Portman to hit the Heights

Star Wars, V For Vendetta and Leon star Natalie Portman is to follow up her role in historical drama The Other Boleyn Girl with another period piece - a big-screen adaptation of Emily Bronte's classic Wuthering Heights, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

Portman, whose previous credits also include Mars Attacks!, Everyone Says I Love You and Closer, will play the film's heroine Catherine Earnshaw, who is drawn into an ultimately doomed romance with caddish, broody sort Heathcliff.

Former music video and Edge Of Love director John Maybury will be behind the camera for the project, the site says, while HayWay films will handle its worldwide distribution.

The company's Tim Haslam said: "Natalie is without a doubt one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation … Combined with visionary director John Maybury, this promises to be a fresh, exciting version of a classic love story."

The new project follows a busy few months for Portman, who has put in appearances in Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited and Mr Magorium's Wonder Emporium, as well as starring opposite Scarlett Johansson and Eric Bana in The Other Boleyn Girl.

She is also working on her directorial debut, a short film that will be part of the upcoming New York, I Love You.

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