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Ellen Page to go Gothic in Jane Eyre

07.05.2008 23:03 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

Ellen Page, shown at a Cinema Society screening of Smart People in New York last month, is set to take on her first period piece, Jane Eyre. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press)

Canadian actress Ellen Page is set to take on one of the most enduring fictional romances in British literature, Jane Eyre.

BBC Films has signed the 20-year-old Halifax native in the latest adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel, with Page in the lead role.

The movie, scripted by Moira Buffini, still doesn't have a director or lead actor.

Page has become a Hollywood darling of sorts after being nominated for an Academy Award for her turn as a wise-cracking pregnant teen in the comedy Juno. The movie captured a best screenplay Oscar for Diablo Cody.

This would mark Page's first period piece. Bronte's 1847 book chronicles the melodramatic love story of a governess and her employer, Edward Rochester.

It's a piece of literature that has become a popular screen adaptation, with more than a dozen productions created for both television and cinema. The BBC produced two mini-series based on the book, in 1973 and 2006.

Actresses who have played the title role include Joan Fontaine, Susannah York and Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Page is at work on the roller-derby comedy Whip It! — directed by Drew Barrymore — and the dramatic thriller Peacock. She last appeared in Smart People starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Dennis Quaid.

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