Bye, bye, Natalie

Frantic days for the Brontë film adaptations. Some weeks ago we reported the attachment of Natalie Portman to a new Wuthering Heights film project and a few days ago it was Ellen Page who was presented as the new Jane Eyre in another BBC Films project. And now it seems that finally Natalie Portman won't be Cathy after all. Michael Fassbender (in the picture) has been approached to play Heathcliff. The Daily Mail reports:

Hollywood star Natalie Portman has walked out of a big-screen version of Wuthering Heights, throwing the production into chaos.

Her decision to withdraw from the British film has infuriated its backers because, far from being wooed for the role, she actively pursued the plum part of Emily Bronte's tragic heroine Cathy Earnshaw.

The movie's director John Maybury and producers Ecosse Films and HanWay were blinded by Portman's dazzling "come-on". Neither film company would comment yesterday.

Portman pursued the part vigorously and was so passionate about it that she asked for and received casting approval for Heathcliff.

An insider on the film said: "It's fair to say we were seduced by her and we should have been on our guard."

Frankly, many (particularly this column) doubted Portman's suitability to play one of the most fascinating characters in English literature.

In fact, before Portman arrived on the scene, Maybury had told me he preferred a British actress to play the part, because he felt an American wouldn't get the accent right.

Indeed, a British accent has never been Portman's strong suit — as evidenced by her peculiar pronunciation in The Other Boleyn Girl, where she sounded, to my ears anyway, distinctly colonial.

Portman's decision to walk away from Wuthering Heights will teach British filmmakers a valuable lesson, principally that they shouldn't just go after a "name" for commercial reasons.

Interestingly, Ellen Page, of Juno fame, has just landed the title role in a BBC Film version of Jane Eyre, as much for financial reasons as artistic. But I happen to sense that Page is right for Eyre, whereas Portman would have been dodgy for Wuthering Heights.

There are plenty of quality British actresses who can play Cathy, from Andrea Riseborough, who is brilliant as the young Margaret Thatcher in the forthcoming BBC drama The Long Walk To Finchley, to Emily Blunt (so good in The Devil Wears Prada), Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley.

Miller and Knightley, by the way, star in Maybury's movie The Edge Of Love, which opens next month's Edinburgh Film Festival. The director has coaxed the best screen work to date — particularly in the film's last third — from these two often underrated actresses.

Cameras aren't due to roll on Wuthering Heights till the autumn, so there's still time to cast the right person for Cathy (which rules out Scarlett Johansson).

The job will require tact, though — will Ms Knightley, for instance, want to take Natalie Portman's leftovers? Meanwhile, actor Michael Fassbender is being talked about to play Heathcliff. (Baz Bamigboye)

By the way, remember the Mammoth Screen Wuthering Heights project? We have received some hints that the production is quite alive and well. They're planning to shoot in Yorkshire in five weeks. The ITV airing will be probably around the end of year. Let's wait and see.

Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights