JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — One of Western New York's most famous faces is (once again) taking over the silver screen. Amazon Prime has just released its first full-length trailer for the new Lucille Ball biopic entitled "Being the Ricardos."
The film features a star-studded cast both in front of and behind the camera. It will star Academy Award Winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The supporting cast includes Academy Award Winner J. K. Simmons as William Frawley who played Fred Mertz in "I Love Lucy" and Tony Award winning actress Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance who played Ethel Mertz in the original sitcom. The movie was written by another Academy Award Winner, Aaron Sorkin, who is best known for his work on The West Wing.
"Being the Ricardos" follows a week in the life of Lucy and Desi as they shoot one of the most iconic episodes of "I Love Lucy" through the trials and tribulations of their personal and professional lives. The trailer touches on the trouble in the couple's marriage and issues with the 1953 FBI memo that labeled Ball as a communist.
Initially, critics were unsure about the choice to have Kidman play the Jamestown native, but Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, voiced her support for Kidman and the movie on her Instagram. In a video clip, Arnaz gave her full endorsement saying "Nicole Kidman became my mother's soul."
"Being the Ricardos" premiers in theaters on December 10 and will be available about Amazon Prime on December 21.