'King Richard' portrays the power behind the Williams sisters' throne
Long before Venus and Serena Williams were old enough to pick up a tennis racquet, their father had their future mapped out.
His story is the heart of the new film "King Richard," opening in U.S. movie theaters and HBO Max on Friday, and made with the backing of the Williams family and a rousing song by Beyonce.
Although Venus and Serena Williams are now household names and icons of Black female empowerment, the tale of how they reached the heights of sporting fame from a hardscrabble neighborhood in Los Angeles is barely known.
Played by Will Smith, Richard Williams was coach, dad, and promoter of the girls, training with them on broken-down public courts in 1990s South Los Angeles, collecting discarded balls, and battling derision and skepticism to get them attention.
"It's like asking someone to believe you have the next two Mozarts living in your house," one early skeptic tells him.
"Richard had this vision and really wrote a 75- or 80-page manifesto before Serena and Venus were born that they were going to have two more kids and they were going to become the top two tennis players in the world," said Tony Goldwyn, who plays Paul Cohen, their first professional coach.
Williams was a big personality who constantly challenged Cohen's training methods and technique.
"The real Paul told me he loved Richard for that. He knew where it was coming from was a place of love and commitment," said Goldwyn.
Isha Price, one of Venus and Serena's three older half-sisters, was an early collaborator on the script, providing details and recollections that made the movie the story of the family. Richard Williams has been in ill health for years and did not take part.
Venus Williams said she got emotional watching it. "Just like watery eyes, and the moment, the family moments of togetherness and the father-daughter moments are like, ooh," she said.
While the film uses authentic players as doubles for much of the action, actors Demi Singleton (Serena) and Saniyya Sidney (Venus) had to undergo months of intensive training to learn how to hit the ball, serve and play the kind of power tennis the young sisters were known for.
"They're such extraordinary people and they're very nice. Such big hearts," Sidney said. "They gave us great advice on just growing up in this world and how they felt when they were a kid and to always make sure you stay close to your family."
“理查德国王”描绘了威廉姆斯姐妹王位背后的力量
早在维纳斯和塞雷娜·威廉姆斯长大到可以拿起网球拍之前，他们的父亲就已经规划好了他们的未来。
他的故事是新片《理查王》的核心，该片于周五在美国电影院和 HBO Max 上映，由威廉姆斯家族的支持和碧昂斯的一首动人歌曲制作而成。
尽管维纳斯和塞雷娜·威廉姆斯现在是家喻户晓的名字和黑人女性赋权的偶像，但他们如何在洛杉矶一个贫瘠的街区达到体育名望的顶峰的故事却鲜为人知。
由威尔·史密斯饰演，理查德·威廉姆斯是这些女孩的教练、父亲和推广者，在 1990 年代南洛杉矶的破败公共球场上与她们一起训练，收集丢弃的球，并与嘲笑和怀疑作斗争以引起她们的注意。
“这就像让别人相信你的房子里住着接下来的两个莫扎特，”一位早期的怀疑论者告诉他。
托尼·戈德温 (Tony Goldwyn) 说：“理查德有这个愿景，并在小威和维纳斯出生之前写了一份长达 75 或 80 页的宣言，说他们将再有两个孩子，他们将成为世界上排名前两位的网球运动员。” ，谁扮演保罗科恩，他们的第一位职业教练。
威廉姆斯是个大人物，他不断挑战科恩的训练方法和技术。
“真正的保罗告诉我，他因此爱理查德。他知道这是一个充满爱和承诺的地方，”戈德温说。
维纳斯和瑟琳娜的三个同父异母的姐姐之一的伊莎·普莱斯是剧本的早期合作者，她提供的细节和回忆使这部电影成为家庭故事。理查德威廉姆斯多年来一直身体不好，没有参加。
维纳斯威廉姆斯说她看着它很激动。 “就像水汪汪的眼睛，那一刻，家庭团聚的时刻和父女的时刻就像，哦，”她说。
虽然这部电影在大部分动作中都使用了真正的球员作为双打，但演员黛米辛格尔顿（瑟琳娜）和萨尼亚西德尼（维纳斯）必须接受数月的强化训练，以学习如何击球、发球和打出那种强力网球。年轻的姐妹们因。
“他们是如此非凡的人，他们非常友善。如此大的心，”西德尼说。 “他们为我们在这个世界上的成长以及他们小时候的感受提供了很好的建议，并始终确保您与家人保持密切联系。”
