Biopic about Venus and Serena Williams' father earns 6 nominations at 2022 Academy Awards
The biopic about Venus and Serena Williams' father earned six nominations at the 2022 Academy Awards. The full list of nominees for the 94th edition of the Awards was revealed on Tuesday, with the winners set to be announced on 27 March.
King Richard, told from the point of view of the Williams sisters' father Richard Williams, earned a nomination for Best Picture. The remaining films in the category are: Belfast, Coda, Don't Look Up, Drive My Car, Dune, Licorice Pizza, Nightmare Alley, The Power of the Dog and West Side Story.
And the nominees for Best Picture are... #Oscars https://t.co/wKEWVMpqwl
Will Smith, who plays the titular character, grabbed his third Oscar nomination in the Best Actor category and will fight it out with Javier Bardem (Being the Ricardos), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Power of the Dog), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom!) and Denzel Washington (The Tragedy of Macbeth). The American is yet to win an Academy Award.
The nominations for Actor in a Leading Role go to... #Oscars https://t.co/Legj3Y4bki
Aunjanue Ellis, who plays Venus and Serena Williams' mother Oracene Price in the biopic, has a shot at winning the Oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Ellis faces tough competition from Jessie Buckley (The Lost Daughter), Ariana DeBose (West Side Story), Judi Dench (Belfast) and Kirsten Dunst (The Power of the Dog) for her maiden Academy Award.
The nominations for Actress in a Supporting Role go to... #Oscars https://t.co/Qy01AgZd4A
On the technical side of things, King Richard has been nominated in the Original Screenplay and Film Editing categories. Zach Baylin, the writer for King Richard, will go up against the writers of Don't Look Up, Belfast, Licorice Pizza and The Worst Person in the World.
Word is out - these are the nominees for Original Screenplay. #Oscars https://t.co/yLNCWHOiYo
Pamela Martin, who edited the film, will compete with the editors of Don't Look Up, Dune, Tick, Tick... Boom!, and The Power of the Dog for her first Oscar.
Smash cut to these nominees for Film Editing… #Oscars https://t.co/NMNP9RWnK6
The song Be Alive, sung by Beyonce, was nominated for Best Original Song.
Venus and Serena Williams served as executive producers of King Richard
King Richard visibly benefited from having Venus and Serena Williams as executive producers. The sisters also took an active role in its promotion and marketing.
Serena Williams, in particular, wanted the movie to serve as model representation of African-American fathers on the big screen, which she felt was lacking in Hollywood.
In addition to Academy Award nominations, the film has bagged several prestigious accolades. It was selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) as one of the top 10 movies of 2021 and won the Audience Choice awards at the Denver, Miami and Chicago film festivals.