Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Movie's Casting Has 'I Love Lucy' Fans up in Arms

The news that Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are playing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in an [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The news that Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem are playing Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in an upcoming movie is not sitting well with longtime I Love Lucy fans. Kidman is a good actress, but some pointed out that she might not have the comedy chops to play one of the funniest women ever to grace the big and small screen. Others suggested that the Cuba-born Arnaz should not be played by Bardem, born in Las Palmas, Spain.

The new movie is titled Being the Ricardos and will be written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, who recently helmed The Trial of the Chicago 7 for Netflix. The story will take place during the one-week production of a single I Love Lucy episode, while Ball and Arnaz juggle personal and career crises, reports Deadline. Amazon Studios and Escape Artists are producing the film, which counts Arnaz and Ball's children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr, as executive producers.

The film has been in the works for years, with Cate Blanchett reportedly interested in playing Ball in 2017. After making The Trial of the Chicago 7 as both writer and director, Sorkin decided to direct the new movie himself. Bardem and Kidman's decision to join helped get the project moving, but their contracts have not been finalized yet. Production is not scheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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Bardem's casting as one of the most famous Cubans in Hollywood history reminded many of the recent controversy surrounding Penelope Cruz. Back in October, Variety called out Universal Pictures for featuring Cruz as a Colombian character in the upcoming all-star spy movie The 355. Cruz, like her husband Bardem, is also Spanish. She was born in Madrid and is not Colombian or Latina. Jessica Chastain, who stars in The 355 and is one of its executive producers, defended the decision.

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"When I had the idea of making this film, we didn't have a script or financing," Chastain told Variety. "Penelope was incredibly helpful in this regard. After conversations with our consultant, I brought her the idea that she could play a fervent agent from Brazil. She mentioned that it wouldn't be right for her to play a character from Brazil, as the majority language is Portuguese." Chastain went on to note that "approximately 80%" of Colombia's population has "European or mixed European heritage." She added, "We settled on a character who is a descendant from the colonization of Spain in the New World."

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