Pride and Prejudice and Zombies premiere: A chat with Lily James, Matt Smith, Sam Riley, Millie Brady, Burr Steers on the red carpet

On a cold and windy night in London, fans gathered eagerly in Leicester Square, to revel in the release of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Adapted from Seth Grahame-Smith’s 2009 novel of the same name, the film takes Jane Austen’s classic and reworks it into a near apocalyptic 19^th-century Britain, where a plague has transformed much of the population into zombies. Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and Mr Darcy (Sam Riley), have to fight on all sides for their family’s honour, the future of Britain and their blossoming love. We spoke from the red carpet to some of the stars at the European premiere.

In spite of the cold, the ever-effervescent Lily James, who takes the iconic lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, told us about the challenges of taking on such a famous character, on the mostly female cast and working with director Burr Seers.

Following her on the red carpet, Sam Riley, who plays opposite Lily as the films great heartthrob Mr Darcy, talked about the challenges of reinventing a classic character, what attracted him to the film and his next project, Free Fire, with British auteur Ben Wheatley.

The most dapper director in Hollywood, Burr Seers spoke about what attracted him to the project, feminism and giving a stage to a formidable female cast.

Lastly, the much beloved Matt Smith, whose fans could be spotted throughout the premier, chatted about the filming, why he took the role and the comparison between the female leads and the Spice Girls.

Thomas Unsted
Videos: Filippo L’Astorina

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is released nationwide on 11^th February 2016, read our review here.