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Stone plays King in the story of her famous
1973 tennis match against retired former champion and male
chauvinist Bobby Riggs, played by Steve Carell.
"I think the thing that was most inspiring to me... was that
Billie Jean was going through so many personal trials at the
time and discovering so much about herself," Stone said on the
red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Along with the highly-publicized grudge match, the film also
covers King's sexual exploration via a off-court relationship
with a woman. She did not publicly identify as a lesbian until
1981.
"In this time period she was confused and scared and still was
able to effect such massive social change," said Stone, who won
an Oscar earlier this year for "La La Land".
King, who won the match, played a pivotal role in the fight for
equal pay for female athletes and is considered a major
influence on the women's liberation movement as a whole.
But more than 40 years later, the issue of equal pay, both in
tennis and the wider working world, is still simmering.
"It's eerily relevant these days, and sadly it's, I think, more
relevant than it should be at this point," Carell said ahead of
the screening.
A tennis tournament executive, Raymond Moore of the BNP Paribas
Open, last year said that top-level women's players rode "on the
coattails of the men" and were "very, very lucky" to have equal
prize money.
He stepped down from the role several months later amid heavy
criticism, with tournament owner Larry Ellison citing King's
"historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis"
when announcing the move.
The film has received early awards-season buzz since first
screening at Telluride earlier this month, with Stone's
performance especially well-received.
The Toronto festival is an important stop for filmmakers looking
to showcase their work in the long Hollywood awards season that
culminates with the Oscars on March 4.
"Battle of the Sexes" was directed by husband and wife team
Valerie Faris and Jonathan Dayton, who previously worked with
Carell for their 2006 film "Little Miss Sunshine". Stone and
Carell had previously worked together on 2011's "Crazy, Stupid,
Love".
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp and Reuters TV; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)
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