The new tennis comedy Battle of the Sexes starring Steve Carell and Emma Stone (reuniting for the screen after appear in the 2011 comedy Crazy Stupid Love) has just barely started production, but distributor Fox Searchlight already appears rather bullish on the title, dropping the first image from the set.
In the film, Carell (who earned an Oscar nomination for 2014’s Foxcatcher) and Stone (Oscar nominee that same year for Birdman) portray former tennis greats Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King. The champs battled in an iconic 1973 tennis match, a moment in history that tapped into the zeitgeist of sexism and gender politics. The film, described as a biographical sports comedy, is being directed by the Little Miss Sunshine team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and comes from a script by Slumdog Millionaire Oscar winner Simon Beaufoy; Danny Boyle (Steve Jobs) and Christian Colson are producing the title. The ensemble cast includes Elisabeth Shue (Leaving Las Vegas), Andrea Risenborough (Birdman), Alan Cumming (The Anniversary Party), Sarah Silverman (I Smile Back), Eric Christian Olsen (Celeste and Jesse Forever) and Austin Stowell (Bridge of Spies).
Check out the first still of Battle of the Sexes and compare notes: Are Carell and Stone a good fit for the roles of Riggs and King? Battle of the Sexes is due in theaters sometime in 2017.
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