'Wuthering Heights' Finds a Helmer in Peter Webber
Not too confident about this choice
Peter Webber's directorial career includes the awful prequel Hannibal Rising, the forgotten Scarlett Johansson feature Girl with a Pearl Earring and a lone episode of "Six Feet Under" so I am not sure how excited any of us should be over the news he is directing Wuthering Heights, an adaptation of Emily Bronte's novel.
About a year ago John Maybury (The Edge of Love) was attached to direct the film, but he has since dropped off. On top of that, almost a year ago exactly Natalie Portman, who was once attached to the film as Catherine Earnshaw, also dropped off the feature. Portman's attachment was, at the time, considered to be a driving force and when she dropped off the film's lifespan looked bleak. Obviously things have changed.
Stepping into the role vacated by Portman will be Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) with Ed Westwick playing Heathcliff, a role that was once occupied by Michael Fassbender (Hunger).
Webber will be directing from a script penned by Olivia Hetreed who also penned Webber's Girl with a Pearl Earring. These new developments mean the film is expected to finally get underway this year telling the story of the all-encompassing and passionate, yet thwarted, love between Heathcliff and Catherine, and how this unresolved passion eventually destroys both themselves and many around them.
Considering IMDb lists approximately 14 film/television productions based on the Bronte tome I can only wonder how necessary all of this is.
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To say I'm not optomistic about this one is putting it mildly. Ed Westwick playing Heathcliff? Really? I don't think Ed Westwick could be Laurence Olivier's pool boy, much less approach the role that Larry made his own. But that was in 1939 and there's been many versions since then including a much more faithful version with Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes that has been forgotten. I gotta say, is there even an audience for this bleak story? I'm reading about "Bright Star" that debuted at Cannes today and despite the fact that it has had stellar reviews there's talk about a limited audience for period pieces.