Our BetterMost Community > Chez Tremblay
"The Queen's Gambit," a discussion ***Possible Spoilers***
Ellemeno:
Good work on all these finds, Super Sleuth Leslie. I could also picture Todd Haynes doing a great job with it, judging by Far From Heaven.
It would be tricky to make into a movie, because of how much is internal, and how much of Beth's skills required her to have a poker chess face.
I also just remembered how geometric Heath's music videos are, and how a chess board would fit into that.
http://www.wearethemasses.com/musicvideos/nfa.html
http://www.wearethemasses.com/musicvideos/bh_reason.html
Has anyone had any luck actually finding any proof of Heath's ranking in the chess world? I tried to a bit, by looking through some chess sites, both here and in Australia, using some of the terminology I learned from QG, but didn't find anything. Super Sleuth? :)
MaineWriter:
Heath Ledger's gambit to be a director
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Michelle Cazzulino
March 29, 2008 12:00am
TRUDGING through Washington State Park at 6.30am, the Oscar-nominated actor was almost indistinguishable from the other chess enthusiasts who had gathered there to play.
Despite his celebrity status, it was only after his death on January 22 that the extent of Heath Ledger's passion for the game - and his habit of dropping by the park - became apparent.
Now it has been revealed that the 28-year-old planned to combine his career and favourite pastime, making his directorial debut on the film adaption of Walter Tevis's 1983 novel The Queen's Gambit.
Tevis was also resonsible for books which were made into The Colour of Money, The Hustler and The Man Who Fell To Earth.
The chess screenplay, written by Alan Scott, chronicled the career of Beth Harmon, a troubled chess prodigy who battled an addiction to prescription drugs.
In the wake of Ledger's death, Scott said the actor had been involved in the project for the past 12 months. In addition to directing, he was also to have starred in it alongside Oscar-nominated actress Ellen Page from the surprise indy hit Juno.
It was an opportunity tailor-made for Ledger, Scott said.
"The movie is about chess, and what is a little known fact is Heath was very close to being on the grandmaster level.
"He was a chess whiz, and he intended to get his grandmaster rating before he started shooting the picture."
A section of the 109- page script, published in UK newspapers this week, reveals how closely the fictional Beth's reality mirrored Ledger's in the final few months of his life.
"There is noise coming from everywhere in the house. Her suitcase lies open on the bed, clothes spilling everywhere," the script reads.
"There are at least a dozen bottles of tranquiliser pills lying in the suitcase, stuffed into every corner, each with Mexican labels. She opens one of these, grabs a bottle of liquor, and drinks direct from the bottle to swallow two pills."
Ledger, who reportedly had trouble sleeping in the lead-up to his death, would stave off the insomnia with regular trips to Washington State Park, where accounts of his ability varied among the players.
"I saw him a few times, mostly last summer. He seemed like a nice guy," 63-year-old Earl Biggs said.
"He'd usually lose. We played for a couple of dollars and he'd lose a few dollars. He just had fun, he loved it. We'd talk trash talk at the chess table . . . we'd say things to him like, 'How can you make that move! How can you make a move like that!' And he'd just laugh."
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,23446583-5001021,00.html
Ellemeno:
Thanks Leslie, I lap these Heath chess and/or directing articles up! I wonder if that's supposed to be "Washington Square Park?"
MaineWriter:
--- Quote from: Ellemeno on March 31, 2008, 06:19:22 pm ---Thanks Leslie, I lap these Heath chess and/or directing articles up! I wonder if that's supposed to be "Washington Square Park?"
--- End quote ---
Hahahaha! I am sure it is! I didn't even notice....LOL
L
mariez:
--- Quote from: MaineWriter on March 30, 2008, 08:33:14 am ---
Heath Ledger's gambit to be a director
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Michelle Cazzulino
........
"He'd usually lose. We played for a couple of dollars and he'd lose a few dollars. He just had fun, he loved it. We'd talk trash talk at the chess table . . . we'd say things to him like, 'How can you make that move! How can you make a move like that!' And he'd just laugh."
--- End quote ---
Thanks for finding this, Leslie! Wow - he intended to get his grandmaster rating - that's so impressive, but I love this image - playing just for the love of the game!
Although it also makes my heart ache. :'(
Marie
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