Is Margaret Thatcher lobbying for Jane Eyre?

The Oscar nominations are finally being announced today, but we still have a few last-minute guesses, predictions and hopes. EDIT after nominations announcement: according to the nominees list released by the Academy, Jane Eyre 2011 is only nominated for Costume Design (by Michael O'Connor). (And Michael Fassbender has been completely left out of the picture, even if he was a big favourite for his many films!). Picture Source: Frocktalk.

The Sydney Morning Herald is not very hopeful:

Mia Wasikowska was praised in Meryl Streep's acceptance speech at the Golden Globes but seems unlikely to be recognised for her performance in Jane Eyre. (Garry Maddox)

The Ottawa Citizen feels the same way:

Probably not: I’d love to see Mia Wasikowska recognized for her lovely performance in “Jane Eyre,” or Elizabeth Olsen for her electric work in “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” but it seems unlikely. (Moira MacDonald)

We find E! Online's discussion as to how Meryl Streep's nod to Mia Wasikowska in her Golden Globes acceptance speech may or may not help the Jane Eyre actress hilarious:

Streep's shout-out to Wasikowska during The Iron Lady star's Golden Globes speech might have swung some votes the younger actress' way had Oscar voting not closed the Friday before. (And, yes, we know, Streep name-checked Wasikowska's other noteworthy 2011 movie, Jane Eyre, but same difference—the pub came too late, unless, that is, Streep was lobbying for the Aussie behind-the-scenes. And, by the by, if Streep was talking up Wasikowska to her Academy friends, then we take back everything we said about Theron in the Best Actress race, and we hereby give that slot to Wasikowska. How's that for conviction?) (Joal Ryan)

Alt Film Guide thinks that all of Michael Fasbender's stunning performances will be condensed in Shame:

Also, Academy members who enjoyed watching Fassbender in Matthew Vaughn's X-Men: First Class, David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method, or Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre may choose to vote for him in Shame, as — barring an upset of Dennis Hopper-ish proportions — that's Fassbender's only viable Oscar ticket. (Andre Soares)

The Wuthering Heights 2011 screening at Sundance is discussed by Austin Movie Blog:

Saturday saw the U.S. premiere of Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights.” Anyone who has seen Arnold’s “Red Road” or “Fish Tank” will recognize her unique style in this invigorating take on the classic novel. By shooting the film in a square 4:3 aspect ratio rather than the usual widescreen approach, Arnold eschews the usual David Lean approach to literary adaptation, choosing to focus our attention on the beautifully expressive faces of her non-professional actors rather than the blustery vistas of the English landscape. This film joins Cary Fukunaga’s recent “Jane Eyre” as encouraging examples of what can be done with too often told tales. (Stephen Jannise)

Speaking of films. This is what Syrie James, author of The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë, says in an interview on USA Today's Happy Ever After:

Joyce: Before becoming a novelist, you had a successful career writing screenplays for major television networks and studios. Anything we might have heard of? Did you adapt any screenplays from books? Would you consider adapting Forbidden?Syrie: In my years as a screenwriter, I sold 19 scripts to TV and film. Most were TV episodes (such as Starman) and TV movies, including Once in a Lifetime, starring Lindsay Wagner and Barry Bostwick, which I adapted from a novel by Danielle Steel. It originally ran on NBC, and often reruns on the Lifetime Network. I have adapted my Jane Austen and Charlotte Brontë novels for the screen, and hope they'll get produced one day. [...]
Joyce: You're a huge fan of Charlotte Brontë. If you had to choose the best film adaptation of Jane Eyre, which one would it be? If you were writing Jane Eyre the screenplay, what aspect would your film have that would be different from the other film adaptations?Syrie: My favorite Jane Eyre adaptation is the 2006 BBC miniseries directed by Susanna White and starring Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens. The script was wonderful, the stars had great chemistry, and the entire production was beautifully filmed. I think it's the only version that properly shows the passion between Jane and Rochester. I'll have to go back and watch it again, but as I recall, my main complaint in that version was that Jane's time spent at Lowood School as a child was too brief. It's an important part of the novel, because it sets up Jane's character — and it was a direct reflection of Charlotte Brontë's personal experience at a similar, horrible school, where two of her sisters died. I admired the structure of the 2011 version from Focus Films, because they found a way, using flashbacks, to effectively tell a long and detailed story in only two hours. However, it ended too abruptly. One of the most romantic parts is when Jane comes back to Rochester at the end, to find him wounded and grieving. There's some wonderful, playful, romantic dialogue in the book there that I'd include if I was doing an adaptation. (Joyce Lamb)

The Times shares a couple of tips on education and reading. For Year 8:

You might be doing your child a disservice by handing down your well-thumbed classics: don’t be sniffy about repackaging aimed at children — for example, Jane Eyre with an introduction by Jacqueline Wilson.

And for Year 9:

Stress that “classics” now were page-turners from the start (Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island, Jane Eyre, anything by Jules Verne). 

The New Zealand Herald looks at writing and pseudonyms while the Daily Mail reports that Charlotte has been voted 'America's favourite baby name'.

Girls in the Stacks posts about Jane Eyre.