10 Facts You Didn't Know About 'Pride and Prejudice' (2005)

With only 4 months until Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes out, I have been on kind of a Pride and Prejudice mood, rewatching the adaptations as well as reading the book. It is the ten year anniversary of the Keira Knightley adaptation, and to celebrate here are some facts that you might not know about the movie.

1. Emma Thompson worked on the script.

Emma has always been a Jane Austen fan, also having done the script for her own Austen adaptation Sense and Sensibility. She came in and did an uncredited rewrite on the script, though she did get a special thanks in the credits.

2. Elizabeth reads her own story.

In the opening scene she is shown reading the novel First Impressions. This is the original title that Jane Austen gave Pride and Prejudice.

3. Matthew Mcfadyen has poor eyesight.

When he had to walk through the early morning mist the director waved a red flag so that he knew where he was going... This actually kind of explains some of the squinting in the film...

4. There are two different endings.

In the British ending it just ends with Mr. Bennet saying he is very content. During screen testing, however, the audience felt dissatisfied. So the US ending was made as Elizabeth and Darcy celebrating their being together. It was ranked as one of Entertainment Weekly's most romantic endings of all time.

5. The last scene shot was with Elizabeth and Wickham.

It was the scene under the tree where he told her of Darcy's faults against him. The first scene was the dinner with Lady Catherine.

6. Jane and Bingley dated in real life.

They had dated two years before they filmed this movie when they were at Oxford. There were no hard feelings though.

7. Judi Dench accepted the role of Catherine after a backhanded compliment.

Director Joe Wright had written her a letter asking her to take the role, stating that stated "I love it when you play a bitch."

8. Rosamund Pike was almost a witch.

She was the director's first and only choice for the role of Jane. She wanted to do the movie and actually turned down the role of Rita Skeeter in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to do the movie.

9. Keira Knightley almost didn't get the role of Elizabeth.

She spoke of it on The Graham Norton Show saying:

"He initially thought I was too pretty, but then he met me and said 'Oh, no you're fine!'."

He says that it was because her tomboyish nature made it easy for him to see her in the role.

10. The dance between Elizabeth and Darcy was done in one take.

They had inadvertently gotten in because there were two cameras, one taking establishing shots. I have to say they did a good job of it, there is an intensity that is beautiful in the dance.