Los Angeles, Nov 17 (Excelsior) .- Smith “fell in love with Richard Williams” two decades ago, after seeing how the man came out in defense of his daughter Venus, who was then 14 years old, in an interview with an overly insistent journalist . Photo: Screenshot
“King Richard” chronicles the unlikely rise of Serena and Venus Williams, who went from training on the ruined tennis courts on the poor outskirts of Los Angeles to becoming the greatest athletes of all time.
The film could soon become a milestone on another seemingly unlikely journey: that of “The Prince of Bel-Air” star Will Smith, who has a chance of winning his first Oscar for best actor in the role of father, coach. and manager of the tennis players.
Smith “fell in love with Richard Williams” two decades ago, after seeing the man come to the defense of his daughter Venus, then 14, in an interview with an overly pushy journalist.
“The look of Venus … that image was burned into my heart,” he said in an online press conference.
“Because that’s how I wanted my daughter’s expression to be when she saw me defend her.”
“I wanted to show the world a father who protects his daughter in that way,” said Smith, who starred in and produced the Warner Bros. film.
The film, released Sunday in Los Angeles during the AFI Fest, focuses on how the unusual and close-knit Williams family from the impoverished and mostly black neighborhood of Compton forged their future success.
Richard Williams, a self-taught coach, wrote a 78-page plan to make Venus and Serena the best players in the world even before they were born, after learning how lucrative the prizes were.
Venus – whose seven Grand Slam titles would later be eclipsed by Serena’s 23 – occupies more screen time as she paved the way for her younger sister with her early youth tournament victories.
“I love that Venus has opened doors and that her sister has walked through them,” Saniyya Sidney, who plays Venus, tells AFP.
Growing up watching “girls who look like me in a sport that is predominantly white … means a lot,” Sidney said.
The film follows Richard’s efforts to find a professional coach for his daughters at the stuffy California tennis clubs, and how he initially faced rejection, ridicule, and racism.
The Williams family would then boycott the prestigious Indian Wells tennis tournament in California for 14 years, following boos that Richard called racist and that Serena later compared to a “lynching of fine people.”
Serena, whose fiery temperament has sometimes clashed with sports officials, was banned from wearing a tight leggings inspired by the movie “Black Panther” at the French Open in 2018.
“The tennis industry continues to this day trying to monitor how creative they are, trying to monitor their genius, and they haven’t been able to do it,” Aunjanue Ellis, who plays her mother and training partner Oracene, told AFP.
For Smith – a father of three – watching Richard Williams protect his daughters all those years ago helped shape his performance.
«It was as if [Venus] had a lion. And she was very comfortable and very sure that her lion was not going to allow anything to happen to her, “she recalls.
While Venus and Serena, in addition to two of his stepsisters, are involved in the film, Richard was not involved, and the film’s largely positive portrayal also hints at marital infidelity.
The filmmakers originally planned to give Smith special effects makeup to make him look like Williams Sr., but ultimately relied on the two-time Oscar nominee to transform public perception.
Smith is the bookmaker’s favorite to win the best actor award at the February Oscars, having lost it for his portrayal of boxer Muhammad Ali in “Ali” and “The Pursuit of Happyness.”
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