Cate Blanchett was originally attached to play Lucille Ball in "Being the Ricardos" several years ago but she later pulled out of the role — a move that left Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, "devastated."
Arnaz, who is an executive producer on the movie, made the remarks to The New York Times while discussing Nicole Kidman's portrayal of her mother. Speaking with the outlet, Arnaz explained that the initial idea was to release "Being the Ricardos" as a mini-series and Blanchett was tapped for the starring role but by the time Aaron Sorkin became involved in the project and it was set up at Amazon as a film, the actress was no longer available.
"It just took too long and we lost her," Arnaz said in an interview. "I was devastated."
The role was wide open for the taking but Arnaz was not impressed with any of the stars contemplated to play her mother.
"None of them made me happy. It was always like, Who’s the flavor of the month? Who’s got the hot movie of the minute?" she said. Arnaz's interest was piqued when Kidman's name emerged as a possibility.
"I thought, That’s good — we should only be looking at Australian actresses for this," she joked.
Commenting on Blanchett’s previous involvement in the project, Kidman told the Times that it did not diminish her interest.
"I feel like there’s a sacred pact among us all — whoever gets something, that’s where it was meant to land."
Kidman's casting was met with widespread backlash. Many were up-in-arms because Kidman looks and sounds nothing like Ball. Others called for Debra Messing to take on the role instead but Arnaz has repeatedly defended Kidman.
"There seems to be a lot of discussion about Nicole Kidman, it should be Debra Messing, it should be Carole Cook. I don't know," she said in a video posted to Facebook in January. "Here's the deal, what you should understand: We are not doing a remake of 'I Love Lucy.' No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do the Vitameatavegamin routine or ... any of the silly things."
In an interview with Palm Springs Life, Arnaz praised Kidman for her performance.
"Nicole did a spectacular job," she said. "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."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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