Portman to play lead in 'Wuthering Heights'

Rex Features

Natalie Portman is to play heroine Catherine Earnshaw in a new big-screen adaptation of Wuthering Heights.

The Jacket director John Maybury will helm the Ecosse Films production from a script by Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring), claims The Hollywood Reporter.

Emily Bronte's 1847 novel revolves around the turbulent love affair between headstrong Catherine and her brooding adopted brother Heathcliff.

Keira Knightley and Lindsay Lohan were previously reported to be vying for the role, famously played by Merle Oberon opposite Laurence Olivier in 1939. A 1989 version starring Ralph Fiennes and Juliet Binoche performed poorly at the box office.

Previous Ecosse credits include Mrs. Brown and Becoming Jane.

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