“Venus and Serena: The Truth behind the Legends,” follows tennis legends Venus and Serena on and off the court over the course of a year. This isn’t the first time the sisters are letting fans into their personal lives, but it is the first time their lives will be displayed on screens in theaters around the world. The film includes interviews with Hollywood actors, a former president, and tennis legends. Being that the sisters are so private, the documentary is meant to show the sisters in a more personal and relatable light. But the sisters have some objections about its content and the effects the documentary will have on their image.
In September of 2012 Steven Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times reported that the William sisters were unhappy with the final product of their documentary and refused to attend the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Although the sisters gave directors Maiken Baird and Michelle Major permission to shoot them over the course of a year in different elements if their lives, the sisters believe that they were portrayed negatively.
“I’m disappointed the sisters didn’t like everything that was being shown, because we really set out to tell a true story that was very inspiring,” Major said. The truth hurts us all. “To be honest, I’m not sure if they [Venus and Serena] would have ever liked everything we were showing,” Major said.
Unless the editing interferes with the raw footage, the documentary accurately portrays the sisters, no matter how damaging it may be to their reputation and image. The sisters may be against their image being tarnished but this documentary may help them gain a wide range of new fans. The possibility of seeing Serena and Venus behaving badly is something any fan of celebrity drama would enjoy.
The private sisters gave fans a sample of their lives off the court in 2005 when they starred in the ABC Family television series “Venus and Serena: For Real”. Seeing them off the court was different, but it wasn’t exciting. The six-part series wasn’t as real as fans hoped. The series gave viewers the impression that they were trying to stay socially relevant, when they should have been showing us their personalities and lifestyles off the tennis court. They didn’t discuss rumored relationships, and they rarely even disagreed with each other. Is their relationship that perfect? I doubt it. In a society that feeds off of celebrity drama and reality television shows, the sisters failed to satisfy audiences and the second season of the series never aired.
If the William sisters don’t want us to see their documentary, it must be good. With all the gossip swirling around Serena’s rumored marriage(s) and Venus’ injuries, this documentary is sure to be a hit in the world of celebrity drama and gossip. “Venus and Serena: The Truth behind the Legends” hit theaters on May 10th 2013. Anxious already? No need to wait until May; the documentary debuts on iTunes April 4th.
Let the drama unfold.
