Bronte and Austen movie adaptations are cyclical things. Every young actress seems to get her shot at playing Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, Jane Eyre, or Catherine Earnshaw. Five years later, they're now Mature Actresses, and watching the next crop come through the English classics. Right now, we're on the Brontes (spurred undoubtedly by Bella and Edward) and Ruby Films' adaptation of Jane Eyre spurred a lot of talk when it hooked Ellen Page as its poor and plain heroine. Variety reports that Page has officially dropped out of the project, but that it's landed Cary Fukunaga as its director. Fukunaga has earned a lot of positive buzz for his feature debut Sin Nombre, which nabbed him a Best Director award at this year's Sundance Film Festival. Since then he's landed writing-directing deals at Universal and Focus, and it will undoubtedly surprise many that he's eying an English classic as his next film. But hey, if Gothic dramas are good for young actresses, why not young directors too?
As the project now boasts Fukunaga and Moira Buffini (one of Britain's rising screenwriters) Ruby Films now plans to "ramp up casting" for the roles of Jane and Rochester. With Page uninterested, which ingenue will leap at the chance to be one of literature's finest heroines? What brooding hunk will they cast as Rochester? As a lifelong Bronte addict, I await the news with fluttery, Victorian breaths.
1. Rochester is Clive Owen and Jane is... well, while Ellen would have been nice since she fit the description, I would kinda like to not see Jane so plain this time around, someone like Talulah Riley.
Posted at 11:30AM on Oct 23rd 2009 by Sapheron