As reported by Deadline, Sarah Silverman has signed on for Battle Of The Sexes, the upcoming film based on Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs’ historic tennis match in 1973. Emma Stone is playing King, Steve Carell is playing Riggs, and Silverman will be playing Gladys Heldman, the founder of World Tennis magazine. Heldman was a supporter of women’s tennis, and Deadline notes that she’s in both the International Tennis Hall Of Fame and the International Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame.
Earlier reports have suggested that Battle Of The Sexes will be a “comedy with dramatic and political overtones,” so there’s a good chance Silverman (and Stone and Carell) will get a chance to say or do something funny that also has dramatic and political overtones. Like, maybe she’ll say something serious about sexism, but she’ll do it in a funny voice? That would work.
Battle Of The Sexes is being directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (Ruby Sparks, Little Miss Sunshine), and it’ll be in theaters at some point next year.