Those who remember the infamous tennis match between former global contender Billie Jean King and ex-champion Bobby Riggs from 1973 will want to take notice of the first official trailer for Battle of the Sexes. Co-starring Best Actor nominee actor Steve Carrell and Best Actress winner Emma Stone as Riggs and King respectively, the latest independent drama is from the directors of the cult-classic Little Miss Sunshine from 2006, who are at it again with another original production from chief distributor Fox Searchlight Pictures.
After teaming up with writer and star Zoe Kazan in the delightful romantic-comedy Ruby Sparks from 2012, co-directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris are teaming up with screenwriter Simon Beaufoy - who previously won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for his work on Slumdog Millionaire from 2008 - to produce the historical drama that is Battle of the Sexes. With a decided focus on the real life event that provoked a national discussion surrounding feminism and gender equality, the first official trailer for the new movie looks like a promising awards season contender.
In the footage featured above, potential viewers of Battle of the Sexes can get their first look at all of the comedy and melodrama soon to come in the motion picture proper. By the looks of things, Stone and Carrell are both turning in two more of their finest respective performances to date, and the movie should manage to draw a crowd when it sees theatrical release later this fall.
For more information about Battle of the Sexes, read the official plot synopsis below:
The electrifying 1973 tennis match between World number one Billie Jean King (Emma Stone) and ex-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. The match caught the zeitgeist and sparked a global conversation on gender equality, spurring on the feminist movement. Trapped in the media glare, King and Riggs were on opposite sides of a binary argument, but off-court each was fighting more personal and complex battles. With a supportive husband urging her to fight the Establishment for equal pay, the fiercely private King was also struggling to come to terms with her own sexuality, while Riggs gambled his legacy and reputation in a bid to relive the glories of his past. Together, Billie and Bobby served up a cultural spectacle that resonated far beyond the tennis courts and animated the discussions between men and women in bedrooms and boardrooms around the world.
Fans of Stone's movie musical turn in last year's La La Land and Carrell's string of Oscar-worthy performances in films from Foxcatcher to The Big Short will want to be on the lookout for the two Hollywood stars' latest big screen turns when Battle of the Sexes reaches theaters later this September. In the mean time, here's to hoping for the very best from the latest film co-directed by husband and wife duo Dayton and Faris.
Source: Fox Searchlight Pictures
