing him in as a cameo going, ‘Hey, it’s me. I endorse this movie.’”
Now, before you get excited, keep in mind that, because the film is still in the concept stage, Grahame-Smith and Katzenberg haven’t actually talked specifics with Keaton yet. But assuming that they hold their Michael Keaton-or-bust line, we’re much more excited about this Beetlejuice sequel than we were before. [via The Mary Sue]
There have been casting rumors swirling around Pride and Prejudice and Zombies since the film adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith’s mashup parody of the Jane Austen classic was first announced, but this has to be the strangest one yet: Twitch is reporting that Blake Lively has been offered the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet in the film.
From where we’re sitting, this makes little to no sense. Lively — while she does a lovely job of annoying us week after week as Serena van der Woodsen on Gossip Girl — isn’t in the same league as actresses like Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, Anne Hathaway, Scarlett Johansson, or Mia Wasikowska — who have all previously been mentioned as contenders for the part. Our friends over at The Playlist think that budget concerns (which were the reason why director David O. Russell handed over the reigns to Mike White who handed them over to Craig Gillespie) are the primary reason that she’s being considered. It certainly can’t be based on her previous big-screen performances in films like Green Lantern, The Town, or The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
We’re curious: What do you think of Lively as a zombie slaying heroine? Are the casting gods seeing something in her that we’re just missing (you know, other than the fact that she’s really hot)?
They are everywhere. Lurking in street corner shadows and hidden among what’s left of the world’s trees. They’re behind highway embankments and new building facades, over the rivers and throughout neighborhoods. They are down the hallway, up the stairs, and in your attic. Mostly though, they’re in bookstores. And their prevalence cannot be denied. They are the Undead. Or, if you prefer a more colorful vernacular: Zombies. And here are nine ways bookworms can hold them close to your hearts.
Now that book publishing is dying and all, struggling imprints are doing whatever they can to stay in business. Often, that can mean finding a successful formula and sticking to it. Cue literary mash-up mania! After the runaway success of Seth Grahame-Smith‘s Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, publishers everywhere are looking for their very own smash-hit 19th-century novel remix. (This spring, look out for Jane Slayreand Little Women and Werewolves, among others.)
While we find these efforts amusing, we can’t help thinking the Victorian maiden + monster equation is already getting old. Instead, we’d like to see classic novels combined with current cultural obsessions and internet memes for maximum relevance. After the jump, check out our 10 best suggestions. Oh, and agents? If you’re game to shop some of these titles around, you know where to reach us.
Yesterday, Obama visited Iowa City and stopped by the Prairie Lights bookstore, expressing to the public how the now-passed health care plan will help small businesses. He pretended he was there for Karl Rove’s memoir and owner Jan Weissmiller responded: “We believe in freedom of expression so we have to carry the book.” Instead of buying Rover and Mitt Romney’s latest, he went for the following:
That’s right. Star Wars: A Pop Up Guide to the Galaxy. Sure, our geeky Commander-in-Chief claimed that he “purchased it for a friend.” He probably ordered the special edition hardcover on Amazon. We began thinking, “Well, what other books should he have picked up?” This is what we came up with.
This is all we know about the upcoming aspirational comedy, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter, but doesn’t it sound exactly like what you’d imagine a 13-year-old boy would want to watch? “Paul Iacono has landed the lead on the MTV comedy pilot ‘Hard Times.’ The project, written by Seth Grahame-Smith and produced/directed by David Katzenberg (son of Jeffrey), is about a well-endowed high school geek (Iacono) whose social status is greatly improved after accidentally exposing himself at a basketball game.”
Seth Grahame-Smith. Hmmm… Remember that name? Read More »
, publishers everywhere are looking for their very own smash-hit 19th-century novel remix. (This spring, look out for 
by Lynne Jonell
by Eva Ibotson
by Matthew Reinhart
