Netflix is trying to buy Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights

Puck's What I'm Hearing column reports that Netflix is trying to acquire Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights.

Netflix’s no-theaters issue strikes again: Dan Lin, the new head of Netflix’s film unit, is quickly becoming familiar with the downside of refusing to put movies in theaters. According to three sources, Lin has bid more than $150 million for Saltburn filmmaker Emerald Fennell’s planned adaptation of Wuthering Heights, with Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi set to star. That’s far more than other bidders, I’m told, and MRC, the film finance company that put the package together, would very much like to take the money. But Fennell and Robbie, who’s also producing, fear the movie won’t have the same cultural impact without a theatrical release and marketing campaign that the rivals are offering. And, let’s be honest, they’re right. So they’re wavering, and as of today, Netflix isn’t budging on theaters.

“Not our model,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria likes to say, echoing her boss, co-C.E.O. Ted Sarandos. Bajaria repeated that line today at the Screentime conference, adding, “We’re just in a different business.” That’s true… and also kinda not true. Netflix is ultimately in the talent business, just like all its rivals, and those that offer the best talent a theatrical release are still in a better position to win the best film projects—unless there’s a willingness to vastly overpay. What’s been true since the advent of the TV movie in the 1960s is still true today.

Similar concerns are playing out with Netflix’s big Chronicles of Narnia movie, which Barbie director Greta Gerwig has been signed on to write and direct since back in 2020. Gerwig has also been raising concerns with Lin about the theater issue, given the scope and grandeur of the material. It’s all been friendly requests so far—demands and screaming isn’t really Gerwig’s style—but she’s clearly bummed about the platform she’s being offered—and not offered. Netflix, which has the rights to all the Narnia books, would very much like to give an A-list director what she wants. But, again, theaters are not their model.

Back to Wuthering Heights. I’m told this one will ultimately be Fennell’s decision. But Robbie is one of the savviest actor-producers in town, and it’s probably not a coincidence that she’s also one of the few stars that has never done a Netflix movie. Without making a Knives Out 2-style exception for theaters, Dan Lin is really gonna need to pay up.

ScreenRant, World of Reel and others echo the news.

The Indiependent continues discussing the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff.

The recent casting of Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi in Emerald Fennell’s upcoming Wuthering Heights adaptation highlights issues of whitewashing and Hollywood’s historical casting issues.

In her book Wuthering Heights in 1847, Emily Brontë describes Heathcliff as “a dark-skinned gypsy in aspect, in dress and manners a gentleman.” It is unlikely that many people would have pictured Jacob Elordi who is set to play alongside Margot Robbie in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation—a casting choice that has certainly ruffled a few feathers. [...]

The fear of Heathcliff not being cast appropriately is that it erases his struggles, which are imperative to the novel. While Jacob Elordi will likely deliver an excellent performance, he risks becoming a pawn in the whitewashing of such a complex character.

As previously mentioned, Heathcliff is described as “a dark-skinned gypsy,” and while he is left racially ambiguous beyond that, his identity is not merely a superficial detail like whether a character is blond or brunette, but instead it is purposefully constructed to highlight his struggles with a society that marginalises him and labels him an outcast in the 1800s. This aspect of his identity is a trait that, if removed, also takes away the essence of Heathcliff as a character.

It is also important to note that this isn’t the first adaptation of Wuthering Heights where Heathcliff has been played by a white actor. For example, Tom Hardy has previously taken on the role in Coky Giedroyc’s 2009 adaptation series, and when considered alongside Andrea Arnold’s 2011 adaptation that featured a black Heathcliff played by James Howson, Fennell’s seems like three steps backwards. [...]

The reason many audiences are tired of the ‘iPhone face’ in period dramas is that it feels unrealistic and takes audiences out of the story. Even minor details, such as Catherine and Heathcliff having Hollywood white teeth in the 1800s, can be distracting. While these details are not significant to the plot, they can detract from the overall ambiance and ruin the authenticity of the setting for many audiences.

Moreover, Elordi has been striving to break free from the teenage typecasting that has characterised much of his early career. His recent role in Priscilla (2023) marks a shift, but as he takes on the role of Heathcliff, estimated to be around 40 years old, one can’t help but notice the problematic casting alongside 34-year-old Robbie, who will portray a teenage Catherine. This age disparity raises further questions about the integrity of the characters, especially when they are portrayed by actors who don’t visually align with the descriptions in the novel.

It can’t be understated that Robbie and Elordi will leave no crumbs on their performances; however, their casting raises questions about how seriously Hollywood takes authenticity when producing films in terms of aesthetics and cultural appropriation above popularity and glamour.

Despite these concerns, many are excited to see Fennell’s adaptation; it offers new audiences a chance to experience this classic in cinemas. However, the underlying issues of Hollywood’s apparent disregard for authentic casting and cultural appropriation will leave audiences’ popcorn to taste somewhat bittersweet. (Libby Jennings)

Once again, the social issues in Wuthering Heights arise not from race--which is only mentioned vaguely to make Heathcliff more of an outsider--but from class. What's 'purposefully constructed to highlight his struggles with a society that marginalises him and labels him an outcast' is the fact that his origins, and therefore his place in society, are blurry. If it was about race, there'd be no point in him believing that coming back rich would change anything. It's the fact that you can't buy your way into society that's the issue here.

A columnist from Daily Telegraph (Australia) is all for it though: 'Why keyboard warriors are blowing their bloomers off over latest Wuthering Heights'.

“Margot Robbie in Wuthering Heights controversy” is the kind of headline I’m here for. That’s what’s in the news – my favourite actor and my favourite book, adapted by my favourite director. What’s not to love?

Lots, apparently, if you’re a keyboard warrior. For those who haven’t set their Victorian-novel-Google-alerts, people are blowing their bloomers off over a book which came out 177 years ago.

Oscar-winning Emerald Fennell – she of Killing Eve, Promising Young Woman and Saltburn – is writing and directing a new adaptation of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. The casting has caused consternation, because Cathy will be played by Margot and Heathcliff by Jacob Elordi, in an Aussie double-header, and – it’s claimed – Margot is too old to play Cathy, at 34, and Jacob too young for Heathcliff, at 27.

There was also criticism the casting should have been more diverse, as Heathcliff, who was brought as a child to Yorkshire by Cathy’s father, from the streets of Liverpool, is described in the book as being, “a dark-skinned gypsy,” with “eyes full of black fire”.

Now, I’m the first to show concern when it comes to filmmakers butchering classics, but as to the numpties who questioned whether Emerald had “ever read the book” – she studied English at Oxford University – I think we can assume she’s leafed through it.

And despite all kind of novel hysteria on X, with people actually calling for Wuthering Heights to be cancelled, I couldn’t be more up for it. Margot is a magnificent actor and anyone who saw Jacob in Saltburn would understand why he’s in this movie.

Plus, Margot’s production company LuckyChap, which produced Barbie, Promising Young Woman and Saltburn, is behind this version. They know what they’re doing. [...]

Whatever Emerald does with it, it’s bound to be disturbing, which shouldn’t be difficult, considering Heathcliff hangs a dog and digs up his lover’s grave in the novel but, even so, if anyone was going to make this the dark, depraved story it always was – even Charlotte Brontë took it upon herself to tone down a second edition following her sister Emily’s death – it’s this director.

“Wild, confused, disjointed and improbable”, leaving you, “shocked, disgusted, almost sickened”, and “desperate, confused … pleased with its petty shocks,” were the withering reviews for both Wuthering Heights in 1847 and Saltburn in 2023. I’ll leave it to you to work out which was which.

We’re in good hands. Frankly, I reckon it’s a lot of wuthering about nothing, and Emerald and Margot should Brontë it on. (Kerry Parnell)