Casting is heating up for Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ (Little Miss Sunshine) upcoming tennis drama Battle of the Sexes, and today Deadline brings word that actress-cum-comedienne Sarah Silverman has been invited onto the court.
There, she’ll be joined by Emma Stone and Steve Carell, who top the bill as Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs, respectively. Andrea Riseborough and Elisabeth Shue are also attached to appear in the feature, which is based on a screenplay pitched by Simon Beaufoy.
At the heart of the tale are Stone and Carell’s athletes, with the latter taking point as decorated tennis veteran Bobby Riggs, a 55-year-old former Wimbledon champion. Happily retired and boasting numerous accolades, it is Stone’s brash 29-year-old opponent Billie Jean King who calls Riggs back onto the court for one final match, teeing up a sporting event that would have more than 50 million Americans glued to their television screens.
Silverman’s part in Battle of the Sexes will involve stepping into the shoes of Gladys Heldman, the founder of World Tennis magazine and an ardent supporter of King and the female tennis pros she represented. Off the court, Danny Boyle is linked to produce the project, with Fox Searchlight eyeing a 2017 release for Dayton and Faris’ sporting flick.
Game. Set. Match? Sarah Silverman is a lock for Battle of the Sexes, but are you excited to see how Fox’s tennis drama pans out in 2017?
