Will Smith has officially begun his work on the movie King Richard, which seeks to tell the story of the life of Richard Williams. The subject of the movie is the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams.
Smith will play the lead role in the upcoming biopic. On the other hand, young actresses Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton will be playing the roles of Venus and Serena respectively.
Will Smith Transform with a Gray Beard to Play Venus and Serena Williams’ Dad Richard https://t.co/p6XX45affV pic.twitter.com/zvi0Lmn1Km
— SPMG Media (@SPMGMedia) March 2, 2020
The “I Am Legend” actor was photographed this week on set with Sidney and Singleton. In the leaked set photos, Smith wore crimson shorts and a pink shirt as he is laughing with actor Jon Bernthal. Singleton recently celebrated her 13th birthday on the film set. It seemed like Smith helped in surprising the young actress with a tennis-themed cake for the celebration.
‘King Richard’ set for November 2020 release
It seems that “King Richard” will be a major player in the upcoming awards season. The movie has a great set of actors for its cast. The aforementioned Bernthal will play legendary tennis coach Rick Macci. Aunjanue Ellis, on the other hand, will play the Williams sisters’ mother Brandi. The movie also recently added Liev Schreiber to the cast. Schreiber will play coach Paul Cohen.
Will Smith pictured with Venus and Serena Williams actresses for the first time on King Richard movie set https://t.co/Q3cqE0rUsT
— Metro Entertainment (@Metro_Ents) March 1, 2020
It looks like Will Smith is positioning himself for the awards season conversation. Smith has two previous nominations in the Oscars. If he gets a nod, it would be his first since 2007 when he received one for “The Pursuit of Happyness.” His other nomination was for Ali in 2002.
The drama film will be helmed by Monsters and Men director Reinaldo Marcus Green. Warner Bros. Pictures will produce and distribute the movie when it gets released. “King Richard” will be in theaters in November 2020. There is still no information as to how wide the release will be national.
Venus and Serena Williams on film
King Richard will be the first time the story of the rise of Venus and Serena Williams will be portrayed in a feature film. But the two have already appeared in multiple documentary projects.
The Williams sisters first got featured on the documentary film Venus and Serena in 2012. The film tackled the life and career of the famous siblings. The movie eventually became part of several film festivals, including the 2012 Toronto Film Festival and the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.
Will Smith Appears Unrecognizable As Venus & Serena Williams Father On Set Of New Film — See Pics https://t.co/WQPc3WRlQI pic.twitter.com/tit78vH7vR
— peter alexander (@carribablue) February 29, 2020
Four years after, premium cable channel Epix also produced an eponymous documentary film about the younger Williams sibling. Serena: The Other Side of Greatness showed an intimate look into William’s private and public life.
More recently, premium cable network HBO created and broadcasted the documentary series Being Serena. The series tackled various developments in Serena’s life, including pregnancy, motherhood, and her return to professional tennis.
Photo Credit BACKGRID
Serena Williams’s ranking and performance in 2020
At the moment ranked no.9, Serena played her last match on the 8th of February when she surrendered to Anastasija Sevastova 7-65 3-6 7-64 in the Rubber 4 in Fed Cup.
This year the American has a 8-2 win-loss record. The American has won 1 title in Auckland.
Venus Williams’s ranking and performance in 2020
Ranked world no.65, Venus Williams played her last match on the 2nd of March when she was overcome by Karolina Anna Schmiedlova 4-6 6-3 6-2 in the 1st round in Monterrey.
Serena Williams and Venus Williams played each other 30 times. The head to head is 18-12 for Serena Williams.
The last time that they fought against each other, Serena Williams won 6-1 6-2 in the 3rd round in New York (U.S. Open) in August 2018.
