Even before the birth of Venus and Serena, Richard Williams had developed a 78-page plan whose goal was to make his two daughters the greatest champions in the world of tennis. By agreeing to carry out King richard, Reinaldo Marcus Green wanted to go beyond the known – and sometimes controversial – image of a man whose improbable vision has yet materialized in every way. Maintenance.
According to his own saying, Reinaldo Marcus Green could not have lived a more Hollywood moment. While his first feature film, Monsters and men, had just won a special jury prize at the Sundance Festival, a few people around him, maybe three or four, all sent him a script the same day, strongly suggesting that he read it. The story featured in this script, signed Zach Baylin, was sure to grab his attention.
“The rumor was that Will Smith was associated with this scenario,” said the filmmaker during a videoconference interview with Press. “I read and really enjoyed it. When I called my agent to express my interest, I was told that the Williams family had not yet officially committed to the project. However, it was out of the question for me to describe the life of an existing family without having their approval. I told the producers to call me if the family ever agreed, but I haven’t heard back for months. I thought the project had been abandoned. ”
Personal affinities
It appears that the planets did eventually align, especially since Isha Price, one of the older sisters of Venus and Serena Williams, was now involved in the case as an executive producer. To convince the producers that he was in a position to bring this project to fruition, Reinaldo Marcus Green only had to tell his own story, which has many affinities with that of the Williams sisters and their relationship with their father.
“I think their interest in me grew when I told them about my athletic past,” says the filmmaker. I got into baseball pretty far and my dad, much like Richard Williams, believed he was raising a player who would make a career in the big leagues. I echoed my own experience with this loving father who never missed a game, who was my most fervent admirer, and who never abused his authority. It was simply love, commitment. ”
I felt I could offer another perspective on a story where you tend to fall into the cliché of the tyrannical father who demands too much from his children. Telling the story of Richard Williams is a way for me to honor my own father.
Reinaldo Marcus Green, director
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Reinaldo Marcus Green was able to convince the producers of King richard by telling his own story as an aspiring professional baseball player.
Reinaldo Marcus Green didn’t grow up in Compton like the Williams sisters, but he also comes from a so-called “sensitive” neighborhood. His transition from baseball to cinema was also made thanks to his brother Rashaad Ernesto Green, also a director.
“I saw Rashaad travel all over the world thanks to his art and I found it so cool! I then enrolled in a film school to learn the profession of producer because I wanted to work with him on his films. But the program I was admitted into was all about scriptwriting and directing. Then, one of my first short films, Stone cars, found itself in competition in the Cinéfondation program of the Festival de Cannes. It really changed my trajectory. My brother inspired me to become a filmmaker and I am very grateful to him for that. ”
The Williams family version
Spend in three years of an independent feature film, Monsters and men, to a Hollywood production like King richard is another kind of transition, although the filmmaker has in the meantime been able to gain experience thanks to Joe bell, a drama starring Mark Wahlberg. Relating on the big screen the lives of existing people, less than 30 years after the period of their history depicted in the narrative, was also an additional challenge.
“It is because we do not want to fall into hagiography,” says the filmmaker. We also realize that we ultimately do not know this story. This is also the genius of Zach Baylin’s screenplay, which focused on the youth of the Williams sisters, and not on their entire careers. ”
Richard was a controversial figure because, until now, he had always been portrayed in a one-dimensional way. Now, we had never heard the family version before.
Reinaldo Marcus Green
“The result is a multi-faceted character, complex, imperfect of course, who loves his family above all else, and whom we focus on more as a human being. ”
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Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sidney play sisters Venus and Serena Williams in King richard, film directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green.
In addition, Reinaldo Marcus Green insists on the importance of the other members of the family, who have collectively given themselves the mission of contributing to the rise of the two athletes. In this regard, the role of the mother (remarkably played by Aunjanue Ellis) is equally crucial, as well as that of the three older sisters.
“This gives a very rich history, also rich in nuances. I didn’t want to make a traditional sports film. I’m not a big fan of tennis anyway, although I like it now! », Indicates the director.
A landmark story for Will Smith
Will Smith, to whom observers are now predicting a citation at the Oscars, specifies for his part that the story of Richard Williams had a profound impact on his own role as a father, long before playing him in a feature film.
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Director Reinaldo Marcus Green chats with Will Smith on the set of King richard.
“I vividly remember that TV interview Venus gave when she was 14, which we recreate in the movie,” the actor said during a closed-circuit press conference for the benefit of the international press. Just looking at the look on Venus’ face when she saw Richard arrive to tell the reporter not to undermine his daughter’s confidence made me change the way I was a father. It was important to me to show the world how a man goes about protecting his daughter.
“And then,” he continues, “Richard just kindled a fire that was already burning in Venus and Serena.” Aligning with your children rather than leading them indicates a difference in approach. King richard is above all the collective story of a family that chooses to take the same road. ”
King richard (King Richard: Beyond the Game in French) will hit theaters on November 19.