‘The Queen’s Gambit’ was supposed to be Heath Ledger’s directorial debut
What could’ve been
If you’ve been on social during the past few days, you might’ve probably heard of The Queen’s Gambit. The Netflix miniseries, based on a 1983 novel by Walter Tevis, follows the quest of orphan chess prodigy Beth Harmon to become the game’s best ever – all while struggling with drug addiction.
The drama has proven to be a hit, currently sitting amongst the top 10 shows on the streaming service. The surrounding fanfare resulted in a revival of a 2008 interview with co-creator Allan Scott (real name Allan Shiach), where he divulged that Heath Ledger was set to helm the project before the latter’s demise in the same year.
According to Scott, he had acquired the rights to The Queen’s Gambit in 1992, but the project languished in development hell after two directors ditched the project. A decade later, three people pitched to take over, with Ledger coming out on top.
‘He was passionate about it; he was an intense, interested young man and I was drawn to him immediately. We spoke and spoke about the project over the phone, and then eventually got round to meeting up over it towards the end of last year’, Scott told The Independent.
The pair extensively worked on Ledger’s vision of the script for three months and had even pitched to Ellen Page (Juno, Umbrella Academy) the role of Beth Harmon, which eventually went to Anya Taylor-Joy.
With Ledger’s backing, the project finally seemed commercially viable, with plans to make a movie by the end of 2008. However, fate had other plans, as Ledger died from an accidental overdose in the same year.
And while Netflix would eventually manage to give justice to The Queen’s Gambit, Scott’s interview highlighted an interesting what-if scenario, given that Ledger’s life mirrored the source material.
‘Everyone knows Heath was a user of prescription drugs; and that he had addiction issues when he was a young man’, said Scott.
‘On a personal level, I am incredibly sad. One is always sad to lose someone as a friend. But, what is more, the movie business lost a real talent. I think he would have been an extraordinary director’.
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Source: we the pvblic
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