Nicole Kidman was not the fan’s first choice in playing iconic I Love Lucy comedian Lucille Ball. The actress was picked to play the lead in Aaron Sorkin’s new movie, Being The Ricardos. The film is all about the tumultuous marriage of Lucy and her Latin husband Desi.
Fans were not pleased as Kidman and her costar Javier Bardem were picked to play the roles of the much-loved iconic couple. Some of the fan’s reasons for their displeasure were that the pair did not look similar and Kidman was Australian. In fact, people were furious that the casting director would choose Kidman to play Ball.
However, minds can change and now fans are more than excited to see Kidman on the big screen when the film eventually comes out. Some of the change of heart has been due to new photos taken on the set of the film proving that she makes a fantastic Lucille Ball.
Paparazzi caught Kidman wearing the wig to match Ball’s recognizable red hair. The photo. shows Kidman standing next to a sign warning people not to use social media on set due to the secret nature of movie-making as she pose for herself. Kidman also shared an image from the set of the Sorkin movie.
Sorkin’s film, Being The Ricardos will tell the tale of Lucille Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, who appeared in the renowned sitcom I Love Lucy in 1951. The film will cover the couple’s lives together from 1940 until their divorce in 1960. The two had a turbulent relationship as much as they both admitted to loving the other deeply.
Kidman spoke about starring alongside Javier Bardem in a recent Variety interview. “I was like, ‘Yeah, I would love to give it a go, 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,” Kidman told Variety.
In order to prepare for her role as Ball and to capture the comedian’s demeanor, Kidman spent hours studying I Love Lucy rehearsals and behind-the-scenes recordings.
She said, “I love Lucille, having looked now and delved into her, 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.”
Ball and Arnaz’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, shared a message on Facebook in the hopes of calming the irate fans of her beloved parents.
“Nobody has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the Vitameatavegamin routine, or … any of the silly things. It’s the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother, not Lucy Ricardo, and her husband, Dezi Arnaz, my dad, not Ricky Ricardo, Aaron has done a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life, and it’s just a little … slice of life in their journey,” Lucie explained.
“It’s not the whole story. It’s not a biopic from the cradle to the grave. It is a two-hour feature film about these two people and some of the remarkable things they lived through. So I hope I can set the record straight here and just say, stop arguing about who should play her, ‘She doesn’t look like her, her nose isn’t the same, she isn’t as funny…’ Just trust us, it’s going to be a nice film, and p.s. the voting is over,” Lucie added. “I love all of you,” she shared.
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Sources: AWM, Audacy, Outsider
