Here are some photos from last night’s London premiere of Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, a film I have no interest in seeing. It’s based on the popular book which reimagines the Jane Austen classic as a zombies-in-the-19th-century story. So, the ladies you see here? They’re playing Lizzie Bennett and her sisters.
Lily James plays Lizzie. You may know Lily from Downton Abbey (she played Rose, the annoying cousin/niece) or last year’s Cinderella (which sucked). I find her boring and interchangeable with like five other British actresses, but I have to say… she looks SO different with dark hair. I’m not saying she looks better or worse, just different. I barely even recognized her. Lily’s premiere look was Erdem, and the back is worse than the front (TIERS). I really dislike this.
Here’s Suki Waterhouse in Reem Acra Spring 2016. This is actually my least favorite dress of the lot. At least Lily’s was daring! This one is just cheap-looking. I don’t really get why Suki is a thing either.
Bella Heathcote in Lanvin. I’m usually not into Lanvin gowns, but this one isn’t bad. She was one of the few women wearing black, so it looks chic on the red carpet. I think adding that belt was a bad idea though. The shoes were a bad choice as well.
Ellie Bamber in Chanel… sigh… why do I always hate Chanel these days? I actually think this could have been good/interesting, but the little things bug me. This should be a few inches longer. The skirt should not be so stiff-looking. And I don’t think this should be given to someone so pale. It washes everything out.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Oop. I like it. 🙁 It’s kinda dope.
Ι like it too. It’s different.
I like all six dresses. The only thing I don’t like is the belt on Bella’s dress. Other than that, I would wear them all.
I like it as well! It is different and young. Also, I like Lily James. I think she is charming.
remember when she insisted her waist wasn’t Photoshopped in that Cinderella movie and she just wore a corset?
Yeah. She looks like a nice healthy size 6 or 8 here. She was Photochopped to get that ridiculously small waist.
I point that out because at the time, it struck me as a pride thing. Just admit it (maybe she couldn’t publicly). And move on.
I do too. All the ladies look great and their dresses are lovely. Especially Suki’s
I could snatch those shoes right off her feet.
I think lily James is so pretty! I like her dress too. The movie look stupid though and I def won’t be seeing it
I like Lily’s dress, except for the sheer part at the hips. So tired of sheer.
I could slit my throat the next time I see sheer.
There are two things that I just cannot stand another minute!!! (1) these stupid, ugly sheer dresses and (2) the duck face lip thing that Lili has going on in the first and group pics….I could puke every time I see that now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Agreed. The sheer ruins what otherwise is kinda fresh and fun.
The dresses are not good. I am looking forward to seeing the movie, though. Yeah, the premise is bizarre, but it looks quite interesting.
I find Lily James breathtakingly beautiful. Just stunning. And I like her dress. If only the back wasn’t full of ruffles. I liked her on Downton Abbey, haven’t seen Cinderella, but she’s pretty bad on War and Peace. She plays Nataša Rostova all wrong. But maybe that’s due to the writing. Andrew Davies made War and Peace look like an Austen novel.
And isn’t it funny how Lizzie and Mr Collinss ended up together in real life?
Bella Heathcote is also stunning, but that dress is hideous.
I think Lily James is very pretty, too. I thought she did a good job on DA, but I found her character annoying. Not her fault.
Oh yeah, I find the character annoying too, but she plays her well.
GoodNames, Her character bugged the crap out of me, too. I don’t miss Rose at all. Are you still watching? If so…I just watched the latest episode last night and I’m still recoiling from that one scene…
I think War and Peace has shaped up pretty well after a slow start. Jim Broadbent’s been stellar. James has certainly been the weakest link, but it would be difficult not to be outclassed by the rest of the cast.
I think Jim Broadbent was good in episode 5. Before that he was a bit too mellow, IMO. I also think Anatole and Helene are not played by the strongest actors, but again, that might be due to the script.
Jessie Buckley as Marja Bolkonska and Paul Dano as Pierre Bezuhov are the best among the bunch.
I do see what you mean about Andrew Davies “Englishing” it. But I think it’s a much better production than some of the naysayers would have it. Agree about Dano in particular. He’s trademarked mournful!
“Jessie Buckley as Marja Bolkonska and Paul Dano as Pierre Bezuhov are the best among the bunch.”
These are my two favorites as well. They are absolutely spot on.
She is unredeemably and unforgivably bad in the “War and Peace”. They should’ve recast the role , there is no way they didn’t see how bad she was once they started shooting.
There are some issues overall but Paul Dano is stellar. James Norton is acceptable. Quite a few actors did a very good job. The script is meh! but OK I could overlook it. But I absolutely cannot overlook the fact that Natasha was replaced with a wooden Cinderella doll. The adaptation is unwatchable because of her.
I agree that her portrayal of Natasha is terrible. She’s playing her like an inane ninny. However, neither she nor anyone else in this production come close to being as bad as Paul Dano. He’s he only untrained, and it shows–he sticks out like a sore thumb. And his accent is absolutely appalling!
i think the mini series has intentionally made natasha more likable than in the book
But Natasha is very likable in the book. She is not very likeable in the series because Lily doesn’t play her right so she seems illogical and silly.
I think one of the reasons is that in book we read all these inner thoughts and how they lead Natasha to do things she does. Ideally the script should’ve adapted the inner thoughts to show the character development but it didn’t. Then it was up to each actor to show what wasn’t in the script but needed to be. That is really where the acting skill and understanding of the part comes in.
Am I the only one who looked at that first photo and thought that was Brie Larson? And to think, I just got new glasses.
nope not the only one
I see the resemblance now that you mention it. With the dark hair I find Lily interchangeable with a number of other actors.
Suki, please put the shower curtain back when you’re done.
I think Lily is beautiful but I do not like that dress on her.
I don’t know who is wearing the blue dress with silver chevrons, but that looks pretty. I’m looking forward to the movie. It looks moody and scary and of course there are ZOMBIES!!!
Agree. I would’ve liked to have seen a solo photo of Millie Brady. I think she’s the best-styled one of the bunch. I also think she’s the most beautiful one of the bunch — particularly to be playing the more plain-looking Bennet sister!
Why is this movie being covered on a large scale ? Only ever saw Lily in Downton Abeey and she was OK I guess. The whiteness of that last pic is blinding .
To be fair, it is a Jane Austen novel set in Edwardian England. The whiteness is kinda expected.
PPZ is a pretty popular book.
the dress is a modern take on an oldie just like the movie. So that’s why – even though Im not a fan of the skirt – it’s a decent choice.
I loved cinderella. I own it and saw it in theaters. It was a fun, sweet movie. That is all =P
Me too. I thought they did a good job. It wasn’t an exact replica of the animated film, but it didn’t stray too far off of it either.
Count me in as another Cinderella fan. Enjoyed that movie very much.
I came here to say the same thing. I am a bit of a Disney purist, so when I heard they’d made a live action version I was pretty ticked. I went into it expecting to HATE it, but I actually love it! Cinderella in the original animated version is a bit of an airhead, but Lily James made her so genuinely sweet and likeable without coming off as sugary or insipid. I’ve seen it 4 times (I have young daughters) and I still love it. My 76yr old mother even loved it, and she never likes anything anymore.
Cinderella is not an airhead in he animated version at all even if the merchandising makes her look like one.
Lilly James is everywhere. She’s shaping up to be the next Kiera Knightley – a mediocre actress who got lucky and is now going to be in every historical drama for at least the next 10 years.
Thank you. I seemed to be the only one who didn’t love K. Knightly there for a while. I think she’s a very wooden, terrible actress.
agreed. however keira seems much smarter and interesting as a person than lily, so even though i don’t rate her as an actress i like her. lily james is very bland.
Any interview I’ve read with Keira, she comes across as nice enough but rather annoying – like someone who thinks they are much more interesting and clever than they actually are. I don’t mind her as a person though, I just find her “acting” intolerable, to the point where i simply won’t watch anything she’s in. She was so laughably terrible in “A Dangerous Method” that I seriously thought it must be some kind of joke.
Lilly James I’ve only seen in “Downton Abbey” and “War and Peace” and while I’ve found her very very mediocre, I’m not yet at the stage where I just refuse to watch her. Give me time though – like I said, this girl is going to be cast in every ballgown-ish role for the next decade.
Lily & Suki are doing the J-Lo I’m-Too-Sexy-For-This-Pic face. 🙄
A pretty girl but I absolutely loathe her after she practically single-handedly ruined the latest “War and Peace” adaptation. She kept playing Cinderella.
Such a bad actress, she is much worse than Keira Knigthely who is considered to be pretty average to begin with.
I don’t know if Lilly is ‘single handedly’ ruining W&P. I agree that she’s the worst thing about it, but it’s a pretty mediocre production all round imho. The BBC is trying to make a sweeping epic about well – war and peace! – into a cutesy drawing room romance.
All other issues with production could be overlooked. At least I could. But Natasha is the central character and a representation of an ideal woman and of Russian spirit in the book. And instead we get what we got . It ruins everything even the good parts because unfortunately she is the lead character.
The War parts are the best in this adaptation because there is no Natasha anywhere near them.
I remember thinking to myself “Why are all these handsome dudes so in love with this airhead?” She just seemed silly and annoying, rather than innocent and sweet, which I’m guessing she should be.
She is supposed be free spirited, strong, stubborn, kind, earnest , charismatic , selfless and without artifice and not an airhead. The actress playing Maria channels that lack of artifice very well.
All the dudes are supposed to be falling for her because of her natural strength of character and charisma.
Wow I didn’t even recognize Lily James. She looks WAY better with dark hair!
Suki is a big deal because she has the money and connections to make it so…as with 99% of the “it girls” out there
i like all dresses, except for the blue one and the short one. lily james wears the prettiest though, it’s different and it looks lovely.
Lily James was so gorg in the last season of Secret Diary of a Callgirl playing the annoying Poppy. She had beautiful long bouncy curly dark brown hair. So pretty! The blonde doesn’t do her many favours – at least the blonde that she had recently.
I’m loving Bella’s dress!! Now, THAT is how you do sparkles, metallics, and shine.
So so so so fab.
Ugh. The worst dress I have seen in a LONG, LONG time.
Pride & Prejudice + Zombies! I cannot wait to see it. It has to be better than the book. Come on ladies ppl on this site are often saying we need to support female driven movies. This is a female driven movie! I think Natalie Portman is behind this movie somewhere (producing? I can’ true ember). We need to see PP&Z so the powers that be in Hollywood will make more. Even if they are not the best movie. Besides my two favorite things: Pride & Prejudice; Zombies!
Natalie Portman was supposed to star at one point but I do not think she has anything to do with at this point.
I kind of want to see this since I love Pride and Prejudice, zombies are fun and this could be a really entertaining concept but I am worried it will be terrible. I will read reviews to decide I suppose.