'Battle Of The Sexes' Trailer: Emma Stone Has The Balls To Take On Steve Carell
We're still in the middle of the Summer blockbuster movie season, but as the Fall inches closer, we're starting to get glimpses of the movies that will be vying for trophies when awards season arrives. One of those movies tells the story of the highly publicized tennis match between Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs in 1973, a tennis match that pitted man versus woman in the event that would become known as the Battle of the Sexes.
Watch a new Battle of the Sexes trailer from the United Kingdom for another glimpse at this true story.
Battle of the Sexes takes a timely look at the equality between men and women, not just on the tennis court, but in the world around it. Emma Stone plays Billie Jean King as she fights against the status quo while coming to terms with her own sexuality while Steve Carell plays Bobby Riggs, a tennis pro facing a gambling problem who is hellbent on recapturing his glory days with the spotlight shining on him again.
What starts as a calculated plan to create a tennis match that would capture the attention of the world became a movement to get women the respect they deserve as equals alongside men. Not even Bobby Riggs knew the kind of impact this would have, not only on tennis, but the world at large.
Joining Emma Stone and Steve Carell in the movie are Andrea Riseborough, Sarah Silverman, Bill Pullman, Alan Cumming, Elisabeth Shue, Natalie Morales, Fred Armisen, Chris Parnell, Eric Christian Olsen and more. They're all working under the direction of Little Miss Sunshine and Ruby Sparks filmmaking duo Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris with a script from Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire writer Simon Beaufoy.
If you want to see more from the movie, watch the first Battle of the Sexes trailer right here.
In the wake of the sexual revolution and the rise of the women's movement, the 1973 tennis match between women's World #1 Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-men's-champ and serial hustler Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) was billed as the Battle of the Sexes and became one of the most watched televised sports events of all time, reaching 90 million viewers around the world. As the rivalry between King and Riggs kicked into high gear, off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. The fiercely private King was not only championing for equality, but also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, as her friendship with Marilyn Barnett (Andrea Riseborough) developed. And Riggs, one of the first self-made media-age celebrities, wrestled with his gambling demons, at the expense of his family and wife Priscilla (Elisabeth Shue). Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis court, sparking discussions in bedrooms and boardrooms that continue to reverberate today.
Battle of the Sexes will hit theaters this fall on September 22.