17 facts you might not know about Being the Ricardos

When “Being the Ricardos” was first announced, Aaron Sorkin was attached as the writer, but Nicole Kidman was not going to star as Ball. Back in 2015 when it was first announced, Cate Blanchett was supposed to star. When she dropped out, she was replaced by Kidman.

Kidman doesn’t exactly look like Ball, and some people are particularly aggrieved when somebody cast to play a real person isn’t a dead ringer. Thus, there were a lot of complaints about Kidman’s casting. One person loudly stepped up to defend her, though, and that was Lucie Arnaz. Her word carried some cache, given that she is the daughter of Ball and Desi Arnaz.

When Amazon Studios picked up the project, they had Sorkin’s script, but they were looking for somebody else to direct. During that time, though, Sorkin directed “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” and he really enjoyed that experience. As such, he nominated himself for the role, which he got.

Ball, Arnaz, and William Frawley are all played by Oscar winners, namely Kidman, Javier Bardem, and J.K. Simmons. You may be less familiar with Nina Arianda, who played Vivian Vance. If you are a fan of Broadway, though, you might know her. Arianda has two Tony nominations and won for Best Actress in a Play for “Venus in Fur” in 2012.

Ball is not pleased that Donald Glass is going to be directing “Fred and Ethel Fight,” the episode in production during the events of “Being the Ricardos.” Don’t worry about the real Glass’ feelings, as he is not a real person. The director of “Fred and Ethel Fight” was Mark Daniels, but Glass is not necessarily a version of him.

Jess Oppenheimer, Madelyn Pugh, and Bob Carroll were all really writers on “I Love Lucy.” There is a strange framing device to “Being the Ricardos” where those three are being interviewed documentary style. While the film purports them to be the “real” versions of the writers, they aren’t. All three are played by actors. In fact, all three writers have been dead for at least a decade, and Oppenheimer died in 1988.

The older Pugh is played by Linda Lavin, a veteran television actor you may recognize. You know who would recognize her, were he still alive? Arnaz. He guest-starred on the sitcom “Alice,” which Lavin was starring in at the time.

Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat have experience being on the other end of beloved sitcom writing. In the movie, Hale and Shawkat play Oppenheimer and Pugh. Many years prior, the two were cast members on the iconic sitcom “Arrested Development.” Hale played Buster, while Shawkat played Maeby.

Though Blanchett was the original choice for Ball, and Sorkin wasn’t necessarily going to direct at first, Kidman and Sorkin ended up working on the movie together. It’s not the first time, though back then Sorkin didn’t have the cache to direct. Instead, Sorkin “merely” served as the writer for the 1993 movie “Malice,” which Kidman co-starred in.

For years, the Chateau Marmont was a famous location in Los Angeles. It would have been an ideal setting for a movie like “Being the Ricardos,” and indeed a scene was going to be shot there. However, the Chateau’s management then became the focus of accusations of discrimination, harassment, and more. This led to calls to boycott the Chateau Marmont, and due to that Sorkin declined to film his scene there.

There’s a scene in the movie where, after Ball and Arnaz meet, Lucy phones a man who is apparently her fiancé to break things off. In reality, when Ball and Arnaz met it was he who was engaged. Sorkin decided to swap the roles for his movie.

In the film, Arnaz talks about him and his family having to flee the Community revolution in Cuba. Now, these days you might naturally think of the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro. By the time that happened, though. Arnaz was already a sitcom star. His family did indeed flee a revolution in Cuba, but it occurred in 1933.

Lavin worked with Arnaz, and an actor who had worked with Ball was cast as well. Robert Pine, the father of Chris Pine, had been in an episode of “The Lucy Show” in 1967. While he was announced as being in the film, he was cut from the final product, meaning nobody that acted with the actual Ball made it into the movie.

While the production of “Fred and Ethel Fight” is chronicled in “Being the Ricardos,” we do get a brief segment where Lucy and the writers spitball the idea for the episode where Lucy and company go to Italy. You know, where Lucy stomps grapes. In addition to being a favorite of many “I Love Lucy” fans, “Lucy’s Italian Movie” was apparently Ball’s favorite episode as well.

Imagine trying to film an episode of a television show while you are being accused of being a Communist, your husband is in the tabloids, and also you’re pregnant and want your character to be pregnant as well. That’s what happens to Ball in “Being the Ricardos,” and all those things happened in real life. They just didn’t all happen in the same week. While Ball was pregnant with Desi Arnaz Jr. around the same time as the Communism stuff, the affair in the tabloids happened a few years later.

Arnaz didn’t just support Kidman’s casting. She loved the film. After seeing it, Arnaz posted a video on her YouTube Channel speaking highly of the movie. She once again praised Kidman, saying she “became my mother’s soul” and added that Bardem “has everything that dad had,” though she did admit the two did not look alike.

Both Kidman and Bardem (plus a dash of Simmons) are getting awards love. In fact, Kidman has already won one somewhat notable award. While the Golden Globes have fallen in the eyes of many in recent years – and with good reason – the fact remains Kidman won the Best Actress – Drama award for her turn as the comedy legend.