The Million Dollar Heist, Chicken Man Williams

In the opening monologue of the first episode of Fight Night: The Million Dollars RobberyGordon “Chicken Man” Williams, played by Kevin Hart, lays the groundwork for Peacock’s eight-part miniseries (the first three episodes of which are now streaming).

“You know, they burned Atlanta to the ground,” Chicken Man tells his friend, who runs a funeral home and is putting a body into a coffin. “They burned it to the ground, just like that old Gone with the wind Motherfucker. Yeah, but Atlanta rose up and rebuilt! How did we do it? Because of us. Because of the black people, that’s how we did it. They did the same thing in Chicago. But the difference is we’re not like Chicago, not at all. We’re not like Chicago, New York, LA, no. We’re different down here. You know why we’re different? Because the n***as here think different, we move different. We know our history, but we don’t let our history ruin our hustle.”

Based on a 2020 iHeart true crime podcast about true events that took place in Atlanta, Georgia in 1970, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Robbery tells the story of Chicken Man, a small-time Atlanta hustler who runs a gambling scheme on the streets of the city’s south side. But he wants something bigger and better for himself and his family (consisting of a devout wife and children and a mistress named Vivian Thomas, played by Taraji P. Henson). He also wants something better for the city he loves and calls home.

But Chicken Man and his city are confronted with a barrage of horrific circumstances, including what many believe to be the most brazen armed robbery in Atlanta’s history, which took place against the backdrop of an unsanctioned fight by the greatest boxer of all time, Muhammad Ali, who was banned from boxing at the time for opposing the Vietnam War and refusing to be drafted.

As originally told in podcast form (which was produced by Will Packer, who is executive producer here), Chicken Man Williams organized a huge gambling after-party at a house. Top organized crime figures from around the country were invited, including New York boss Frank Moten (played by Samuel L. Jackson) and New Jersey crime boss Cadillac Richie (Terrence Howard). Each mobster is told no guns are allowed, and Chicken Man hoped the party would lead him to his next taste of success. But masked robbers infiltrate with shotguns and pistols; money and jewelry are stolen, and the partygoers are forced to strip down to their underwear in the basement and remain silent for hours while new guests arrive, suffering the same fate.

After the robbers have had enough and left, the mob bosses are furious and want revenge. The first person they take out their anger on is Chicken Man. Of course, he’s the one who invited them to the party, told them no guns were allowed, and organized the whole event. But Chicken Man is also a victim of the robbery. He is now on the run from gangsters who want him dead and the Atlanta police, trying to prove his innocence. He reluctantly asks for help from black Atlanta police detective JD Hudson (played by Don Cheadle), who once put him in prison. Chicken Man hopes Hudson will help him find the real thieves and prove his innocence to the police and the mobsters who want him dead.

The Hollywood Reporter I recently met with Hart and Bryan Smiley, Hart’s partner at his company Hartbeat Productions and co-producer for Fight Night. Hart and Smiley share insight into Chicken Man Williams and explain why they decided to invest in producing a miniseries from a podcast they describe as a love letter to the city of Atlanta.

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It was interesting when Chicken Man, in the opening monologue, talked about the differences between “blacks” in Atlanta and Chicago, LA, etc. Can you elaborate on that? Was Chicken Man’s vision of a growing Atlanta just about him having a better life with this party?

KEVIN HART I think when you talk about the ’70s and a historical film in general, there was a certain perception of people of color from the South, right? And how they were perceived. And Chicken’s main message was: We’re not stupid. We’re not idiots. We’re smart. And once you understand how smart we are, you understand the bigger picture of change. You just need an example.

So Chicken Man wanted to be an example of smart business opportunities and connecting the cities of some of the biggest names and the biggest gangsters. And I think because of that mindset, that idea, sometimes when he expressed any sentiments about Atlanta, it would become… he would puff out his chest, right? “I know what you’re thinking, even if you didn’t say it, I know what you think about us. It’s up to me to make you think differently. And if I make one person think differently, well, that thought will affect everyone else.” That’s that monologue.

That monologue is every ear that’s listening to me. “I’m going to explain to you what I’m going to do now, because then I’ll have another voice saying what Chicken Man is doing out here. Another voice will help spread the energy and the message.” That’s how hustlers work. It’s about broadcasting dialogue, how many people can you get to repeat what you’re feeling and what you’re saying, how you sound? That’s what Chicken Man did.

Bryan, from the first to the last episode, the series is reminiscent of classic films of the 70s like Let’s do it again or Saturday night in Uptown. Was that the mood you were trying to achieve when you put together this series, which feels like a time machine to the 1970s?

BRYAN SMILEY They mentioned some really great movies that obviously inspired what we wanted to do, and I think we’ve really achieved that. But ultimately, this story is really unique. And it really is a love letter to Atlanta. We have the most amazing cast and, quite frankly, a great crew. We know from our director Craig Brewer, who kind of created the show, and our showrunner Shaye (Ogbonna), that we’ve created something really special here. And I think it’s going to be an evergreen show if you want to come back to it year after year.

DEER The biggest priority during this time was to have something that you can use to present a world-class cultural IP. And what I mean by that is to bring some of the biggest names in the industry together on the screen and all with the same goal in mind, which is to create an amazing piece of content. And to have something that is considered the big thing of the year because of the collaboration. How do you do that? How do you present the right material in the right version of it? And I want to boomerangs, I would like to Nights in Harlem. I would now like to turn to the projects you just mentioned, the Saturday night in Uptown. We have so many things that represent everyone, but the gap between them is so wide. So how do we bridge that gap? How do we deliver a more consistent version of what that could be? And do it in an incredibly awesome way.

That’s exactly what Hartbeat is trying to do. We’re trying to answer that particular question properly by bringing you content that we think is needed and necessary, and by partnering with great partners – Peacock, Will Packer and his production company. How do we bring some of the best creators, writers and visionaries to the table to execute the things that we think are the best representation of our history; the best representation of the greatest moments that we’ve experienced in history; how do we present that to an audience that doesn’t know the stories but needs to know them? That’s the priority.

The series is serious, but who made you laugh on set?

DEER Chloe Bailey is very funny. Very, very funny! Don (Cheadle) is forever a goofball who I will love because of our relationship. It was refreshing to work with him in that way. Samuel L. Jackson! Sam is a mean ass! (Laughs) I love Sam – there’s only one Samuel L. Jackson, and working with Sam is a lesson every day. I could go down the list and also mention Taraji (P. Henson) and Terrence (Howard). Each one has made a huge contribution to making our days better, so it wouldn’t be fun to pick just one.

The first three episodes of Fight Night are now streaming on Peacock, with new episodes released on Thursdays.