Elizabeth Banks, Paul Giamatti to Star as Billie Jean King, Bobby Riggs in HBO's Upcoming "Battle of the Sexes" Tennis Made-for-TV Movie
Elizabeth Banks is set to star as Billie Jean King with Paul Giamatti as Bobbi Riggs in HBO's upcoming TV movie which will dramatize the events during and surrounding the famous "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match held September 20, 1973, at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas. In that historic tournament, King handily defeated Riggs 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 to win the $100,000 prize.
Banks, 41, best known for her roles in Walk of Shame, Pitch Perfect, and the Hunger Games movies, will be playing the then 29-year-old King who entered the tennis court carried aloft in a chair held by four bare-chested muscle men dressed as ancient slaves and who gifted Riggs before the start of the match with a piglet.
Giamatti, 47, a versatile character actor best remembered for his performances in such films as Cinderella Man, The Illusionist, John Adams, among others, will be portraying the then 55-year-old Riggs who took to the court riding a rickshaw pulled by a bevy of scantily clad models and who gifted King before the game with a giant lollipop.
With King being 26 years younger than Riggs, some pundits claim the tennis match was more an "age versus youth" than a "battle of the sexes" game. The event was reportedly watched by an estimated 90 million viewers worldwide.
The still untitled TV movie will have David Auburn as scriptwriter. Executive producing the project are Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, along with Max Handelman and Banks herself through their Brownstone Productions.
Banks will also next be seen on the big-screen reprising her Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the upcoming Pitch Perfect 2 movie which will be hitting the theaters beginning May 15. Aside from starring, she also served as director and producer in the sequel to the 2012 surprise hit film about school a cappella competition.