In late October 1970, Muhammad Ali returned to the ring after a three-year ban from the sport for refusing to be drafted into the Vietnam War. Although the legendary boxer won his bout against Jerry Quarry, the next day’s front pages in Atlanta newspapers had a more compelling story than Ali’s comeback. Peacock’s upcoming limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, based on the true crime podcast, tells the story of the greatest robbery in Georgia history and how Atlanta became a black Mecca.
“I read the script, and I was like, ‘Oh my God,’” series star Taraji P. Henson said. diverse During a conversation at the Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), where the series premiered ahead of its September 5 debut on Peacock.
“I remember two friends of mine moving there in the early ’90s. I was like, ‘What’s the big deal about Atlanta?’ And then I read the scripts, and I realized that this was still a remnant of what Chicken Man started in 1970, and that blew my mind,” she said. “To find out that this was the source material for the movie was just one of those great historical moments.”
Fight Night follows Chicken Man (Kevin Hart), an Atlanta con man who throws a massive after-fight party with a guest list that includes some of the country's most prominent gangsters. However, when the party ends in a brazen robbery, Chicken Man begs Detective J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle), the only black detective on the Atlanta police force, to help clear his name.
While Cheadle was happy to work with Henson again (after 2007's Talk to Me), along with co-stars Hart, Samuel L. Jackson, and Terrence Howard, he was also fascinated by Hudson—who, because of his profession, was an outcast from his community.
“tea” [Ogbonna’s] The text was very clear, so that was the outline. Then it was filled in with research and [J.D] “I was trying to come up with a clear way to try to define the tone of the piece,” Cheadle says. “That was my approach. It’s like, ‘Who is this guy really?’ Fortunately, we have a lot of interviews with him, we can watch tapes and talk to people who know him. It was fun trying to get into his skin.”
While the series' narrative is compelling on its own, it's the unique characters that make Fight Night a truly special story. Henson plays Vivian Thomas, Chicken Man's partner in every sense of the word. She's also unlike any character Henson has played in her career.
“I love women who understand and know what they want out of life,” Henson says. “I love characters who don’t apologize for themselves. That’s the bold place she lives in, and my hope is that more people will start living that way. I’m always interested in characters like that because they give you hope.”
Although the story of “Fight Night” is fun and imaginative, discovering this story reveals how much black history has been buried and forgotten.
“The fact that this happened and we didn’t really know about it is what surprised me,” Cheadle says. “When you listen to the podcast, they talk about why he was buried, and then you think about who was involved, and you say, ‘Of course, no one will know about it. It didn’t happen in Beverly Hills; it didn’t happen in Buckhead. It happened over there.’ So many of our stories, if we did discover them, would be amazing and incredible and unbelievable. Who would have thought that actors and artists would be the ones who had to make sure that history was told.”
Uncovering the fabric of the series was of utmost importance to creator Shay Ogbonna and executive producer Will Packer. The duo went to great lengths to scout locations in Atlanta that had remained untouched since 1970. A replica of the 1966 Cadillac Calais that Chicken Man drives in the series (restored by West Coast Customs) was on location during the MVAAFF premiere of “Fight Night.” Additionally, costume designer James “Jimmy” Hawkins made sure that the actors’ wardrobes helped tell their story.
The same was true when they made Talk to Me, Henson recalls. “We were in the trailer, [Don] “He had his wig on and his sideburns on, and she covered my tattoos. It was about how we put those clothes on — once he put his wig on and I put my wig on, we got up and started doing the Soul Train dance,” she says. “It’s all part of the process. Sometimes, I don’t even understand who my character is until I get into the costume.”
More than just a flashback to a landmark moment in Atlanta's history, Cheadle and Henson hope “Fight Night” will pique audiences' curiosity about what kind of stories are being told and why.
“I hope people have a good time,” Cheadle says. “Often the best we can do is smuggle things in and hopefully get people interested in their history. It’s like you want to get people interested in a broader story, but I think the first job is to entertain.”
“I hope the audience realizes how powerful we are when we move in numbers and how powerful our dollar is, because that’s what this series is about,” Henson adds. “Wherever we move in numbers, when we take our money and invest it, I just want people to see that this is the kind of power we have in our communities. Without asking for charity.”
