Sharjah24 – AFP: "King Richard" plots the improbable rise of Serena and Venus Williams, from training on crumbling, gang-riddled Compton tennis courts to becoming all-time sporting greats.
The movie could soon cap another unlikely journey, with former "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Will Smith heavily tipped to win his first Oscar for best actor, as their larger-than-life father, coach and manager.
Smith "fell in love with Richard Williams" two decades ago, after watching him leap to 14-year-old daughter Venus's defense in an interview with an overly insistent journalist.
"The look of Venus's face... the image burned in my heart," he told an online press conference. "Because that's how I wanted my daughter to look when I showed up."
"I knew I wanted to show a father protecting a daughter like that to the world," said Smith, who signed on to star and produce in the Warner Bros film.
The film, which had its Los Angeles premiere Sunday during AFI Fest, focusses on how the Williams' unusual and tight-knit family in an impoverished and mainly Black neighborhood of the same city shaped their future success.
Richard Williams, a self-taught coach, famously wrote a 78-page plan to make Venus and Serena the top players in the world before they were even born, having learnt about the lucrative prize money on offer.
Venus -- whose seven Grand Slam titles would later be eclipsed by Serena's 23 -- occupies more of the screen time, having paved the way for her younger sister with early wins at junior tournaments.
The film follows Richard's efforts to find his daughters a professional coach at snooty Californian tennis clubs, and how he was initially met with rejection, ridicule and racism.
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