King Richardstarted withZachBaylin’s 2018 Black List runner-up script about tennis all-starsVenus and Serena Williams' father Richard, gaining even more momentum when Hollywood A-listerWill Smithsigned on to play the title role. All that was left was for a studio to acquire the project, finance it, name a director, and set a release date. As the story goes,King Richardcan now cross one more item off its production to-do list as Warner Bros. is in final negotiations to pick it up.
Varietyreports that the studio, which had no comment, will be acquiringKing Richard, a sports drama/biopic centering on Richard Williams and his struggles to overcome hardships and adversity in his quest to train his daughters from the age of 4 on the tennis courts of Compton, California. Smith and Warner Bros. will likely soon collaborate on a decision for a director since that’s the major piece of the puzzle that has yet to be settled.
THRreports that the deal, still being finalized, will be in the $50 to $60 million range; they reportedly bested Paramount, Sony’s TriStar, MRC, and even the Obamas' Netflix-based banner, Higher Ground Productions bidding. That buy-in also includes the Williams' life rights–currently controlled by Smith[Editor’s note:This is inaccurate; sorry for the confusion.]–and the movie’s production budget.
Curiously, the picture opts to center on the Williams' patriarch and trainer rather than the sports superstars themselves, who have 30 Grand Slam singles titles between them over the last 20 years, and 14 Grand Slam doubles championships to boot. The Williams sisters will obviously feature heavily in the story which will likely cover a span of time from their childhood to today; keep an eye out for casting news for those roles.
As for Smith, he’ll next be seen in Disney’sAladdinas the Genie on May 24th, and will be heard as the voice of a super spy-turned-pigeon in Fox’sSpies in Disguisethis September 13th. He’s currently filming the thirdBad Boysinstallment,Bad Boys for Life.
ProducingKing Richardwill be Smith through his Overbrook Entertainment banner, andTim and Trevor Whitefor their Star Thrower Entertainment, withMary SolomonandRick Rickertsenco-producing.Allan Mandelbaumfrom Star Thrower Entertainment andCaleeb Pinkettfrom Overbrook Entertainment are on board as executive producers.
