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What Lucille Ball’s Daughter Has to Say About Nicole Kidman Portraying Her Mom in Upcoming Film

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We were surprised (and super excited) to learn that Nicole Kidman had been cast as Lucille Ball in Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming film, Being the Ricardos. However, we never really heard what Ball’s own daughter, Lucie Arnaz, thought of the casting news. That is—until now. 

Arnaz—the only daughter of Ball and Desi Arnaz—recently sat down for an interview with Palm Springs Life Magazine, where she spoke candidly about the highly anticipated flick and her thoughts about Kidman portraying her mother. 

“Nicole did a spectacular job,” Arnaz told the outlet. “The two days that I watched, though, were both little flashbacks, so she was playing Lucy in the late '30s and mid-'40s. She wasn't Lucy of Lucy Ricardo fame yet, so it was a trifle different. And I know she meant it to be, so it could feel different. But boy, what she did was astounding. She's got such poise and class.”

Kidman will be joined by Javier Bardem who will portray Ball’s husband, Arnaz. Academy Award winner Sorkin penned the screenplay and will also direct the film from Amazon Studios and Escape Artists’s Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch. The biopic is set during one production week of I Love Lucy—Monday table read through Friday audience filming, during which time Lucy and Desi face one crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.

And that’s not the only project in the works centered around the Hollywood couple. Amy Poehler is directing a documentary about the duo and their relationship. During the interview, Arnaz also spoke about the difference between this new doc and the one she created back in the ’90s: Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie.

“I haven't seen it, so it's hard to say, but I know it'll be different,” she continued. “I think it's going to be amazing. From what I've heard so far, and what I've seen them do, they're really pulling out every stop. They are digging deeper than anybody I've ever known. I've opened up the archives to them pretty much more than I've ever given access to anybody, just because I trust these people. I met with them a lot before I said yes, and then I went, ‘OK, take it all. I trust you.’”

Now that we know Lucie is on board, we’re even more excited for both of these projects. 

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