Update: The first picture of Emma Stone and Steve Carell in character is online and can be found lower down the page.
With Emma Stone and Steve Carell already at the top of the cast, tennis drama Battle Of The Sexes is steadily filling in its key supporting players. Andrea Riseborough, Elisabeth Shue and Sarah Silverman have all signed up recently, and the latest addition is Alan Cumming.
The film, which boasts a script by Simon Beaufoy, will chronicle the rivalry between former tennis pro Bobby Riggs (Carell) and his 29-year-old opponent Billie Jean King (Stone), who hit the court for a legendary match in 1973 that (it was claimed) would establish if a female pro could ever beat a male in the sport. The event drew a huge audience of more than 50 million Americans, eager to see who would triumph.
Cumming will play King's friend Ted Tinling, the openly gay tennis player who supported her in coming out about her own sexuality. He also dsigned the dress she wore for the Battle Of The Sexes itself.
Stone and Carell previously shared the screen in Crazy, Stupid Love, and Battle Of The Sexes also represents another reunion: Little Miss Sunshine’s Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris (who worked with Carell on that film) are directing. Fox Searchlight is providing the backing, and filming is underway now for a release in 2017.