Why is the Richard Williams movie called King Richard?
The new film follows the father of the Williams sisters, as they rise up the tennis world despite big challenges.
Will Smith plays the titular character, Richard Williams, in a new biopic that it out today. He is the father of the famous Williams sisters tennis stars, Serena and Venus, but was also their tennis coach for pretty much their whole lives.
"It feels so good to be alive." Get Ready! #KingRichard, starring Will Smith and featuring “Be Alive” by @Beyonce arrives IN THEATERS and streaming exclusively on @HBOMax* November 19. Get tickets now: https://t.co/PEXq8eHWiQ pic.twitter.com/XoxjDMNz12
— King Richard Film (@KingRichardFilm) November 12, 2021
His drive and determination, as well as the sisters' natural gift for the sport, propelled them to stardom. Mr. Williams has been out of the limelight for some time, after suffering a stroke in 2016. He coached Venus to 49 singles' titles and Serena to 73; an astonishing 122 in total.
“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.
While the film uses authentic players as doubles for much of the action, actresses Demi Singleton and Saniyya Sidney, Serena and Venus respectively, had to undertake months of training to learn how to play tennis in the same way as the characters they are playing do in real life.
"It's good to see Black kids protected by their fathers. That's a story that's not told enough."@serenawilliams & @Venuseswilliams on the their dad yelling at a reporter for questioning a young Venus. #KingRichard in Theaters and on HBOMax November 19th. GET YOUR TICKETS NOW! pic.twitter.com/acwVIVR23a
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) November 18, 2021
When can the film be watched?
While its premiere was back in September, the film will finally be released on November 19.
Serena and her daughter Olympia wore matching outfits to the #KingRichard premiere 😭 pic.twitter.com/ouKODc3WEz
— Gibson Johns (@gibsonoma) November 15, 2021
Simultaneously, it is available to stream on HBO Max.