Prior to his tragic death, Heath Ledger was working on what would have been his feature directing debut, an adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” with British writer-producer Allan Scott.
The leading role of a young female chess prodigy had been offered to Oscar nominee Ellen Page. Ledger, a skilled chess player, was due to play a supporting role.
Source: Variety
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
Will this movie still be done? Who will replace him?
They’re making a movie of that book? I read it a long time ago and it was actually pretty terrible, but the basic premise was interesting. Susan should definitely be one of the advisers :).
Though it wasn’t one of Walter Tevis’s best efforts, it was an interesting idea – and frankly one which is doable as a film today.
Heath Ledger was a skilled chess player? What was his ICC handle and rating?
I surprised to see two people post that they weren’t particularly enthusiastic about the novel. I absolutely loved it and so do many others–it is generally considered to be wonderfully readable and many respected critics and publishers consider it a great Tevis work. IT’s also been consistently in print since the early 80s, which is a sign of ongoing popularity.
I loved this book,and I don’t play chess nor do I understand it. Heath Ledger was going to go for his grandmaster in 2008. He also won a state championship when he was very young. He was a very intelligent man. I met and worked around him when I worked on a movie crew. I hope some of his friends in the biz make this movie in memory of him. Its a very well written story and should be made into a movie regardless of who does it.Heath said that he felt that there were not enough positive female role models in hollywood/movies.He thought TQG would be a great movie for young girls to watch. I agree. Kate.