It is not often that Hollywood makes a film about Norwegian sports heroes, but now Emma Stone, Nathan Fielder and the production company A24 will deal with one of the most talked about events in modern chess history: When Magnus Carlsen claimed that Hans Niemann cheated during the Sinquefield Cup in 2022.
The film is based on an unwritten book by Ben Mezrich, who also wrote the books that The Social Network and Dumb Money are “based on”.
A24, which has previously concentrated on films with meager budgets such as Midsommar, Moonlight and Everything Everywhere All at Once, has recently moved to position itself as a major Hollywood studio. This spring, they released the action film Civil War, their biggest blockbuster to date, and they bid more for the rights to the book than any of the other studios and streaming services that were interested.
Emma Stone, who recently won an Oscar for her role in Poor Things, will both produce the film and play a central role. Nathan Fielder will direct.
Check mate will not only explore the scandal itself – which shed light on Niemann’s earlier cheating and led to a much-discussed theory of vibrating buttplugs – but also the growing interest and economics surrounding chess as a global sport.
This is not the first time Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder have collaborated. The duo starred in the critically acclaimed series The Curse, which aired on SkyShowtime this spring. The series follows a white couple who try to build eco-friendly houses in New Mexico, before they are hit by a curse that gradually destroys their lives.
We don’t know when Check mate– the film comes to the cinema.
