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Ed Westwick and Gemma Arterton are Cathy and Heathcliff

BuzzSugar — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:15:12 -0700

A year ago, we were all atwitter about who could play Heathcliff in a new Wuthering Heights adaptation that was supposed to be headlined by Natalie Portman as Cathy. Well, things look a little different now, as British actress Gemma Arterton has replaced Portman as Cathy - and Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick has been cast as Heathcliff.

The Girl with the Pearl Earring's Olivia Hetreed is still behind the screenplay, which is said to steer away from "stuffy costume drama" and focus mostly on the Heathcliff/Cathy relationship. Peter Webber - who directed Pearl Earring - is now on board as the director.

Looking back at the comments on this news from last year, I'm a little surprised nobody suggested Westwick for Heathcliff - though at the time, most of the choices were skewing older. But some of the descriptions you offered - intense, "dirty-yet-sexy," emotionally strong - do seem like they could apply to the man behind Chuck Bass. Meanwhile, Arterton is a rising star in the UK who's played the title role in Tess of the D'Urbervilles and was Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace. What do you make of this casting? Happy they're going all-Brit for the remake after all? Ready to see Westwick smolder on the big screen?

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Buzz News Roundup, 5/9

BuzzSugar — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:39:48 -0700

More Arrested Development alum casting news: Portia de Rossi has been cast in an ABC comedy pilot, Reuters reports.
Sopranos creator David Chase will write and direct his first feature film, E! reports.
Justin Timberlake will produce a reality show styled like "a real-life Bourne Identity," TV Week reports; excited yet?
According to Variety, specialty studios Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures are shutting down.
Writers' strike be dammed - we're still going to get all 48 promised episodes of Lost, with 17 more to come in each of the next two years, Zap2it reports.
Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, and Leslie Bibb will star together in a comedy called A Good Old Fashioned Orgy, reports ComingSoon.
So much for that idea: Natalie Portman has dropped out of the big-screen Wuthering Heights adaptation, Variety reports.
According to Zap2It, Oliver Stone's W movie has a release date - and it's soon! The George W. Bush movie will hit theaters October 17, 2008.

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Natalie Portman Takes the Lead in Wuthering Heights Film

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 11:44:26 -0700

Paging Heathcliff! Natalie Portman has signed on to play Catherine in a new adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic novel, Wuthering Heights.

This new film comes complete with a lot of period-piece cachet: The production company also worked on Becoming Jane and Mrs. Brown, and the writer, Olivia Hetreed, also adapted The Girl with the Pearl Earring for film. And, of course, Portman just appeared in The Other Boleyn Girl.

What do you think of Portman as Catherine? She doesn't really have the look or the voice I pictured when reading the book, but on the other hand, I'm not sure what actress I'd rather have playing the part. I just seem to enjoy her so much more in modern roles rather than period pieces.

And, I'm serious: Who would pair well with her as Heathcliff?

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Wuthering Heights to Be Adapted for the Screen Yet Again

BuzzSugar — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:31:23 -0800

Emily Bronte's Gothic tale of love and class division, Wuthering Heights will find itself adapted for screen yet again. This time the director is John Maybury, though the cast won't be decided until the Fall.

Variety explains that this "tempestuous love story about obsessive passion across the class divide, set on the Yorkshire Moors" has been adapted for film and TV "more than a dozen times, most famously in 1939 with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon. A 1992 version starred Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche."

In my perfect world, I'd have Joe Wright (Atonement, Pride and Prejudice) adapt Wuthering Heights. Can you imagine how beautiful it would be? Sigh. Anyway, who do you think should play the English lovers, Catherine and Heathcliff?