Mar 11, 2022
King Richard tells the story of how tennis superstars
Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching
from their father Richard Williams, played by Will Smith. Academy
Award® nominated screenwriter Zach Baylin talked to Write On about
getting the depiction of Richard Williams right for this biopic:
"Richard was just such a dynamic guy. It was what you look for in
any kind of protagonist. [He had] had a very distinct voice… really
driven, had very clear goals that he wanted to achieve. But he
could be incredibly self-defeating and self-sabotaging, and he
could get in his own way and in other people's way... that just
felt like such a compelling character to me."
Zach goes on to talk about getting his start as a screenwriter
later in life: "I didn't sell scripts until I was 34… when I was
writing from the time I got out of college to when I moved to New
York and started working in film production solely with the purpose
of getting a job as a writer. But I didn't really meet a ton of
other writers, and I did it very in isolation. I would say that was
a big mistake. I don't know if I was being too private about the
fact that I wanted to do it, or that I felt I wasn't ready to show
people, but I realize now that just having that network around you
of other people who are doing it, who can give you feedback and
also give you encouragement -- the whole networking aspect of it is
so frustrating, but it's so necessary."
