Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1437291
(Saniyya Sidney) and Serena Williams (Demi Singleton). But rather than pre- senting the sports legends at the pinnacle of their later careers, director Reinaldo Marcus Green backtracks to their youths in Compton, California, where Richard o v e r c o m e s o b s t a c l e s a n d d i s p e n s e s plenty of wisdom to the up-and-coming athletes. The film co-stars Aunjanue Ellis as Williams's wife and Venus and Serena's mother, Oracene Price; and Mikayla Lashae Bartholomew, Daniele Lawson, and Layla Crawford as their half-siblings, Yetunde, Isha, and Lyndrea P rice, respectively. Among the executive producers of the proj- ect are Venus Williams, Serena Williams, and Isha Price. "Of course, there was a part of me that thought, 'OK, another tennis movie — can I do this?'" Martin said. "I just know it's a mountain of work, so you just have to kind of psych yourself up for it." But she saw human qualities in the material beyond the tennis balls and rackets. "I'm a parent," she said. "So much of it I could relate to in terms of being a parent." "King Richard," then, is something of a family drama that happens to be set some of the time on tennis courts and during tennis matches. "I really loved the struggle of where [the sisters] started and where they ended up, and the messages that the parents are trying to get through to them: 'Yes, you have to work hard, but you still have to be a kid. You have to be a well-rounded person. You have to find longevity in what you're doing,'" Martin said. "There was a lot that I liked, and I decided that I was going to say, 'OK, I'm going to try this.'" Another big attraction in taking the assignment: Martin had already known director Green. Several years ago, when Martin was serving as a creative advisor at a Sundance Institute lab, Green was there workshopping what became his debut feature, "Monsters and Men," a 2018 police drama starring John David Washington. Based on that experience, as well as the quality of the script, she was interested in "King Richard." "Of course, I'm always 'YOU HAVE TO WORK HARD, BUT YOU STILL HAVE TO BE A KID. YOU HAVE TO BE A WELL-ROUNDED PERSON.' 32 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E