Kevin Macdonald to Direct Bobby Fischer Movie

I’m not going to pretend I know all that much about chess; sure, I know the difference between a Knight and a Rook, and I could probably beat my 10-year old nephew at a game (maybe), but that’s about it. So, how interesting is a movie about a reclusive chess champion who grew up to be an anti-semite and all-around nutcase? If they leave in all the warts of the man, it could be a pretty damn good movie, especially with Kevn Macdonald signed on to direct the project.

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The drama about the upstart chess whiz’s triumph over Boris Spassky in the World Chess Championship in 1972 is scripted by Shawn Slovo, based on the book by David Edmonds and John Eidinow.

Bevan and Fellner will produce; production will begin later this year.

A prodigy from Brooklyn who reached grandmaster stature at 15, Fischer became a global celebrity at 29 after defeating the world’s best player, becoming the only American to win that title. The matches, held in Reykjavik, Iceland, were covered like a sporting event and became a symbol in the posturing between Cold War superpowers.

What the Variety article left out was that, after 9/11, Bobby Fischer, then living in the Philippines, called into a radio talk show to celebrate the attacks, calling it “wonderful news” and, of course, going on to disparage more Jews in the U.S. The guy just didn’t like Jews, and all of his hatred of the U.S. seems to stem from that; it’ll be fascinating to find out the reasons behind it.

Kevin Macdonald directed the award-winning “The Last King of Scotland”, and is currently directing “State of Play” with Edward Norton and Russell Crowe.