In the current edition of One article is about how Scott Frank went from one of the highest paid script doctors in Hollywood (more about that special job in this article) to a celebrated writer and director. Two successful Netflix series that he made played a major role in this: ‘Godless’ and especially ‘The Queen’s Gambit’. The series in which Anya Taylor-Joy stands up for herself as a chess player in a male-dominated world was a mega success. No series was watched as much in 2020 and for Netflix, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’ is still one of the biggest hits of all time.
Once more reveals, this does not mean that the streaming service wanted to work with Frank again afterward. He had three projects rejected by Netflix. You would even have reunited him with Anya Taylor-Joy, so it would have been a joint follow-up project to ‘The Queen’s Gambit’.
Adaptation of controversial novel? Not for Netflix
It would be an adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s classic ‘Laughter in the Dark’. The central focus is on the Berlin art dealer and critic Albert Albius, who falls in love with the 17-year-old usher Margot during a visit to the cinema. She sees him as an opportunity to become famous as a movie star. Even though he is twice his age, he leaves his marriage behind, falls completely for her and finances her first film. He has no idea that Margot is also in another relationship and is leaving him out. Soon, literally blind, he approaches his doom…
The novel is often called a precursor to Nabokov’s later classic “Lolita”. Frank made the adaptation together with writer Megan Abbott and wanted to put Margot and her perspective at the center of his story. Anya Taylor Joy would play the femme fatale. Was the erotic and quite dirty material too hot for Netflix?
In any case, Frank and Abbott hope to be able to make the adjustment in a different way. In fact, they’re still hoping that Anya Taylor-Joy will star as well. At 27, the actress is considerably older than the main character, but in the past (see “The Queen’s Gambit”) she has repeatedly portrayed significantly younger characters.
Scott Frank’s next series: “Monsieur Spade” – not on Netflix
It is not known what the other two projects that Netflix rejected are. Was one of them “Monsieur Spade”? In any case, that is Scott Frank’s latest series, which will premiere on American broadcaster AMC in January 2024.
In the story set in 1963, Clive Owen plays legendary private detective Sam Spade, who has retired to France at an older age. He wants to enjoy his retirement there, far from the cruelty that his life brings. But then six nuns are brutally murdered in a nearby convent and Spade finds himself in the middle of a new, confusing case.