Will Smith and ‘King Richard’ Ensemble on Bonding and Being Family

An investment firm backed by Blackstone and run by onetime Disney colleagues Kevin Mayer and Tom Staggs has taken a minority stake in Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith’s Westbrook Inc.

On the latest episode of Crew Call, producers Tim and Trevor White of Star Thrower Entertainment talk to us about getting Serena and Venus Williams on board for a feature about their tough-as-nails, relentless, ambitious coach father Richard Williams, a man who transformed them into global tennis champs. The pitch included Will Smith being part of the package and convincing Warner Bros. to go with budding filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green.

Clayton Davis The Black Film Critics Circle has named Reinaldo Marcus Green’s “King Richard” the best film of 2021.The drama that focuses on the rise of Venus and Serena Williams picked up three additional awards, including best actor (Will Smith), supporting actress (Aunjanue Ellis) and original screenplay (Zach Baylin).Denis Villeneuve, who helmed “Dune,” walked away with best director, his first precursor prize of the awards season, while the film also nabbed best cinematography for Greig

Camilla Blackett Guest ColumnistFor Variety‘s Writers on Writers, Camilla Blackett pens a tribute to “King Richard” (screenplay by Zach Baylin).Determined is a word you will hear many times when speaking of the Williams family and their hard-won Mount Olympus status in the world of tennis, but determination of sportsmanship is far from the only thing at play in Zach Baylin’s stunning “King Richard” script.More than anything, it is the determination of Black fatherhood that struck me most deeply

Reinaldo Marcus Green was a grad student at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, angling for extra time with his professor — Spike Lee. Flash-forward six years: Marcus Green has directed one of the best-reviewed dramas of 2021 — “King Richard,” starring Will Smith as Richard Williams, the father of tennis champs Venus (Saniyya Sidney) and Serena (Demi Singleton).

Tim Gray Senior Vice PresidentPamela Martin of Warner Bros.’ “King Richard,” says, “When it comes to editing, you have to love your characters, flawed or not. And I loved that family.”Before signing on, the editor says, “I knew very little about Richard Williams, and it was mostly filtered through the media: ‘That crazy tennis dad’ or ‘He’s a nut job.’ Now I think that guy’s a genius.”The Will Smith-starring film, which is an Oscar contender, concerns the early days of tennis champs Venus and

William Earl “Succession” star J. Smith-Cameron and Steve Buscemi are among the notables who signed on for “The Year Between,” a drama about mental illness that marks the feature writing and directing debut of comedian Alex Heller.The movie, which wrapped production in Chicago late last month, revolves around Heller’s character Clemence, a young woman who drops out of college in her sophomore year after being diagnosed with mental illness.

Soon-to-be mum-of-three Vogue Williams is already thinking about her family's future as she and husband Spencer Matthews after the couple bought their Jersey house. The presenter, who has been struggling with nausea with her third pregnancy, has revealed she wants to see her and 33 year old Spencer's children going to school in Ireland, as Vogue admitted she "worries" about the schooling system in the UK.

WASHINGTON -- ABC’s “This Week” — Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; William Taylor, former U.S.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorBrian Williams didn’t go gentle into that good night.In a noticeable break from the journalistic demeanor he has projected for nearly three decades at NBC News and MSNBC, the veteran anchor used the final minutes of his tenure on MSNBC’s “11th Hour” to warn viewers of the frailty of American democracy and urged them to keep it safe — if they could.“My biggest worry is for my country. I’m not a liberal or a conservative.

“The King’s Daughter” will make viewers believe in fairytales.

African American Film Critics Association‘s annual list of the top 10 films of the year, the AAFCA announced on Wednesday.

AFI MOVIES OF THE YEARCODADON’T LOOK UP DUNEKING RICHARD LICORICE PIZZA NIGHTMARE ALLEY THE POWER OF THE DOG tick, tick… BOOM! THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH WEST SIDE STORYAFI TELEVISION PROGRAMS OF THE YEARHACKSMAIDMARE OF EASTTOWN RESERVATION DOGS SCHMIGADOON!SUCCESSIONTED LASSOTHE UNDERGROUND RAILROADWANDAVISIONTHE WHITE LOTUSAFI SPECIAL AWARDBELFASTSQUID GAME SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

now streaming on Disney+) follows Smith, 53, as he takes his trademark quips, enthusiasm and adventurous spirit into remote slices of the natural world to discover and explore hidden places that the average person can’t reach.

Will Smith and the cast of King Richard are receiving a major honour! The Palm Springs International Film Awards announced Tuesday that the stars of the biopic will be the recipients of the Ensemble Performance Award.

Palm Springs International Film Awards announced Tuesday that the stars of the biopic will be the recipients of the Ensemble Performance Award.The award will be presented to Smith, Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal and Tony Goldwyn, who are all expected to attend.“is a wonderful film that tells the emotional story of Richard William’s determination and vision that, along with the steady support of his wife Oracene, turned their daughters Venus and Serena into tennis

In King Richard, Aunjanue Ellis is Oracene Price, mother and oft-unsung hero in the success story of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. As a determined and driven father and coach, the titular character Richard Williams (played by Will Smith) has long been known in the public eye as the man behind the sporting family’s magic.