Nicole Kidman plays Lucille Ball in the upcoming movie Being the Ricardos, and the first teaser dropped on Oct. 19. The footage shows Nicole (as Lucille) arriving on-set to film the iconic show I Love Lucy in front of a live audience. In the background, she narrates, “I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of The Columbia Broadcasting System. The biggest asset in the portfolio of Philip Morris Tobacco, Westinghouse. I get paid a fortune to do exactly what I love doing. I work side by side with my husband who is genuinely impressed by me. And all I have to do to keep it is kill it for 36 weeks in a row, and then, do it again next year.”
Once the cameras start rolling on the I Love Lucy episode, we see Nicole filming one of the series’ most iconic scenes, where Lucy stomps grapes to make wine while filming a movie in Italy. “You know, I only did this show so Desi [Arnaz] and I could be together?” she says in the background. “I had on idea it was going to be a hit.” The movie will tell the off-screen story of Lucille and Desi.
In Being the Ricardos, Javier Bardem pays Lucille’s husband, Desi, who played her on-screen husband, Desi Ricardo, on I Love Lucy. The movie also features J.K. Simmons, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Nina Arianda, amongst others. Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. Being the Ricardos will have a limited release in theaters on Dec. 10, 2021, followed by a global streaming release on Amazon Prime Video on Dec. 21, 2021. The role of Lucille was originally set to be portrayed by Cate Blanchett, who exited the movie at the beginning of 2021 and was replaced by Nicole.
Lucille and Desi met and eloped in 1940. Although they briefly split in 1944, they eventually reconciled, and had their daughter, Lucie Arnaz, in July 1951, followed by a son, Desi Arnaz Jr., in 1953. Lucille and Desi divorced in 1960, but were friendly until his death in 1986. Lucille died three years later at the age of 77.