Richard Williams is slapped with a lawsuit by companies which claim to have bought the rights to his book before the 'Bad Boys for Life' actor began producing a biopic based on his life.
- Jun 25, 2020
AceShowbiz - Richard Williams, the father of tennis aces Serena Williams and Venus Williams, has been served with a lawsuit over a biopic about him. TW3 Entertainment and Power Move Multi Media filed the lawsuit in L.A. Superior Court on Tuesday, June 23, accusing Richard of breach of contract.
The companies claim that they bought the rights to Richard's book "Black and White: The Way I See It" and life story back in 2017, before Will Smith began producing the movie starring himself as Serena's father. In the docs, the plaintiffs state that the contract barred anyone else from making a movie based on Richard's life.
"This case presents an unfortunate and tawdry situation: the cold and calculating misappropriation and interference with Plaintiffs' intellectual property," read the complaint. "Plaintiffs' good faith and contractually protected efforts to bring an amazing story into visual art form were met with Defendants' greed and disregard for Plaintiff's existing rights."
The lawsuit names Richard, his son and sometimes business partner Chavoita Lesane, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Will's production company Overbrook Entertainmentand production company Star Thrower Entertainment as defendants. "Defendant Warner Bros. used Plaintiffs' ideas and materials in 'King Richard', and such ideas and materials provide substantial value to Defendant," the complaint continues to read.
TW3 and PMMM are now seeking "an injunction requiring all profits for any project using the Richard Williams Rights to be placed in trust for Plaintiffs' benefit" in addition to unspecified damages from the big budget "King Richard" movie.
"King Richard" previously faced backlash over the casting of Will Smith as Richard Williams. The critics accused the filmmakers of colorism, believing that the role should go to a darker-skinned actor. "Colorism matters..love will Smith but there are other black actors for this role," one tweeted at the time.
The film is said to focus on Serena and Venus' father as he "overcame tremendous hardship, skepticism and his own troubled past to raise two of the game's greatest players" despite lacking tennis background. It eyes a 2021 release date.
