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Juno star Ellen Page has landed the lead role in a BBC adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s classic novel Jane Eyre.

But the casting of the Oscar-nominated actress has reportedly angered a number of U.K. film industry bosses who believe a British actress should have been cast in Page’s role.

A source tells British newspaper The Express, “No one is doubting Ellen Page’s acting abilities but why a BBC movie of Jane Eyre couldn’t have a British actress as the lead is pretty hard to stomach.”

It’s not the first time an American actress has attracted controversy by playing beloved characters from classic English literature – last year, Anne Hathaway caused controversy when she was cast in the role of author Jane Austen in movie Becoming Jane.

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Sam Raimi is to return to his horror roots on the low-budget Drag Me to Hell, which will star Juno’s acclaimed Ellen Page in the lead role.

The US director, who originally made his name with the Evil Dead films, will direct from a screenplay he himself has co-written with brother Ivan.

The first two Dead movies were milestones in horror cinema and made the Spider-Man director’s name. Evil Dead II, in particular, helped inject a welcome dose of humour into the genre after Raimi stumbled upon the idea of mixing gore with Three Stooges-style slapstick in order to head off the censors who had come down hard on his earlier effort.

Page, who could well earn an Oscar later this month for her acclaimed performance as a pregnant teen in Juno, will portray an innocent woman who becomes possessed by a curse. Following the success of Juno, the actor’s diary is getting fully booked with offers. Aside from working with Raimi, she will also star in Whip It, a comedy directed by Drew Barrymore.

Drag Me to Hell will be Raimi’s first horror film in more than 15 years – his last was 1992’s Army of Darkness, the third film in the Evil Dead series, although that one turned out to be more of a swords and sorcery romp. Filming is set to begin in Los Angeles next month.

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Ellen Page has slammed the U.S media for its treatment of troubled singer Britney Spears, branding its behaviour “sickening”. The Juno star says she sympathises with Spears because she could have been in a similar situation had she begun her career at a younger age.

Page was asked to relocate to Los Angeles to star in a TV sitcom at just 13 – but turned down the role to finish schooling in her native Canada. And the 20-year-old is convinced that had she accepted the part, she could have been a misled teen – and a victim of the tabloids’ prying paparazzi.

She explains, “It definitely happens to some people and it doesn’t to others. It’s really unfortunate – I wish there was more compassion for those people versus just relentless judgments. It’s sickening.

“I feel bad, you know – they were hyper-sexualised at the age of 16, not guided or taken care of or nurtured properly. And now people treat it like it’s a joke. Let’s splatter their face on newspapers every day and show them being taken out of their house on a stretcher! It’s like, why don’t we ask why this is happening? It makes me very angry.”

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