Look, I want to start off and say that I am a fan of Nicole Kidman’s. However, I think she and Javier Bardem were horribly cast in Being the Ricardos.
I get that this is a slice of Lucy and Desi Arnaz’s life together. However, they still look like the characters they played on I Love Lucy when the cameras are not rolling. Unfortunately, the actors portraying them do not. It is like they are expecting us to have not been bombarded with their images since the day we were born.
Kidman kind of sounds like Ball. But, her higher Australian accent and drawl ruin the impression.
When it comes to her face, it looks even more Botoxed than usual. She looks like she is wearing a plastic Halloween mask of Ball from the ’70s as compared to prosthetics.
Hopefully, Aaron Sorkin’s script will save the movie that comes out on December 21st. He is a genius but there is only some much he can do.
Ever since it was announced that Nicole Kidman is going to play Lucille Ball in an Aaron Sorkin movie about a short period of time in the life of the legendary actress, people have said it was bad casting. However, there is one person who defended her being hired, and she is Lucie Arnaz.
Recently there were pictures released from the set, and people hated the casting even more. Therefore, Ball’s daughter took to social media once again to defend the Oscar winner.
I often enjoy what I see as I scroll through many “I Love Lucy” fan groups here, but, it seems it may be time, once again, for me to make my little speech.
Hi, Folks! Look, regarding the upcoming Aaron Sorkin-Amazon Studio two hour feature film shooting right now about my mother and father – with all due respect-
As you continue to find it fertile fodder for your chat room banter, please keep in mind that:
A) This is not going to be a full biography- just a snippet of time during a crucial and interesting period in their true life story.
B) We agreed to the inspired casting choice of Nicole Kidman because she is smart, a first class, award winning actress who can play comedy or drama and become anyone she puts her mind to and box office gold (important to big studios these days). She was cast to portray Lucille Ball. Not her fictional TV character, “Lucy Ricardo” and, take my word for it, Lucille Ball and “Lucy Ricardo” were quite different people.
C) Our director was not interested in this cast looking exactly like any one of the real life people they play. Acting chops and an essence of the person is what you look for- unless you are doing a drag act or an SNL sketch.
D) If one has not seen a script for a film, how can they begin to know whether an actor would be right for a part -even if they had the talent and experience to make such a decision?
And E) AGAIN, this is not a reboot/remake or updated version of “I Love Lucy”, their iconic comedy series.
No one should ever attempt to do that. It would be a very very bad idea.
If someone WAS trying to do that, then many of you would be correct, no one could replace those four original actors or the brilliance of that show’s writing.
This film takes place almost entirely behind the scenes of “I Love Lucy”, in the real lives of the people involved with the show, off the set and off the studio lot, during that same time period. The title, “Being The Ricardo’s”, is a clever play on words that you will understand after you see what Aaron Sorkin has written.
So, how about everyone just take a big, deep breath and let these actor kids play in the sandbox for a while with our team and make us all a nice gift, okay?
❤️
If she approves of the woman playing her mom, I guess we should too. However, I recently watched Kidman in Grace of Monaco, and all I saw was Kidman and not Grace Kelly. Kidman is an outstanding actress, but, to me, she is not good at playing other famous people.
How do you feel about Mrs. Keith Urban playing Mrs. Desi Arnaz?
A few weeks ago, it was revealed that Nicole Kidman is going to play Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s movie about the legendary actress’ marriage to Desi Arnaz and their time creating I Love Lucy. While her casting is approved by their daughter, Lucie Arnaz, fans do not approve of it.
After being silent since the announcement, Kidman opened up to Variety’s Marc Malkin on why she took the part in Being the Ricardos. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to give it a go,’” Kidman says. “With Aaron’s words and his direction and Javier … that’s kind of a wonderful prospect to, you know. But yikes, off we go. Give it a go. Try my best—see if I can do it.”
She is seeing if she can do it by researching the groundbreaking star she is going to play. “She’s an amazing woman. I’m very excited for people to see what Aaron found out about her and the way he’s interpreted Desi and Lucy and the way that it’s so rich. I didn’t know any of this.”
Are you going to find out what Kidman learned about the Arnazes from Sorkin’s script, or are you going to skip it like me? I am sorry, I am a fan of Kidman’s, but I don’t think she is right for this role. Just like she was wrong to play Samantha Stevens in Bewitched. Oh, that was so bad.
Last week, it was announced that Aaron Sorkin is doing a movie about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz with Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem playing the legends. Needless to say, people, like me, were not happy about the casting.
Yesterday, Lucie Arnaz responded to all of the fans and explained why it works. “Here’s the deal, what you should understand. We are not doing a remake of I Love Lucy. No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo, nor do the Vitameatavegamin routine, nor the chocolate factory routine, nor any of the silly things,” Arnaz said. “It is the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother, not Lucy Ricardo, and her husband Desi Arnaz, my dad, not Ricky Ricardo.
“There will be humor in the film, but it is the story of the two of them and how they met. And what went right with finding the show, what went wrong. Their relationship. Their love affair.”
She then goes on to say it is just a small part of their lives and that Sorkin does a good job telling her parents’ story. She would not have approved the 2-hour feature film if she didn’t like what he did with their love story. She rarely allows people to do anything about or with parents’ story without her approval.
Then she closed out the video with, “Just trust us. It is going to be a nice film.”
I want to trust her and Sorkin, but I still think Kidman is wrong for the role. She is a great actress, but she can’t play every role. Did you see Prom?
Did Arnaz make you feel better about Sorkin’s project about her parents?
The good news is that Aaron Sorkin is doing a movie about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz called Being the Ricardos. The bad news is that he is thinking of casting Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in the title roles.
The only thing that Kidman has in common with the legendary actress is that they are both redheads. Although only one is a natural ginger. Not only that, Kidman can’t do comedy. Even though they are not focusing on the couple’s humor.
According to Variety, “The movie will take place during a production week on the set of I Love Lucy, starting with a Monday table read through an audience shoot on Friday. Ball and Arnaz will face challenges that could end their careers and their marriage.”
Even though it is drama, she is still wrong for the role. So is Bardem, who is a Spaniard and not Cuban. There is a huge difference, and they should try to find someone who is Cuban for the role.
Just because they won Oscars does not mean they can play every role. Maurice Bernard played a good Desi, and he is an Emmy winner.
I just think if you are going to have actors play infamous people, make sure they are right for the role—especially celebrities as lauded as these comedic pioneers.
To be honest, I would rather see Debra Messing in the role. Who do you want to see play the couple?
