“Fight Night” showrunner 'felt a duty' to tell the wild true story: 'They're all after the American dream' (2024)

"Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist" creator Shaye Ogbonna talks those glorious '70s wigs, that satisfying Terrence Howard twist, and more.

WARNING: This article contains spoilers for the eighth and final episode of Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, "Round Eight: Testify."

When Shaye Ogbonna read the script for Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, he immediately “felt a duty” to tell the true story.

Based on the iHeart podcast, the limited series follows Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams (Kevin Hart), an enterprising hustler who talks his way into hosting an exclusive after-party for the wealthy and influential in celebration of Muhammad Ali’s historic comeback fight against Jerry Quarry in Atlanta on Oct. 26, 1970. Unbeknownst to Chicken Man, a group of robbers also have their sights set on the soiree, later descending with shotguns to strip attendees of their belongings.

What the assailants didn’t know, however, is they’ve also targeted powerful members of “the damn Black mafia,” including Samuel L. Jackson’s formidable Frank Moten. With the gangsters convinced he and his right-hand woman Vivian (Taraji P. Henson) masterminded the heist, Chicken Man reluctantly teams with his adversary JD Hudson (Don Cheadle), one of the first Black detectives in Atlanta’s desegregated police force, in a race against the clock to clear his name.

It's revealed that Terrence Howard's Richard "Cadillac Richie" Wheeler, hellbent on a coup d'état against Moten, is the mastermind.

More remarkably so, it's a story rooted in historical significance. Ali’s big fight became a cultural milestone for Atlanta, cementing the city’s rise as the “Black Mecca.” And for Atlanta native Ogbonna, it’s deeply personal. “The funny thing for me was finding my own connections to the real events,” the creator-showrunner-writer tells Entertainment Weekly. “I felt a duty to tell this story and to inform people that I'm a product of this.” He talks about those connections and more below.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I’m curious about the research beyond the podcast, and more specifically, if you were able to meet people who were actually there. I know Samuel L. Jackson was in Atlanta when this happened and might’ve known some folks.

SHAYE OGBONNA: I wasn't able to track people down that were there, but I'm from Atlanta and the community that this took place in. So the funny thing for me was finding my own personal connections to the real events. The reason I was really compelled to do this, besides it being just an amazing opportunity, was I felt a duty to tell this story and to inform people that I'm a product of this. I started to find personal connections going home, talking to my aunts, uncles, mom, the people that are a generation above me, they all remember it. They were all coming of age around the time when it happened. These types of localized African American and POC stories tend to get told orally. You don't find 'em in books. You heard it from somebody who told somebody who told somebody, and that's how this story came to be.

Related: Taraji P. Henson blacked out during her striptease in Fight Night's hostage episode: 'I removed myself from the room, mentally'

What were some of the insights you were able to glean from them?

It validated things that I've already felt in an approach I was already taking, which was to humanize everyone in this show. The one thing I felt that the podcast didn't really get an opportunity to explore was the robbers. The robbers are just names. And so through research, we really also had to take a lot more creative license because a lot of these people were just names. A lot of these people didn't make it, and there isn't a lot of story there. It was important to me to tell the community story, even from their perspective. I found more personal, actual connections to not only the people that were involved, but the assailants. The one thing that was always important to me to stress was that everyone involved in this was a member of the community, including the robbers. It was important for me to add meat to that bone and make those characters feel layered and nuanced and complex.

Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free daily newsletterto get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Don and Kevin have such great chemistry. How much of their banter was improvised?

It was a mix. For the most part, they stuck to the script, but there are definitely moments. It's just about writing to their voices. And the thing about Don and Kevin, they already had great chemistry before we even started this. They already went viral based on their chemistry. I don’t know if you remember that interview they did on [Hart’s talk show] Hart to Heart, but Kevin low-key took a shot at Don’s age and it went viral. They already have that rapport, so they're a buddy cop movie waiting to happen. One scene that I know they really had fun with that is one of my favorite scenes is in episode four, where they go visit the mom's house to try to interview her daughter, who was a witness at the robbery. I saw the dailies, and I'm telling you, I would just watch it over and over again. Kevin is just a master at timing. It is just a masterclass in chemistry, so that's a scene where they improv a little bit.

“Fight Night” showrunner 'felt a duty' to tell the wild true story: 'They're all after the American dream' (3)

We need to talk about the '70s wigs. I’m obsessed with Terrence’s wig. What was the wig budget? How many wigs were made for this?

I don't know the wig budget, but I know the wig budget was significant enough. It actually could have affected our start time, because the thing about any period piece, presentation is so important. Especially wardrobe, wigs, makeup, that's when people call BS. If I could find inconsistencies, it pulls me out of the show, so it was very important to us. Our hair and makeup team, led by Lawrence and Mona, just really knocked it out of the park. In terms of our top line cast, everybody had specific wigs that were tailored to their head, but also tailored to their personality. What I love about our cast is that they're so collaborative. Don and Sam, and obviously Terrence and Taraji, were in on those choices. That was a part of building their characters. Terrence, man, he's an artist, and that wig was part of the character. He took it and ran with it, and I love that.

Related: The 8 must-watch new TV shows this fall

“Fight Night” showrunner 'felt a duty' to tell the wild true story: 'They're all after the American dream' (4)

Speaking of Terrence, his character is revealed to be the mastermind. There were three men indicted, but none with this particular name. Was there a real Cadillac Richie?

There is a real Cadillac Richie. We did take creative liberties in terms of changing a little bit about who he is and his background, but there was an actual Cadillac Richie. I don't think it was ever adjudicated. I haven't looked at the research in a while. The one thing I do know is that Frank Moten and JD believed that it was Cadillac Richie. The real Cadillac Richie ended up not making it. If I remember correctly, I believe he got killed in a gangland thing, maybe even connected to the robbery. Cadillac Richie was more of a kind of independent, stickup kid. He was actually more a little bit like Willie Black. Cadillac Richie came to the fight. He did not come with Frank, and then left early to forge an alibi. So we just took that and just added more meat to that bone. When [we got] Terrence Howard, it really gave us an opportunity. We made Richie a bigger gangster and connected him to Frank, which was great because it made it more of a complicated, satisfying reveal.

You’ve called the series a love letter to Atlanta. What do you hope folks take from this history lesson?

I want people to be entertained, number one. And then number two, I talked earlier about these POC stories that don't get a chance to get distributed to the mainstream world. This is such an American show from an African American perspective, told in a mainstream genre way. We have so many of these American stories that can be told from these perspectives of people who tend to be placed on the margin. So I hope people see this and see the blueprint of this type of storytelling and these types of characters. One thing that was really important to me is that almost every character owns their own business. They're all after the American dream. They aren't a stereotype. Even if they're doing something wrong, there's something interesting behind it. I just want people to just see this world, see these characters, and really connect and see the possibilities of what can be done.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

All episodes of Fight Night are streaming now on Peacock.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.

“Fight Night” showrunner 'felt a duty' to tell the wild true story: 'They're all after the American dream' (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Aron Pacocha

Last Updated:

Views: 5655

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (48 voted)

Reviews: 87% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Aron Pacocha

Birthday: 1999-08-12

Address: 3808 Moen Corner, Gorczanyport, FL 67364-2074

Phone: +393457723392

Job: Retail Consultant

Hobby: Jewelry making, Cooking, Gaming, Reading, Juggling, Cabaret, Origami

Introduction: My name is Aron Pacocha, I am a happy, tasty, innocent, proud, talented, courageous, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.