To paraphrase the lady in question, it is a truth universally acknowledged that any writer in possession of a literary fortune must be in want of a film that fictionalizes and romanticizes their early life. The Bard of Avon got the treatment with Shakespeare in Love; Hemingway, with In Love in War. In Becoming Jane, Jane Austen gets her turn, with Anne Hathaway (The Princess Diaries, The Devil Wears Prada) playing the lead in a portrait of the artist as a young woman -- and depicting her life as having the same mix of passion and restraint found in her novels. Austen's six novels have long been loved by moviemakers -- there have been more adaptations of Pride and Prejudice than you can shake a petticoat at, and an army of Emmas have made their way across the silver screen. Directed by Julian Jarrold -- whose last film, Kinky Boots, was a different take on the battle between the desires of the heart and the constraints of Englishness -- Becoming Jane is a warm and charming romantic drama. And, considering that the average moviegoer knows of Austen's work far better than they know of her life-- and, if they know her work at all, they know it through filmed adaptations of the novels as opposed to the novels themselves -- the odds are far better that audiences will be charmed, as opposed to offended, by its inventions.

Becoming Jane begins in 1790s Hampshire, cutting between the wet, loamy woods and the Austen household. The Austens are a large and loving family -- but achingly poor. The only asset they have to increase their fortunes, it seems, is Jane's hand in marriage; marrying off their youngest daughter to a man of means would mean salvation for the entire family. Jane would rather marry in the name of love -- or at the least in the name of affection, but, to quote another independent-minded, artistic woman -- Cindy Lauper -- "Money changes everything." Jane is the uneasy focus of the attentions of Mr. Wisely (Laurence Fox), whose aunt Lady Gresham (Maggie Smith) is a lady of means and a rather mean lady. But then, a friend of the family, Mr. Lefroy (James MacAvoy), visits Hampshire. Lefroy's studying law in London; he's a dissipated free-spirit whose personality is as large and unruly as his sideburns. He finds Jane and her writings provincial and quaint, just as she finds his London airs coarse and presumptuous. The two meet, squabble and simmer -- which, in time-honored romantic comedy tradition (a tradition which, let's not forget, Austen herself helped define), means they're nuts about each other.

Now that Pirates of The Caribbean 3 is becoming a distant memory in the summer blockbuster rush, Keira Knightley fans will just have to wait until the release of her next period drama, Atonement to get their fix. Keira Knightley Daily, is hosting promotional stills from the film, based on the novel by Ian McEwan. It centers on a young girl from an upper class family, with aspirations of becoming a writer, who falsely accuses her older sister's (Knightley) lover of a crime. What follows seems to be long-suffering love, class battles, and regret, all the things that make up a successfully weepy period romance. Oscar-winner Christopher Hampton adapted the book for the screen, and Joe Wright is directing. The cast also includes Saoirse Ronan, Vanessa Redgrave, and James McAvoy as the wronged man. This is the second project for Knightley and director Wright, having already worked together on Pride and Prejudice.

Knightley is also busy finishing up the Dylan Thomas film Edge of Love, and we recently received the somewhat wacky news that she was being considered to play Princess Diana. But since the producer of the Diana project has only made a low-budget horror flick, it seems a little far-fetched to imagine that Knightley would say yes. If you cannot get enough of Knightley's pout, there are also now plenty of new images online from Edge. When put side by side with Atonement's stills, they start to look a little interchangeable -- but at least this set of photos isn't going to spark off a round of litigation. Atonement is set for release in September in the U.K. with a North American release date set for December 7th.

Here's a bit of news we somehow missed this last week: Keira Knightley, who is now proudly in the "Oscar-nominated actress" pay bracket, has signed on to star in the screen version of Ian McEwan's Atonement. This will be the fourth film based on one of McEwan's novels (several have also been based on his short stories), and this one - which was nominated for the prestigious Booker Prize - "is McEwan at his most closely observed and psychologically penetrating, and his most sweeping and expansive." So there. The novel tells a series of interconnected stories, all of which hinge loosely on the childhood actions of "Briony Tallis [to be played by Knightley], a privileged young girl with an overactive imagination." And don't worry about Knightley trying to play a 12-year-old - the character is grown up in all but the opening of the book.

The film will serve as a reunion (with McEwan standing in for Jane Austen) for the core team behind Pride & Prejudice, with director Joe Wright and producer Paul Webster once again guiding the project. Working Title (which was not involved in the earlier collaboration) no doubt is praying for a similar critical and financial success; shooting will begin in June.