With Emma Stone and Steve Carell already at the top of the cast, tennis drama Battle Of The Sexes is now filling in its key supporting players. Latest to Centre Court is Andrea Riseborough.
The film, which boasts a script by Simon Beaufoy, will chronicle the rivalry between former tennis pro Bobby Riggs (Carell) and his 29-year-old opponent Billie Jean King (Stone), who hit the court for a legendary match in 1973 that (it was claimed) would establish if a female pro could ever beat a male in the sport. The event drew a huge audience of more than 50 million Americans, eager to see who would triumph. Riseborough will play King's ex-lover Marilyn Barnett.
Stone and Carell previously shared the screen in Crazy, Stupid Love, and Battle Of The Sexes also represents another reunion: Little Miss Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (who worked with Carell on that film) are once again calling the shots. Fox Searchlight is providing the backing, and the film should be shooting soon.
It’s not the only project to tackle the subject, though: we’ve previously reported on Will Ferrell working up The Match Maker with Walter Mitty writer Steve Conrad scripting and looking to direct a version based on ESPN’s article The Match Maker: Bobby Riggs, The Mafia And The Battle Of The Sexes. And then there’s HBO and Playtone, which has * Proof*'s David Auburn writing a take with Elizabeth Banks and Paul Giamatti as the competitors.