Being the Ricardos writer-director Aaron Sorkin responds to the fan outcry over Nicole Kidman's casting as legendary comedian and actress Lucille Ball. Sorkin has been working on Being the Ricardos for over five years, initially embarking on the screenplay back in 2015. The project properly got off the ground earlier this year when Kidman boarded as Ball. She's joined by Javier Bardem as Ball's husband Desi Arnaz, while J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play their I Love Lucy co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
Being the Ricardos goes behind the scenes of Ball and Arnaz's marriage during one key week of production on I Love Lucy. Eyed by many as an awards hopeful, Amazon will give the film a limited theatrical run ahead of a streaming release in December. It's one of the buzziest titles of the last weeks of 2021, but it hasn't been without some slight controversy from fans. The release of the official Being with the Ricardos trailer ignited a conversation online about how Kidman perhaps isn't suited for the part of Ball, who is known for her audacious facial expressions and pitch-perfect comedic timing.
Sorkin responded to the fan backlash in a new interview with THR. He first explained how he approached the casting process, stating frankly that "This isn’t for beginners, as Lucy says." Sorkin couldn't pass up the opportunity to have a cast featuring Kidman, Bardem, Simmons, and Arianda, which then allowed him to defend Kidman's casting to those who have objected to it. He said:
We made this movie during COVID, and so in Zooming with Nicole and Javier and everyone else, I’d make it very clear to them that I am not looking for a physical or vocal impersonation of these people. Leading up to the first rehearsal, I’d write to them every day, “Just play the characters who are in the script.” I know that Nicole was working on Lucy’s voice for a while, and I wanted to relieve her of that. As far as audience anticipation, that’s something I’m just not worried about. I’m certain that when people see the movie, they’ll leave feeling that Nicole has made a very solid case for herself, but moreover, I’ve found that you can really leverage low expectations. I learned that with The Social Network. People assumed it was going to be a romantic comedy, where, like, Paul Rudd “friends” Drew Barrymore and they fall in love. And I just thought, “Great, they’re not expecting what they’re about to see.”
Now, the fact of the matter is when Nicole, as Lucille Ball, plays Lucy Ricardo, I think she does an incredible job of mimicking Lucy. Same with Javier, Nina and J.K. But there is, in total, less than three minutes of I Love Lucy in this film, and the only reason the I Love Lucy material is there is because we’re in Lucy’s head and we’re seeing that she is a comedic chess master, that she can project ahead to what [the show] is going to look like on Friday night, and how the audience is going to react and whether this joke is going to work. So, finding an actress who looked like Lucille Ball wasn’t important to me, especially because I was excited by the idea that Lucille Ball doesn’t look like Lucille Ball — and that every time we’re seeing Lucille Ball not as Lucy Ricardo, she should both literally and metaphorically let her hair down. Let her be what she’s not allowed to be on TV in 1952 on CBS. Let her be a woman. Let her be sexy. You weren’t allowed to be sexy on TV.
A common criticism against Kidman's casting is that she bears little resemblance to Ball. This has led many to instead lend their support to Debra Messing, who both looks like Ball when in the proper makeup and can nail her typical quirks. Messing even channeled Ball for an episode of Will & Grace. However, as Sorkin pointed out in the interview, he had no desire to find someone who can merely imitate Ball. Instead, he wanted Kidman to bring something unique to the part.
It's far too early to make assumptions about Kidman's performance, since Being the Ricardos is still a month away and audiences have only seen trailers. It could be that Kidman will prove to be the definitive Ball actress, and that Sorkin was smart to cast her. For his part, Sorkin doesn't seem to have any regrets about bringing Kidman on board for Being the Ricardos. Any director would likely be thrilled to have an actress of Kidman's caliber on board, so his defense of her is understandable. Fans will get to form their full opinions on her performance next month.
Source: THR
