“Battle of the Sexes,” about the historic tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, has finally begun principal photography in Los Angeles, and this first look shows Emma Stone and Steve Carell decked out as the famous athletes, in all their 1970s glory.
The movie costars Elisabeth Shue, Sarah Silverman, Alan Cumming, Andrea Riseborough, Eric Christian Olsen, Natalie Morales, Austin Stowell, Wallace Langham, Jessica McNamee, Mickey Sumner and Bill Pullman.
The film by directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, who made “Little Miss Sunshine,” depicts the 1973 tennis match between world No. 1 Billie Jean King and ex-champion Bobby Riggs, which was billed as “Battle of the Sexes” and became the most-watched televised sports event of all time.
The match sparked a conversation on gender equality. King’s husband urged her to fight for equal pay, while Riggs tried to uphold his legacy.
The film is produced by Cloud Eight Films’ Christian Colson and Decibel Films’ Danny Boyle, alongside Robert Graf. Simon Beaufoy (“127 Hours”) wrote the screenplay.
“If all men and women worked as well together as Jon Dayton and Valerie Faris,” said Boyle and Colson, “the world would be a more harmonious place. Together with Emma, Steve and the rest of our fabulous cast they are the perfect team to realize Simon Beaufoy‘s brilliant ballad of Billie and Bobby — the perfect odd couple.”
See the first look photo below.
