Ellen Page is to star as Jane Eyre in a new adaptation of the Charlotte Bronte novel.

The Juno star will put her headstrong talents into the role of Bronte's governess heroine in the BBC Films production, likely to shoot this autumn, according to Variety.

Alison Owen, producer of The Other Boleyn Girl and Brick Lane - and mother to Lily and Alfie Allen - is to produce the project through her Ruby Films company.

Moira Buffini, the little-known writer of 2006 short The Enlightenment, has adapted Bronte's book for the screen, joining a list of at least 20 screenwriters to translate the novel for film or television.

No director is yet attached for the film, which will represent the first big-screen adaptation of the landmark novel since Franco Zeffirelli's 1996 version, which starred Charlotte Gainsbourg and William Hurt.

Jane Eyre was most recently seen in a Golden Globe-nominated TV adaptation, with Ruth Wilson in the title role and Toby Stephens as Mr Rochester.

Page, who can next be seen in indie comedy Smart People, was Oscar-nominated for her lead role as a pregnant teenager in Juno, drawing plaudits from screenwriter Diablo Cody and fellow cast members.

West Wing actress Allison Janney, who played Page's stepmother in the film described Page as "an old soul on a young girl".

"She's very wise and talented and very about her work," she added.

"There's so many young actors out there who are about the celebrity and Ellen's about her work."


07/05/2008 10:27:25