See Nicole Kidman As Lucille Ball In Being The Ricardos Teaser

Check out Nicole Kidman as Lucy for a new biopic.

By Faith McKay | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

nicole kidman

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were a superstar couple in the early days of Hollywood. No one, especially not Lucille Ball, expected I Love Lucy to become a mega hit, but it has safely claimed its spot in television history. Now, Nicole Kidman has taken on the intense responsibility of portraying the icon alongside Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz in Being the Ricardos. So far, not a lot has been released to provide audiences with an idea of how Nicole Kidman looks as Lucille Ball. Now, audiences have their first real idea of what the movie is going to look like.

Take a look at Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem in the teaser for Being the Ricardos below.

The trailer has a voiceover with Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball, but mostly gives glimpses of the actress in character. Her red hair is seen from behind and the side, blocking her face in most of the shots for the trailer. Then, Nicole Kidman is shown in black and white, filming the iconic grapes scene for one of the most memorable episodes of I Love Lucy. You can see her in character below.

nicole kidman

Not much is known about Being The Ricardos. The story is going to cover one week in the life of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The logline for the movie says that the movie will see them face one crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. It’s been reported that these events will show the headlines where Desi was said to have cheated on Lucy and the papers began to claim that Lucy was a communist. This all happens during one week in their lives where they are also attempting to shoot one episode of I Love Lucy. This trailer reveals that the episode will likely be the one where Lucy attempts to learn how to smash grapes, which she believes will help her land a role in a movie.

The scene where Lucille Ball smashes grapes with her feet goes down with the time that she got drunk on vitameatavegamin while filming a commercial, or the time she tried to package chocolates in a factory, couldn’t keep up, and began stuffing them in her mouth. The scene was an interesting choice as a moment for revealing Nicole Kidman in character. The shot is in black and white, so audiences don’t get a great look at the firey red hair Lucille Ball is known for. On the other hand, the scene is so well known, that fans can immediately not only recognize the scene, but how much Nicole Kidman looks like Lucille Ball in costume.

lucille ball i love lucy

Lucille Ball was asked about many of her more famous scenes many times over the years. As it turns out, she had a frightening experience filming this scene. She claimed that the Italian woman she was filming with didn’t actually speak English. When Ball accidentally hit the woman, she took offense and held Lucille Ball under the grapes for a while too long. The actress wasn’t convinced she was going to live through it. It isn’t known if the Nicole Kidman movie will be covering those details.

What is known is that this is an Aaron Sorkin project, which has him sitting in the director’s chair as well as taking on writing duties. He has previously directed The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Molly’s Game, though is more well known for his writing on The West Wing, A Few Good Men, and The Social Network. Nicole Kidman will co-star with Javier Bardem, known for his roles in Skyfall and No Country for Old Men.

javier bardem being the ricardos

Audiences will be able to check out Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball in Being the Ricardos on December 10, 2021 in theaters and then on December 21, 2021 on Amazon Prime Video.