Clubhouse Conversations — Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist

In this episode, cinematographer Jody Williams is joined by interviewer C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC to discuss his work on Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist — a limited crime series that dramatizes an armed robbery carried out on the night of Muhammad Ali's October 1970 comeback fight.

Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist explores a monumental night in Atlanta's history, during which Ali's fight — scheduled three years after he was stripped of his boxing license for being a conscientious objector to fighting in the Vietnam War — helped transform the state into the "Black Mecca" in the eyes of America. Coinciding with this major event is a heist plotted by Gordon "Chicken Man" Williams (Kevin Hart), a street-savvy hustler whose ambition lands him in a game of cat-and-mouse with detective J.D. Hudson (Don Cheadle).

In this interview, Williams discusses how he shaped two distinct visual worlds for the characters of Chicken Man and Hudson; the importance of his collaboration with production designer Tony Barton to best capture the show's textures, tones and spatial storytelling; the challenges of balancing digital filmmaking techniques with the aesthetic spirit of 1970s Black cinema; his use of handheld camerawork to reflect character psychology; choreographing unbroken Steadicam takes for the show's robbery scene, and more.

Jody Williams is a cinematographer whose credits include Coming 2 America, Empire, Genius and B-Boy Blues.

C. Kim Miles, ASC, CSC, MySC is a cinematographer whose credits include the features Welcome to Marwen and Champions and the series The Flash, Lost in Space (2019), Project Blue Book and Yellowjackets.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.