Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, approves of Nicole Kidman playing her mother in the upcoming biopic titled Being the Ricardos. Kidman is in talks to play Ball and Javier Bardem is being eyed for Arnaz. Since the casting announcement, fans have been heavily debating the best fit for the role. Cate Blanchett was initially attached to the movie. However, some believe a more comedic actress should be cast as Ball, such as Debra Messing, who's expressed interest.
In a video posted on Facebook (via ET), Lucie Arnaz spoke about Kidman's casting in Being the Ricardos. Contracts haven't been signed, but Arnaz claimed, "It's a done deal." She also responded to criticism Kidman doesn't have the right appearance or comedic abilities to play Ball, reassuring fans the upcoming biopic isn't an I Love Lucy remake:
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, Desi 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.
Of course, that is not to say I Love Lucy won't be involved in the plot. The biopic takes place over the course of one week of the show's production. However, as Arnaz states, the primary focus of the plot is her parents' personal relationship and how it's impacted by their shared professional lives. For this reason, it makes sense Arnaz seems to be pleased with Kidman's casting. As one of the top actors working today, she's more than proven herself in a variety of different genres. Though Being the Ricardos may initially seem to be outside of Kidman's wheelhouse, Arnaz appears confident she'll do her mother justice.
Source: Lucie Arnaz (via ET)