When acclaimed director Emerald Fennell revealed her plans to adapt Emily Brontë’s classic novel Wuthering Heights for the screen, it was expected that the story would be updated for modern audiences, and some changes to the original plot were inevitable.
Okay, so Emerald Fennell? She’s just… incredible. Everyone in the industry calls her a risk-taker, and honestly, they’re right! She loves to throw you for a loop and completely shock you, and I am absolutely here for it. She’s not afraid to push boundaries, and it’s what makes her work so amazing, in my opinion!
Her 2023 film, Saltburn, quickly gained attention – and notoriety – for its shocking and explicit sexual content. The black comedy is set in a grand country house.
The trailer for “Wuthering Heights,” released in November, sparked a lot of controversy. It featured suggestive imagery – bare chests, prominent cleavage, and generally provocative scenes – all set to a pulsing song by Charlie XCX.
As a lifestyle expert, I’ve been following the buzz around this adaptation closely, and it’s clear everything is incredibly intentional. The creator recently shared that she was specifically aiming for a raw, instinctive reaction from the audience – a ‘primal response,’ as she put it. It’s fascinating to see that level of deliberate artistry at play.
The film’s release is definitely happening, just before Valentine’s Day. However, it’s director Emerald Fennell’s choices during production that have caused upset, particularly among actors. One source described the situation as deliberately misleading.
Fennell often works with a small group of friends, and this project is no different.
She began by using her production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, to create the film. Margot Robbie co-runs LuckyChap with her husband, Tom Ackerley, and two close friends.
LuckyChap Entertainment also made her previous successful films, Saltburn and Promising Young Woman. Robbie, known for his role on the Australian show Neighbours, convinced Fennell to take on the famous part of Catherine Earnshaw.
Robbie was incredibly eager to play the part, so she returned to work only five months after giving birth to her first child, who is reportedly a boy. Both she and Ackerley moved from their home in the Hollywood Hills to Britain to film the movie.
This marks the second time director Emerald Fennell has cast Jacob Elordi in one of her projects, following his lead role as Felix Catton in Saltburn. She’s now chosen him to play Heathcliff.
This decision has led to claims of bias and unfair treatment, with some arguing that the audition process wasn’t fair at all.
According to a source close to the production, the movie has the potential to be the biggest hit of the year, but surprisingly, the casting decisions appear to have been made through WhatsApp.
These friends are a well-established team, having collaborated on numerous projects. But what about all the skilled people across the UK?
Many promising young talents were overlooked, and the selection process seemed to favor those already connected to the organization, creating an exclusive atmosphere.
It’s fantastic that this new, energetic company is succeeding, and Emerald made a good choice partnering with them. However, it would be even better if future opportunities were distributed more equitably.
The choice of Robbie as an actor has sparked considerable debate among agencies representing British performers.
The character Catherine is only 18 years old in the novel, but the actress playing her is 35. Some viewers who’ve seen the trailer have commented that she appears too mature for the role.
Fennell, who is only 40 years old, has also faced criticism for not casting a British actress in the lead role.
People in the movie business are surprised that Margot Robbie didn’t try a Yorkshire accent for her role, choosing instead to speak with a Southern English accent.
Someone commented that if Margot was truly eager to play Catherine, she’d make an effort to master the accent. They suggested she might be avoiding criticism similar to what Anne Hathaway received for her accent work in the movie One Day.
Anne Hathaway portrayed Emma Morley, a character from Yorkshire, in the 2011 film, but her accent was widely criticized.
Okay, so I’m completely obsessed with the new show, and honestly, the casting of Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff is… a lot. He’s Australian, just like Robbie, but he does this weird thing where he talks like he’s from Yorkshire, which is… confusing. But the real issue everyone’s talking about – and I’m totally seeing it – is that he’s just… ridiculously handsome. It’s like Emerald Fennell completely ‘whitewashed’ Heathcliff! Everyone in acting circles is buzzing about it, and as a huge Bronte fan, I get it. Heathcliff was supposed to be brooding and intense, not… a classic heartthrob!
Some readers believe the character is intended to be Romani, noting the author describes him as having dark skin. However, I’ve heard the director of the recent film adaptation, Emerald Fennell, had a specific actor in mind for the role from the start and wasn’t open to considering anyone else.
According to a source close to the situation, Emerald had already decided to rehire Jacob. Despite his appearance, she believes he does excellent work.
Apparently, Phoebe Waller-Bridge and her team stand by their creative choices, feeling it was simply a work of fiction open to individual interpretation.
Wuthering Heights is a famous Gothic novel and the only complete book written by Emily Brontë, who sadly died at the young age of 30 in 1848. The story centers around the intense and damaging relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine, the daughter of the man who took Heathcliff in as a son.
Fennell considers this novel her all-time favorite, and she revisits it every year, making this adaptation a true labor of love.
The daughter of jewellery designer Theo Fennell, she received her education at Marlborough College, a prestigious boarding school costing around £30,000 a year, and also attended by the Princess of Wales.
She began her career as an actress, appearing in the 2012 film Anna Karenina. More recently, she gained recognition for her portrayal of Camilla Parker Bowles, now Queen Consort, in The Crown, a role for which she received an Emmy nomination.
She’d always wanted to direct, and in 2018, her friend Phoebe Waller-Bridge gave her a major opportunity: writing for the second season of Killing Eve.
In 2020, she launched her career as a film director with the thriller Promising Young Woman, and she later won an Academy Award for her original screenplay.
I’ve been following Emerald Fennell’s career with huge excitement! After having two children, she jumped into writing the book for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘Cinderella’ in 2021, and then created ‘Saltburn,’ which everyone was talking about – it definitely pushed some boundaries with its mature content. But honestly, what’s got everyone buzzing now is her adaptation of her favorite novel. And it’s all thanks to Robbie, who has been absolutely incredible promoting it for the last two weeks, turning heads with every amazing outfit he wears. It’s exactly the attention this project deserves!
At the London premiere on Thursday, she wore a flowing, see-through gown by Dilara Findikoglu, featuring a corset and green knotted details. She completed the look with a unique bracelet made of hair belonging to Emily Brontë, borrowed from the Brontë Parsonage Museum, as a nod to her Yorkshire roots.
Elordi, meanwhile, wore a green suit, complete with a frock coat for a period twist.
Beyond generating buzz through their stylish outfits, Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie have also captivated audiences with their apparent connection off camera.
Elordi sparked some discussion when he mentioned a strong connection with Robbie during filming, saying they were ‘obsessed’ with each other. He also stated he deliberately maintained a distance of at least ten metres from the Barbie star throughout the process.
He jokingly told Fandango that he and Margot Robbie share a common fascination with each other. He explained that, no matter the movie’s story or script, anyone working on a film with Margot Robbie will naturally want to be close by – within a few metres – at all times.
I found myself constantly observing her – the way she held her teacup, how she ate, just everything she did. I kept waiting for something to change, for her composure to falter, but it never did.
The actors’ shared connection made it easier to portray their characters. As Elordi explained, there were times during setup – like when they were rehearsing a scene running across the moorland – that they’d catch each other’s eye and truly feel they were looking at Catherine and Heathcliff, fully embodying those roles.
‘And in that moment, we really were a part of their love, for real.’
Margot admitted she gets very attached to her coworkers and really loves her job. She finds it incredibly difficult when a project finishes and hates saying goodbye to the team.
‘I think I developed that quite quickly with Jacob, too.’
Such press will no doubt ensure that Fennell will have no regrets about her casting.
‘She just loves to be talked about,’ says one observer. ‘Margot and Jacob have made sure of that.’
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2026-02-07 02:35