Venus Williams Told King Richard Director Reinaldo Marcus Green How 'Proud She Is of the Film'

King Richard director Reinaldo Marcus Green achieved a grand slam with his sports drama that tells the story of Serena and Venus Williams' rise to tennis superstardom with support from their parents.

"I got to sit down with Venus after one of the award shows and it was just the first time we had 10 minutes alone," Green, 41, told Gerrad Hall and Janine Rubenstein on the PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: Hollywood's Biggest Night ahead of Sunday's 94th Academy Awards.

"She looked me in the eye and just said how happy and proud she is of the film. And for me, it's like, this is a family member that we represented, the authenticity of the film."

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic Reinaldo Marcus Green

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Green called sharing that moment with Williams, 41, "quite special."

"You could tell in her heart that she's very, very happy," he added.

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King Richard earned a nomination in the Oscars' Best Picture category; stars Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis — who portrayed the Williams sisters' parents and coaches, also received nods in the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories, respectively.

"As a fan, I'm just so happy and so proud of them," Green said of Smith, 53, and Ellis, also 53.

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A win on Sunday would mark the first Oscar victory for both Ellis and Smith, who Green said gave more than 100 percent to his part.

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"The dedication, how much time commitment he gave to the role — I mean he went hard, he went in," Green continued to Hall and Rubenstein. "And as a director, what more can you ask for your player to kind of pick themselves up and really give you that 110 effort? It was amazing to see him perform."

Watch PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: Hollywood's Biggest Night on PEOPLE.com, EW.com, PEOPLE and EW's YouTube, Facebook and Twitter pages, as well as PeopleTV, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET / 2:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, March 27, 2022.