Emma Stone has signed on to play famous feminist tennis player, Billie Jean King, in the upcoming film, Battle of the Sexes.
Steve Carell will play opposite Emma Stone as Bobby Riggs, her opponent.
The true story goes, Bobby Riggs, a chauvinistic braggart and aging tennis champ, challenged Billie Jean King, an outspoken feminist, to the tennis match in 1973 as some sort of battle between the opposing viewpoints.
Of course, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs, 26 years older than King, quite soundly and walked away with the $100,000 prize.
The match was nationally televised.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PeU8TFC4LQ
Emma Stone will have some pretty big shoes to fill!
Emma Stone‘s new film will be directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, the husband-and-wife filmmaking duo behind such Indy hits as Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RqGNauy3E8
The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy, who is responsible for The Full Monty and Slumdog Millionaire. Speaking of Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle will produce Battle of the Sexes under his Decibel Films company.
The Fox Searchlight project featuring Emma Stone and Steve Carell is only one of three projects going on right now that are based on the story.
There is an HBO version starring Elizabeth Banks as Billie Jean King and Paul Giamatti as Bobby Riggs. There is also a Chernin Entertainment and Gary Sanchez Productions project in the works called Match Maker starring Will Ferrell.
I wonder if Match Maker will be a little more of a light-hearted take on the story?
What do you think? Are you excited to watch Emma Stone as feminist tennis player Billie Jean King? Is this battle story one that you would be interested in knowing more about?