The Queen’s Gambit at PaleyFest LA 2021 sponsored by Citi and Verizon

PaleyFest LA 2021 sponsored by Citi and Verizon. Stars and an executive producer of Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit (William Horberg, Anya Taylor-Joy, Marielle Heller, Moses Ingram, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Harry Melling, and Bill Camp) gather with moderator Stacey Wilson Hunt at PaleyFest LA 2021 to celebrate their show. Topics include: how countless producers dismissed making a film of Walter Tevis’s 1983 novel about a self-destructive female chess player, calling it “non-commercial”; the word-of-mouth campaign that led to the mini-series becoming a phenomenon for Netflix; Taylor-Joy’s (Beth Harmon) decision to sign on without reading a script due to her love of the book; the reaction of theater veteran Camp (Mr. Shaibel) to finding himself with a new fan base after the show’s success; Melling (Harry Beltik), Brodie-Sangster (Benny Watts), and Taylor-Joy becoming chess devotees after learning to play for the mini-series; and how the show caused a newfound popularity for the game of chess, and skyrocketing sales of chess boards.