A timeless classic of British literature is about to be brought life for the 20th time. Hold on to your bonnets: BBC Films is about to make yet another adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's novel Jane Eyre and bring it to the big screen. If your love of Brontë alone isn't enough to send you racing into the theaters, then perhaps the film's star will; Ellen Page has just signed on to play the title character.

Known mostly for her work in contemporary indie comedies, this will mark the first time Page will star in a period piece. … continue reading

I recently saw a trailer for a small British movie that is due out this June called Miss Conception. This film has all the makings of your typical British comedy: There's driving on the wrong side of the road, people drinking tea … Mia Kirshner and Heather Graham. Crikey! Mia and Heather are British? Well, no. But if I didn't have it on good authority (via a quick trip to Google) that Ms. Graham was born in Wisconsin and Ms. Kirshner was born in Canada, I could see how an unsuspecting person would think that they were in fact from across the pond just by watching the trailer.

A millisecond into the preview, we hear both Mia and Heather sporting fairly impressive faux-English accents. It is obvious to those of us in the entertainment know (or those who have access to Google) that these women are faking it and are actually from North America, but that knowledge aside — do you find their accents believable?

Judging their entire performance based on this 60-second trailer, I can make the dubious claim that they both did a pretty good job. I couldn't pinpoint what region of England they're pretending to be from, but then again I'm not a linguist and never wished to be one, so I'll leave those little details to the experts.

The shock of hearing Jenny Schecter speak with an accent got me thinking: Who else in the movie biz has mastered the art of British speak? If blindfolded and left only to depend on sound, which actors would dupe me into thinking I was talking to a gal from jolly olde England? … continue reading

A new film adaptation of Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights is in the works. John Maybury — who helms upcoming lesbianish film The Edge of Love and is openly gay — is attached to direct, and Natalie Portman is attached to star as Catherine Earnshaw. According to IMDb.com, the project is tentatively scheduled for release in 2010.

This isn’t the first adaptation of the novel. Probably the most famous version is the 1939 film, starring Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff and Merle Oberon as Cathy. Fans of the BBC’s recent drama Mistresses might be interested to know that Oberon — who hid her Indian heritage to ‘pass’ as white in the racist Hollywood of the 1930s — is actually the great-aunt of Shelley Conn (below, left) who starred in Mistresses as the bisexual Jessica, and also played the leading lesbian in Nina's Heavenly Delights (out this week on DVD in the U.S.). … continue reading

In case you haven't heard, Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson are in a movie together. I've seen so many promos and articles and trailers and interviews related to The Other Boleyn Girl, I'm a little weary and don't know if I'll even see the film, which opens today.

But the Los Angeles Times' recent "Scarlett versus Natalie" photo gallery gave the hype machine a different twist. Each photo is accompanied by facts on a particular topic (like horses, muses or education), and then a winner is declared in that area — like this:

Muses

George Lucas turned Portman into a full-fledged international star when he cast her as Padme Amidala, the woman who would become the mother of Luke and Leia, in the “Star Wars” prequel trilogy.

Woody Allen has fallen under the spell of Johansson, casting her in “Match Point,” “Scoop” and the upcoming “Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” in which she reportedly has a steamy sex scene with Penelope Cruz.

"Scarlett is just a naturally great actress,” Allen has stated. ”She can do no wrong and is incapable of a bad moment. She’s very sexy, very pretty. She was just touched by God."

Winner: Johansson. Although “Star Wars” made Portman a household name, Allen is a far better director than Lucas, who seems ill at ease directing humans.

Well, fine, but Allen puts me ill at ease with his daughter-marrying ways, so I'm not sure ScarJo really wins on this point.

View the whole gallery here. One thing the Times doesn't mention is that both Scarlett and Natalie think same-sex marriage is A-OK. In a recent interview with W magazine, they spoke up on the subject: … continue reading

One of life’s great shared injustices is the yearbook photo. We all had to get them. And — unless they’ve somehow magically found a cure for awkwardness, geekiness and general dorkitude since I was a teenager — most of us dreaded them. For whatever reason, be it bad skin, bad clothes or the steadfast yet ultimately misguided belief in the transformative properties of big bangs, many of us look back at our school pictures and cringe. Or, at the very least, giggle. But you know what? Celebrities had to get them too, just like us mere mortals. Now that is what I call justice.

So, let’s play a little game called Name That Teenager. It’ll be fun; like being back in high school, but already knowing what everyone will look like at the class reunion. Let the games begin:

Among them you have a Rock star, an Alien hunter, an alphaBette and the possible next president of the United States of America.

Give up? … continue reading

I’ve always admired Natalie Portman. Besides being this generation’s go-to gamine and heir apparent to Audrey Hepburn, her public persona has been one of a smart, responsible, civically minded and non-panty-flashing young star. At 26, she already has a Golden Globe, an Academy Award nomination and a Harvard degree. So if even Natalie is having a hard time getting good scripts, you know something is rotten in the state of Hollywood.

While doing press with co-star Scarlett Johansson for their new film The Other Boleyn Girl, Natalie bemoaned the lack of good roles for women.

“I’ve recently been getting frustrated. [turns to Scarlett] I don’t know if you’ve had this experience, but we’re probably seeing a lot of the same variety of what’s out there, but I mean the number of roles for strippers or prostitutes — or the opposite — which, is like, 'She’s the moral center of the film! She’s the pure one. She’s the one that makes the man realize who he should be,’ you know? That sort of dichotomy exists so strongly, it’s like the virgin/whore thing evident to the greatest extent. So that’s really been bothering me.”

Ahh, the old Madonna/whore complex. Not sure what to do with that pesky female character, script writers? Make her a virginal maternal figure. Oh, you want to get teenage boys into the seats? Then totally make her a slut. Heck, this stuff practically writes itself. While Natalie has managed to avoid most of the stereotypical traps many actresses fall into early in their careers, she has had a couple roles that fell roughly along those old battle lines.

So what’s a young actress looking for a long career to do? Well, besides working with a foundation that finances women-owned businesses in developing nations and starting your own vegan shoe line? She just has to keep looking. … continue reading

I'm once again brain-dead on a Monday, so I thought I'd post some pretty posters.

Get Smart (Anne Hathaway) — She gets smarter in every version of the poster.

The Forbidden Kingdom — A Jackie Chan movie, but I'll be focused on these two.

Jolene — No, it's not based on the Dolly Parton song, sadly. No matter how much the poster may seem to suggest that. … continue reading

Earlier this week, the British film magazine Empire, the biggest-selling of its niche in the U.K., published its “100 Sexiest Movie Stars” list. The list aims to represent “the most fanciable in film as voted by you” (can you hear the sexy British accent?).

Angelina Jolie took the No. 1 spot on the list, ahead of Brad Pitt, who came in 7th place. The top 100 included men and women, living and deceased.

Also making the list were Natalie Portman (No. 2), Jessica Alba (No. 4), Eva Green (No. 6), Scarlett Johansson (No. 8), Kiera Knightley (No. 9), Halle Berry (No. 12), Marilyn Monroe (No. 14), Jessica Biel (No. 16), Anne Hathaway (No. 18) and Kate Winslet (No. 20). I’ll stop now, because we do have to draw a line somewhere. … continue reading

The holidays are supposed to be about love, joy and forgiveness. The holidays are supposed to bring us together. They remind us to give to those who are less fortunate. We are supposed to set aside our family feuds, our petty disagreements, our bitterness at perceived wrongs. (Heck, we should do that all year long.)

Revenge is not a part of the holiday season. No matter: Every season is the right time to watch a good tale of revenge on the screen. Revenge tales allow us to live vicariously through the fictional heroes who exact their righteous revenge in ways we never could.

So what are the best revenge movies of all time? EW.com has compiled a list. As you might expect, this list is primarily populated with testosterone-fueled action epics like The Godfather, Gladiator, Death Wish and Payback. But the girls do get in on the action, sometimes in surprising ways.

Let's start with the most obvious films. First, and most recent, we have Jodie Foster. Yes, The Brave One made the list. Such a shame for me to be forced into posting yet another shot of the lovely Ms. Foster. … continue reading

Natalie Portman has been doing some press lately for Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, but she's been talking about more than Mr. Magorium.

In an interview with MTV, she made it clear that she's done with the Star Wars franchise. No more Padme for her. … continue reading

I'm usually in need of inspiration on Mondays. What better way to get it than to peruse some pretty pictures? Let's start with the new poster for The Other Boleyn Girl, starring Scarlett Johansson and Natalie Portman.

I think that green dress must really be the other Boleyn girl, because it's taking up the whole damn poster. And Scarlett's lips are looking huge, even for her. But who am I kidding? All I can really see here are the names Johansson and Portman on the same poster. I'm in. … continue reading

Scarlett Johansson is one busy hottie these days.

Besides shocking the media by not hiding her curves and recording an album, Johansson has been working on projects like The Nanny Diaries, due out Friday, The Other Boleyn Girl and a Woody Allen film unofficially entitled Midnight in Barcelona.

… continue reading

For the most part whenever a public service announcement comes on my eyes glaze over as I passively agree with its sentiment. (Yes, yes, click it or ticket. Good, good, give blood, give life.) Still it's the rare PSA that makes me get off my ass and actually do something. This weekend, thanks to Natalie Portman, Kyra Sedgwick and Chloe Sevigny, the figurative (and literal) light bulb finally went on over my head.

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National Geographic had the bright idea of having Natalie, Kyra and Chloe tell us all about the benefits of compact florescent light bulbs (CFLs, for short). These energy-efficient lights use about 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than your standard incandescent bulbs. But don't let me bore you with the numbers, instead check it out for yourself (for better quality video, click here):

After tallying 110,000 votes cast on on its website, animal rights organization PETA today announced their annual picks for the world's sexiest vegetarians. American Idol-winner and country star Carrie Underwood claimed the female title this year (as she did in 2005):

… continue reading