Being the Ricardos essayist director Aaron Sorkin responds to the fan outcry over Nicole Kidman’s casting as amazing comic and entertainer Lucille Ball. Sorkin has been working on Being the Ricardos for more than five years, initially embarking on the screenplay back in 2015. The venture appropriately made headway recently when Kidman boarded as Ball. She’s joined by Javier Bardem as Ball’s better half Desi Arnaz, while J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play their I Love Lucy co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
Sorkin responded to the fan backlash in another interview with THR. He first explained how he moved toward the casting system, stating frankly that “This isn’t for beginners, as Lucy says.” Sorkin couldn’t miss the chance to have a cast featuring Kidman, Bardem, Simmons, and Arianda, which then permitted him to guard Kidman’s casting to the people who have protested it. He said:
A common criticism against Kidman’s casting is that she looks similar to Ball. This has driven many to instead loan their help to Debra Messing, who the two looks like Ball when in the legitimate makeup and can nail her run of the mill quirks. Messing even channeled Ball for a scene of Will and Beauty. Be that as it may, as Sorkin pointed out in the interview, he wanted to find someone who can simply mirror Ball. Instead, he needed Kidman to bring something exceptional to the part.
It’s very early to make assumptions about Kidman’s performance, since Being the Ricardos is as yet a month away and crowds have only seen trailers. It may be the case that Kidman will end up being the definitive Ball entertainer, and that Sorkin was savvy to project her. For his part, Sorkin doesn’t appear to have any second thoughts about bringing Kidman on board for Being the Ricardos. Any director would likely be excited to have an entertainer of Kidman’s type on board, so his safeguard of her is justifiable. Fans will hear to form their full thoughts on her performance one month from now.
