Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Lily James and Bella Heathcote Interview

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. The book was so popular it was no wonder that it was made into a film starring Lily James, Bella Heathcote,, Matt Smith, Douglas Booth and Sam Riley.

The movie is a lot of fun and centers around the Bennet family. While Lily James’ Elizabeth may take the forefront, the rest of the sisters have their unique traits and help the family work as a team to defeat the undead uprising.

The zombie outbreak which falls upon the land in this reimagining of Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England wreaks havoc on the Bennet sisters.

Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is a master of martial arts and weaponry and the handsome Mr. Darcy is a fierce zombie killer, yet the epitome of upper-class prejudice. As the zombie outbreak intensifies, they must swallow their pride and join forces on the blood-soaked battlefield in order to conquer the undead once and for all.

Bella Heathcote as Jane  Bennet

I spoke with the lovely Lily James ( known best for her role as Lady Rose in Downton Abbey, and more recently as Cinderella) and Bella Heathcote (Jane Bennet) in Los Angeles to discuss how much fun they had kicking some zombie butt, how they think Jane Austen would feel about this interpretation of her classic novel and what other literary classics they'd like to see zombified.