Portman to Star in "Wuthering Heights"

Natalie Portman has signed to star as the romantic Catherine Earnshaw in the latest movie adaptation of Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The English lit classic tells of the passionate, tragic love story between Catherine and a man known simply as Heathcliff. Olivia Hetreed (Girl With a Pearl Earring) wrote the script, and John Maybury is attached to direct. No male lead at this writing.

Wuthering Heights has been brought to the small and big screen many times over the years — IMDB.com lists 14 versions dating back to 1920. That production was directed by A.V. Bramble and shot on location around the Bronte family home in Haworth, West Yorkshire.

The 1939 version, directed by William Wyler and starring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, scored eight Oscar nominations. The 1992 movie featured Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche as the star-crossed lovers.

The newest Wuthering Heights is scheduled for a 2010 release date.

Photo: Natalie Portman, The Other Boleyn Girl, Columbia Pictures, 2008