Lucie Arnaz saysNicole Kidman’s casting as Lucille BallinBeing the Ricardosis a done deal, assuring fans that while the “voting is over,” viewers won’t be disappointed in Kidman’s performance. Recently, it was reported that Kidman was in talks to play Lucille with Javier Bardem as her husband andI Love Lucyco-star, Desi Arnaz. The announcement was met with a lot of controversy as many fans were hoping to see Debra Messing get the role.
Taking to Facebook,Lucie Arnaz- Lucille and Desi’s daughter - addressed the casting news and the fan campaign for Messing to be cast. Though Kidman hasn’t yet officially signed on for the part, Lucie suggests the decision has pretty much been finalized. She also reminds fans that the role is specifically for Lucille Ball and not Lucy Ricardo, with more of an emphasis on drama over comedy. As Lucie explains:
“It’s a done deal… Here’s the deal, what you should understand. We are not doing a remake ofI Love Lucy. No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the ‘Vitameatavegamin’ routine, or the chocolate factory routine, or any of the silly things. It’s the story ofLucille Ball, my actual mother, not Lucy Ricardo, and her husband, Dezi Arnaz, my dad, not Ricky Ricardo. There will be humor in the film, but it is a 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.”
Lucie adds this about the biopicBeing the Ricardos.
“Now, of course it’s going to haveI Love Lucyin it. As a matter of fact, Aaron Sorkin has set it on the stage of filming one week of rehearsal, rehearsing and filming the show. But all this other stuff takes place during that time. Very little of the show is actuallyI Love Lucy-type stuff. I don’t think you will be disappointed in that, however.”
Discouraging fans from bickering any longer about who should play her mother, Lucie promises that everyone will be satisfied once they see the final product.
“It’s not the whole story. It’s not a biopic from cradle to 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.”
Being the Ricardoswill be directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Aaron Sorkin. Prior to Kidman’s casting, Cate Blanchett was originally eyed for the part of Lucille Ball. As for Debra Messing, a lot of fans were hoping to see her cast after she did a fantastic job portraying Lucy onWill & Grace. Amid the reports ofNicole Kidmantaking on the role, Messing clarified that she was still available to play Lucille Ball, but it’s looking a lot like Kidman will ultimately be the one to be cast. This news comes to us fromLucie Arnaz on Facebook.
