'Wuthering Heights' adaptation to feature a Heathcliff-to-be-named-later

Natalie Portman is attached to topline the latest big screen adaptation of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights."

According the the industry trades, John Maybury is directing from a script by Olivia Hetreed. Ecosse Films is producing.

Portman will play Catherine Earnshaw, the upper crust woman whose burning passion for her brooding foster brother Heathcliff leads to an awful lot of tortured romance and misery for everybody.

Bronte's book remains a staple on high school English curriculums more than 160 years after its publications. While recent adaptations include a 2003 MTV telefilm with Erika Christensen and Mike Vogel and a 1992 project starring Juliette Binoche and Ralph Fiennes, the 1939 feature with Laurence Olivier is still considered the definitive filmed production.

Portman most recently donned period duds for this spring's "The Other Boleyn Girl." If you live in a major city, you can currently see the "V for Vendetta" star in "My Blueberry Nights." Otherwise, you may need to wait for the release of "Brothers" later this year.