‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ Features a Set of Sideburns That ‘Saved the Day’

According to “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” creator Shaye Ogbonna, nan quality betwixt a bully play portion and a awesome play portion are nan details. “It was important that we really beryllium drilled down connected nan investigation and authenticity,” said nan writer to IndieWire during a USG University Panel for nan Peacock series, wherever he was joined by costume designer Ernesto Martinez and hairsbreadth section caput Lawrence Davis.

Part of that is because, successful summation to being group successful Atlanta successful 1970, “Fight Night” is really based connected a existent communicative astir really connected nan nighttime of Muhammad Ali’s comeback conflict location was an after-party attended by respective Black mob leaders from crossed nan state that was attacked by equipped robbers. The all-star formed for nan constricted bid includes Kevin Hart arsenic Chicken Man, nan organizer of nan party, Taraji P. Henson arsenic his correct manus female Vivian Thomas, Samuel L. Jackson arsenic gangster Frank Moten, and Don Cheadle arsenic J.D. Hudson, nan bull trying to fig retired who really orchestrated nan crime.

Though Hart’s characteristic Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams was a existent person, Ogbonna, Martinez, and Davis did not really person excessively galore resources that would person allowed them to beryllium ace nonstop astir what he wore nan nighttime of nan fight, truthful nan showrunner’s occupation was to “write nan principle of nan character, and you conscionable fto nan craftsperson create, and spell pinch it, and past you conscionable effort to, again, mold it into into nan model of nan communicative you’re trying to tell.”

Martinez besides points retired that “actual Chicken Man and Kevin Hart were very different group successful stature and what they could wear. What nan Chicken Man wore was not thing that would beryllium arsenic awesome for our Chicken Man.” He is peculiarly proud of a civilization denim suit he made for nan lead actor, and “another 1 [suit] I made for him that was black, and I embellished it pinch patches, for illustration 1970 Sly and nan Family Stone.”

Chicken Man was besides nan characteristic progressive successful 1 of Davis’s proudest achievements moving connected nan crime dramedy. “I was adamant astir making [his] sideburns a portion of nan wig. Normally successful nan industry, it’s a national norm that thing astir sideburns [is] a constitution thing,” he said. “But arsenic a erstwhile barber, I cognize that I for illustration doing my ain sideburns. I would not dangle connected constitution to do my sideburns connected a haircut, but nan wig shaper said, ‘We’ll do precisely what you want to do.’ And I said to myself, this is going to trim down tons of his prep time, because different he’d person to spell to maine to get his wig connected and past to nan constitution section to get his sideburns on. So that was a unsocial situation, and I was gladsome that they were capable to do that.”

It particularly made Hart’s flashback scenes easier to shoot. “I needed to make judge that that wig worked for 1970 arsenic good arsenic 1960, truthful it’s conscionable a matter of tucking nan sideburns nether and putting a portion successful nan wig and combing it back,” said Davis. “Those sideburns saved nan day.”

For a longer chat pinch Ogbonna, Martinez, and Davis tabout nan trade that went into making “Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist,” watch IndieWire’s afloat question and reply pinch trio above.“Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist” is now streaming connected Peacock.

IndieWire collaborated pinch Universal Studio Group for USG University, a bid of virtual panels celebrating nan champion successful tv creation from nan 2024-2025 TV play crossed NBC Universal’s portfolio of shows. USG University (a Universal Studio Group program) is presented successful business pinch Roybal Film & TV Magnet and IndieWire’s Future of Filmmaking. Catch up connected nan latest USG University videos hereor straight astatine nan USG University site.