Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber Join Bobby Fischer Pic ‘Pawn Sacrifice’
8:45 AM PDT 9/24/2013
by Tatiana Siegel

Tobey Maguire, who has been developing the project for years, will play the chess genius in the Ed Zwick-helmed film.

Peter Sarsgaard and Liev Schreiber are in negotiations to star opposite Tobey Maguire in the long-gestating Bobby Fischer drama Pawn Sacrifice.

For years, Maguire has been developing the Cold War-era project, which has attracted a number of potential directors including David Fincher.

Ed Zwick is onboard to direct the film, which will begin filming in Montreal next month. Stephen Knight (Eastern Promises, Dirty Pretty Things) wrote the screenplay.

Fischer, who will be played by Maguire, became a pop culture icon as the youngest grand master in the history of chess, also known for his unpredictable outbursts. In 1972, after a record-breaking winning streak, he became the first American to reach the finals, setting the stage for a high-stakes showdown against the seemingly invincible Soviet master Boris Spassky (Schreiber). Sargaard will play a priest who became a close confidant of Fischer’s during the period.

More here.

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