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of additional footage, Martin had found a compelling way to kick off the picture. "You really felt the struggle so much more through his point of view from the very beginning," she said. In fact, from beginning to end, the making of "King Richard" benefited from a degree of serendipity. Because of a rushed shooting day, one key scene didn't quite make it over the net: Richard, while ac- knowledging Venus's talent, tells a slightly jealous Serena that she will be the greatest tennis player of all time. "When they filmed it, they were running out of time, so they just did it in the stairway of the [Williams] house," Martin said. "It did not work at all. It was shot too quickly. The angles weren't great." Martin communicated her concerns to the filmmakers and eventually had discussions with screenwriter Baylin. By this time, the production had moved to a stadium where a key tennis match with Venus was to take place. The idea emerged to reshoot the scene with Serena and her dad in the new location with the idea of placing it in an entirely different spot in the storyline. "That scene is magic in that spot," Martin said. "It was not in the right spot before. It was lucky they botched it!" The actual tennis scenes were as gru- eling to cut as Martin had assumed. "You have to look at everything really carefully and only pick the stuff that looks real, like professional-level," said Martin, who, as a tennis fan and someone who has played tennis herself, knew what would go in and what would be kept out. It was still a lot of work, but her instinct that "King Richard" was a story about people, not a story about a sport, proved accurate. "I'm drawn to these stories of real people," she said. The next time a director approaches Martin with a so-called sports movie, she just might agree once again to play the game. "Honestly, I love dramas," Martin said. "Sports or no sports, I love dramas." ■ Peter Tonguette has written for the Wall Street Journal and National Review and is a frequent CineMontage contributor. WALK AND TALK: (l-r) Demi Singleton as Serena Williams, Will Smith as Richard Williams and Saniyya Sidney as Venus Williams. P H O T O : C H I A B E L L A J A M E S 'YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT EVERYTHING REALLY CAREFULLY AND ONLY PICK THE STUFF THAT LOOKS REAL.' 38 C I N E M O N T A G E F E A T U R E