"We won't turn Jane Eyre into some New Jersey teenager" ~ BrontëBlog

Thursday, May 08, 2008

"We won't turn Jane Eyre into some New Jersey teenager"

Thursday, May 08, 2008 4:50 pm by M. in In the News, Jane Eyre, Movies-DVD-TV No comments

Some press and blogosphere reactions to the casting of Ellen Page as Jane Eyre in a BBC Films / Ruby Films film project:

The Sun:

Ruby Films, the team behind The Other Boleyn Girl, is hooking up with BBC Films to develop the film of the legendary romance between governess Jane and her brooding employer Mr Rochester.
Christine Langan for BBC Films said: "She'll put a whole different complexion on Jane Eyre."
It will air in cinemas then hit the telly. (Sarah Nathan)

The Independent:

The BBC's film division yesterday pant-wettingly revealed that Ellen Page will take the title role in a new adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, about the plain-faced English governess.
It's a coup: Page, 21, was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her unexpectedly pregnant teenager in Juno. Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, however, she is not the obvious candidate to play an English orphan brought up in Gateshead. This year's big-screen turkey The Other Boleyn Girl, remember, was criticised for its casting of Yanks Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson as the Tudor sisters.
Neither Mr Rochester nor a director has been found. Shooting begins this autumn. "It's not to say British actors won't be cast in other roles," says a Beeb spokesman. "It's not final yet, but I can say unequivocally: she is attached to the project. Don't worry, we won't turn Jane Eyre into some New Jersey teenager." (Oliver Duff)

Daily Express:

The casting of 21-year-old Page, who was nominated for an Oscar in the title role in the recent hit US film Juno, has angered a number of industry bigwigs in the UK who believe it’s yet another example of famous British roles being handed to actresses from across the Atlantic.
Only last year US actress Anne Hathaway raised eyebrows when she was cast in the role of Jane Austen in the flick Becoming Jane, while fellow American Scarlett Johansson was recently chosen to play Mary Queen of Scots and previously starred as Mary Boleyn in the Other Boleyn Girl, opposite fellow American Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn.
“No one is doubting Ellen Page’s acting abilities but why a BBC movie of Jane Eyre couldn’t have a British actress in the lead is pretty hard to stomach,” huffs a senior industry insider.
“It’s not as if we don’t have enough talented young actresses here who could play the role.
“It seems even the BBC has become obsessed with employing talent from overseas at the expense of our own girls.”