“Borg/McEnroe” is kicking off the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival on Thurdsay, Sept. 7.
This film takes you back to the 1980 Wimbledon championship match between tennis players John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, known as the most epic face-off in tennis history. Shia LaBeouf plays the tempered American McEnroe while Sverrir Gudnason plays the Swedish Borg, while Stellan Skarsgard plays coach Lenart Bergelin. The film is directed by Janus Metz.
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The players met 14 times on the regular tour and 22 times in total, but the reason their rivalry, known as “Fire and Ice,” was so popular was because of the players’ contrasting temperaments: Borg was cool as a cucumber while McEnroe was known to throw courtside tantrums. Their 1980 match in the final of Wimbledon is widely considered one of the greatest tennis matches in the history of the sport.
The film premiered in Stockholm on Monday, and was attended by Borg ( the actual tennis player) who was impressed by the efforts given to the film. McEnroe on the other hand is said to be skeptical of the film since LaBeouf never met with the tennis player. He did however, conjure up the scrappy McEnroe attire with his own wild frizzy hair, and trained for two months while studying McEnroe’s autobiography.
Sangita Patel will be hosting ET Canada’s Facebook Live presented by Nespresso from the film’s premiere at Roy Thomson Hall beginning at approximately 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. PT on Thursday. Please post your questions and comments for the stars below.
