Following a tantalizing teaser, the latest trailer for writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” finally gives us a look at Nicole Kidman’s interpretation of comedy icon Lucille Ball, and the story looks ambitious to say the least.
The film takes place over the course of one production week on “I Love Lucy” and charts the ups and downs of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s (Javier Bardem) personal and professional lives, as the trailer reveals that the story covers Ball being accused of communist sympathies. The story also charts shocking personal accusations and cultural taboos, as Sorkin uses a fictional construct to paint a portrait of Ball and Arnaz, much the same way he approached his underrated 2015 film “Steve Jobs.”
Cate Blanchett was originally eyed to star in the film before Kidman signed on, and the Oscar-winning “The Hours” actress looks to do a swell job capturing Ball’s essence here. Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille and Desi, recently endorsed the film, noting that Sorkin captured “the heart of my mother and my father.”
“Nicole Kidman became my mother’s soul,” Arnaz said in a video posted on Instagram. “She crawled into her head. I don’t know how you do that. She cared very deeply about this part, [and] it shows. And I believed everything she said. She looks beautiful – thank God they didn’t do exact lookalikes, I couldn’t have taken it.”
Lucie acknowledged that Bardem doesn’t look anything like her father, but captured his essence anyway.
This is Sorkin’s third directorial effort after a successful career as an Emmy and Oscar-winning screenwriter. He made his debut on 2017’s “Molly’s Game” and found even greater success with 2020’s Netflix feature “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” which earned six Academy Award nominations. No doubt Sorkin and Co. are hoping for similar awards season success with “Being the Ricardos.”
Watch the trailer for “Being the Ricardos” above. The film also stars Jake Lacy, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat. The film will be released in theaters on Dec. 10 and globally on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 21.