Gemma Arterton as Cathy and Ed Westwick as Heathcliff

News from Ecosse's Wuthering Heights project written by Olivia Hetreed and directed by Peter Webber. No more Abbie Cornish or Michael Fassbender, the new names are: Gemma Arterton (Tess 2009, Lost in Austen) and Ed Westwick (Gossip Girl):

Gemma Arterton and Ed Westwick will play Cathy and Heathcliff in Ecosse Films' adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights."
Peter Webber will direct the pic after original helmer John Maybury ankled.
Project has also seen a number of cast changes. Natalie Portman was originally tapped to play the role of Cathy. Scheduling conflicts saw her exit the project before being replaced by Abbie Cornish. Arterton will now play the iconic romantic role after producers opted to go younger with the pic.
Ecosse Films' Robert Bernstein and Douglas Rae will produce the film with HanWay Films handling the international sales. (Ali Jaafar in Variety)

Baz Bamigboye gives some more information in the Daily Mail and possible shooting dates: next autumn.

Once the cameras start rolling, we’ll know that Wuthering Heights won’t wobble again.
Recent Bond girl — and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art-trained actress — Gemma Arterton will star with Gossip Girl hunk Ed Westwick in the story of the complicated love between Cathy and Heathcliff.
Director Peter Webber hopes to begin filming Emily Bronte’s tale by the autumn.
Various actresses connected to the film have ‘mutually agreed’ to withdraw for one reason or another, among them Natalie Portman, Sienna Miller and Abbie Cornish.
The very hot Michael Fassbender was ‘attatched’ to play Heathcliff at one point, but since Hunger captivated Cannes last year, the actor hasn’t had a day to himself.
He’s in two films at the festival this year — Fish Tank and Inglourious Basterds — and has many other movies lined up.
Anyway, Westwick, who plays Chuck, the poor little rich boy in U.S. teen drama Gossip Girl, wooed Webber and producer Robert Bernstein to play Heathcliff.
Natalie Portman
‘We’ve cast it as written,’ said Bernstein, whose production company Ecosse Films has been developing the film for nearly three years. Gemma has just turned 23, while Ed is 21.
‘Heathcliff’s a teen, and the story takes him into his early 20s. Cathy is just as young,’ Bernstein said.
‘It’s radical because usually actors playing these characters are much older.’
‘We’re very proud to have British actors,’ Bernstein added, a reference to a point I made last year that homegrown actors were perfectly capable and that there was little point casting the likes of Natalie Portman just to attract investors.

And the Hollywood Reporter adds:

Webber will direct from a script by Olivia Hetreed which reunites the team behind the Oscar nominated "Girl With a Pearl Earring." Having a fresh cast and a director on board should mean the project finally begins shooting later this year. (...)
Webber describes the source material as a "powerful, moving and dangerous love story that cries out to be told on the big screen."
For the latest adaptation, Ecosse said it plans to focus on the story of Heathcliff and Cathy, steering away from "stuffy costume drama". (Stuart Kemp)

EDIT (17/05/09):

“The chemistry between Arterton and Westwick will be just staggering,” revealed an executive of Han Way Films, the company handling sales at the Cannes Film Festival.
“Arterton is known for a restrained sensuality which leaps off the screen at you, while Westwick simply drips sex.
“Casting was crucial and I would say they have got it exactly right.
“Screen magic so often relies on technology these days but you can be sure Arterton and Westwick will make it the old-fashioned way.” (Lesley-Ann Jones in The Sunday Express)

Some urgent reactions:

The Telegraph:

Gemma Arterton, the Bond girl, and Gossip Girl actor Ed Westwick are to star as Cathy and Heathcliff in a film adaptation of Wuthering Heights which recasts Emily Bronte's passionate tale as a teen drama. (Anita Singh)

Cinematical:

Now, instead of the more mature Fassbender and Portman, the principals will be played by Gossip Girl star Ed Westwick and Quantum of Solace's Strawberry Fields, Gemma Arterton. So think Twilight, only without the sparkly vampires and Mormon chastity vibe, but with more bustles and breast-beating.
How Wuthering Heights will fare with Stephanie Meyer's teenage demographic is uncertain -- it seems like it would be more of a hit with the older "Twilight moms" than the Gossip Girl crowd. Bronte's tale of unfulfilled passion is long, convoluted, and focuses on two of the most self-absorbed, egocentric drama queens in literature, who screw each other (and those around them) over in so many ways that it's hard to not want to just punch them in the throat.
On second thought, that sounds a lot like Gossip Girl.
Hetreed also scripted Webber's somnabulent Girl with the Pearl Earring, so it's a safe bet that their Heights will be a similarly slow, pretty-to-look-at parade of costumes, with long takes of Westwick glowering at Arterton with his dark, squinty eyes. There's no word yet as to updating his ridiculous John Mayer haircut, but I'm laying money that he'll have sideburns. (Dawn Taylor)

MTV Movies Blog:

The Twilighters out there are probably very familiar with the plot of the book, as Stephanie Meyer has cited it as an influence on the series, and even referenced it in “Eclipse.” Although it stars one of the most selfish and psychotic couples in all of English literature, there’s no book like it for passionate speeches, barren moors, and visits from the supernatural. It’s one of my personal favorites, and I’ve been frustrated by every adaptation done so far. I’ll hope for the best with this latest announcement, but am prepared for another disappointment. At least there’s always the book, right? (Elisabeth Rappe)

Spotted, GossipGirl Blog:

I think that Ed is the PERFECT actor for this role. Heathcliff is the archetypal tortured lover in literature whose consuming passions destroy him and those around him. It doesn’t seem so far from his role of Chuck Bass now doesn’t it. The only thing that would have made this film better would be if Leighton Meester was cast as Cathy. That would have made Chair fans everywhere foam at the mouth.

PerezHilton.com:

If you've never read Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, get to it. Two reasons:
1. It's a classic. You sound smart when you've read a classic.
2. Gossip Girl hottie Ed Westwick is playing the lead of Heathcliff in the new film adaptation. And if you read the book, you will understand how perfect that is.
His leading lady was slated to be Natalie Portman, but Variety is reporting that she was replaced with Gemma Arterton due to scheduling conflicts.
We would have rather had Portman, as we're not sure a Bond Girl can handle the complex role of Cathy, but we'll wait and see the performance to judge.

The Egalitarian Bookworm (Chick?) summarises perfectly BrontëBlog's opinion:

Cathy will be played by that luscious-lipped Tess, Gemma Arterton, who is fantastic. Great choice.
Heathcliff will be played by sneering prepster Chuck Bass Ed Westwick, best known for scheming his way through the NYC independent school landscape. WTF?
Brilliant marketing strategy yes--Wuthering Heights as teen angst melodrama, capturing the hearts of Twilight and Gossip Girl fanladies galore.
But appropriate casting for the wild, menacing, Heathcliff? I'll believe it when I see it.

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Categories: Movies-DVD-TV, Wuthering Heights