If all of the film adaptations of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” have left your brain numb, this one may really kill you … in a good way.

Natalie Portman has signed on to produce and star in the movie version of the best-selling book “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies,” written by Seth Grahame-Smith and, uh, Jane Austen.

This expanded version of the Austen classic adds a twist on the well-known love story when the outbreak of a deadly virus begins to turn townsfolk into killers. Elizabeth Bennet struggles to balance her blossoming love for Mr. Darcy with her obligation to kick some zombie butt.

And who better to bring the right combination of elegance, wit, and edginess to the role of Elizabeth Bennet than Portman? She certainly has the chops to convince us to embrace this version of Elizabeth — a woman who at long last will have a proper outlet for her sense of purpose.

Sure, zombies may seem like a peculiar addition to the original text, but there is something about the outbreak of the undead in 19th-century England that somehow makes the story more accessible.

The idea that love can blossom in spite of treacherous, external forces is really a modern concept. Besides, who hasn’t had to slay a couple of zombies to land Mr. Right?

Written & Directed:

Brandon Hunt

Produced:

John Meredith

George Retelas

Director of Photography

Brandon Fraley

Starring:

Juan Riedinger as Corporal Darren Stark

Jim Accomando as Harris Stark

Wendy Wisely as Karen Stark

George Retelas as Tommy Stark

Edward Hightower as Captain Carter

Ken Fitzgerald as Private Miller

Filmmaker George Romero birthed the modern zombie, and now he’s finally ready to reveal all the secrets of the walking dead. In his first novel, Romero will explain the full capabilities of the undead and how the zombie plague began.

UK publisher Headline has signed Romero for a book delving into the mythology he helped create, simply titled The Living Dead. The book will explain what zombies can and cannot do, and will finally give us Romero’s take on the origin of zombies and how the world at large reacts.

Headline will publish The Living Dead in July 2010.