Yahoo News Woody Allen-Narrated Animated Short ‘Mr. Fischer’s Chair’ Heads Into Production, Shares First Look at Concept Art (EXCLUSIVE)
A quarter-century after lending his voice to Z in Disney’s CG feature “Antz,” Woody Allen is set to return to the recording booth and narrate the upcoming Spanish animated short “Mr. Fischer’s Chair,” which will formally add several key co-producers during this year’s Annecy Festival. The film’s directors have also given Variety an exclusive look at early concept art for the project.
“Mr. Fischer’s Chair” revisits the 1972 World Chess Championship, where Bobby Fischer faced off against Boris Spassky. During game 17 of their “Match of the Century,” the Soviet team accused the Americans of manipulating Fischer’s chair to maliciously harm his opponent, leading to an exhaustive examination of the Eames Executive seat.
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The film is created and directed by filmmakers and producers Xosé Zapata and Lorenzo Degl’ Innocenti, who recently teamed on the Spanish Academy Goya Award-winning animated short “The Monkey.” Zapata is handling the screenplay. The duo plans to use a mix of CG and hand-drawn 2D animation for “Mr. Fischer’s Chair.”
“Mr. Fischer’s Chair” will be a four-country co-production between Boavista Filmes in Portugal, Passion Pictures in the U.K., Imagic TV in Spain and DareSay in the U.S. The latter has produced several of Allen’s films, including last year’s “Coup de Chance.” Lead producers include Chris Burnel for Boavista, Jordi B. Oliva for Imagic TV and Adam B. Stern for DareSay. In addition to narrating, Allen is also co-producing through the DareSay label.
Allen has worked almost exclusively on projects produced abroad in recent years, as many U.S. companies have kept their distance since the #MeToo movement resurfaced Dylan Farrow’s allegations of sexual abuse against him. Allen has denied the allegations.
Additional financial support for production is being provided by the Prime Asian Alternatives Assets VCC Fund, managed by Singapore-based N PrimePartners. Further international participation will come from the Spanish and Singaporean branches of the DigiPen Group university, which will enlist young alumni to receive practical training while working on the short.
According to Zapata, “The future is not AI; the future will always be young talent. We must support young artists with professional-level projects and guide the next generation into an uncertain future.”
The film’s producers are currently negotiating Spanish distribution with the popular streaming platform Filmin and hope to close a deal soon.
According to Oliva, “The sum of talents on this project and the co-production involvement of DareSay Films, along with the work done at Boavista Filmes, have been fundamental in the six months we’ve been working to finalize development and make it possible to announce the start of production.”
Zapata also shared early concept art from the project, which is scheduled to be released in August 2025.
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