Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder are joining forces for a new A24 film about chess. A24 has acquired the rights to Checkmate, a feature package based on a book proposal from author Ben Mezrich about a notorious chess cheating scandal. Fielder is attached to direct, with Stone and husband Dave McCary producing via their Fruit Tree banner.
According to The Hollywood Reporter the movie will follow, the battle between Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and Hans Niemann, the “young bad boy of chess.” Niemann was accused of cheating in one of their head-to-head matchups, leading to one of chess’ biggest scandals. Per the package (via THR), ” the story is not only about the rivalry and the scandal, but the macro backdrop is the rise of a billion-dollar chess industry and so-called ‘collision of tradition and innovation’ in the game.”
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