Director Reinaldo “Rei” Marcus Green’s “King Richard” follows Richard Williams, played by Will Smith, as he takes daughters Venus [Saniyya Sidney] and Serena [Demi Singleton] from Compton, Calif. to the global tennis stage, setting them on their path to tennis stardom.

While the film, which opens Nov. 19, follows Venus’ rise, its core theme is family and determination. Members of the crew discuss how it all came together.

Pamela Martin, editor

“The opening as scripted was Richard picking up balls at the different country clubs. He goes home and takes the girls to the Compton court, and then he goes to work and the next day, he’s shopping for coaches, getting rejected. But it just didn’t get you in his headspace. When they were shooting the movie, it wasn’t the opening that was in the script. I kept asking, ‘What are you shooting here? Are you going back and getting this?...