"If nothing else, it really was one of the greatest coaching stories" - King Richard's screenwriter on the Venus and Serena Williams biopic
King Richard's screenwriter Zach Baylin, who has been nominated for Best Original Screenplay, spoke about making the film in the latest episode of the Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
Recalling the pre-production process, Baylin said he met with producer Tim White to discuss another project when the latter mentioned his desire to make a film about Venus and Serena Williams. Baylin added that White, however, was not sure what angle he wanted to approach the project at that time.
"So Tim had been wanting to make a movie about Venus and Serena, and Richard for a long time and had been trying to figure out, you know, both how to get in touch with the family to do it," Baylin said. "But also what the, you know, what the angle into the movie was"
"I met with Tim about a different project in New York," he continued. "It was the 2017 US Open, and I, you know, I'm a big tennis fan. I was leaving the meeting and going to the US open and I told him and he was like, oh, if you're you're a tennis fan like you should hold on a second. I have this other movie."
Baylin said they eventually focused on the duo's formative years with the story leading upto their tour debut. He believed that would capture the father-daughter dynamic shared between the champion duo and Richard Williams. According to him, the film is not a biopic but "one of the greatest coaching stories in sports".
"I've been trying to make [the movie] for some time. And so [Tim], you know, he started talking about Richard and and you know, this image of with the icon like iconic footage," Baylin said. "We couldn't actually get in the movie, but that at the Lipton open this one year."
"Obviously Richard is a very complicated figure," he continued. "But if not nothing else, you know, it really was probably one of the greatest coaching stories in the sports."
"Richard had one of these signs that said I told you" - Zach Baylin recalls Venus-Serena Williams Lipton final
Baylin also recalled the Lipton Open final, one of the first where Venus and Serena Williams contested against each other and the "I told you so" whiteboard sign carried by Richard Williams, which he described as "iconic".
"When Venus and Serena played each other, was the first time they played each other in a final," Baylin said. "Richard had this sign that, you know, used to take these like whiteboard signs to the the tournaments and would write something."
"Richard, you know, there was a, there was a video, Richard had one of these signs. He was holding the sign that said 'I told you', he continued. "So and I think both of us were like if, you know, if you can, if you can tell a story that leads to that moment and earns that moment then, it could be really powerful."