Something I think a lot of film and television fans forget is how everyone who helps create those films and shows are just going to their jobs like any other person. Just like everybody else, a work-life balance needs to be struck in order to live a fulfilling life. Not everything an actor, director, writer, or any other cinematic professional does is in service of the business. They go on vacations, go home to their parents' house for Thanksgiving, have relationships, and decide to have children.
Chances are good that someone in your office has been pregnant and only stopped coming in when they went into labor. In terms of the day-to-day work life of pregnant people, not much changes, aside from it maybe taking a little more effort to do things than usual. For an actor, however, it is one of the few jobs where your physical appearance matters a great deal,...
Chances are good that someone in your office has been pregnant and only stopped coming in when they went into labor. In terms of the day-to-day work life of pregnant people, not much changes, aside from it maybe taking a little more effort to do things than usual. For an actor, however, it is one of the few jobs where your physical appearance matters a great deal,...
- 8/26/2023
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
The one, the only Lucille Ball. Groundbreaking, fearless, timeless, supremely talented… and magical. We salute her today in honor of her birthday, Aug. 6 1911, with a bevy of facts you probably didn’t know about the beloved “I Love Lucy” star. From real-life antics on the set of her iconic sitcom (that grape stomping scene turned into a wrestling match) to superstitions (keep away all pictures of birds!) to a long-kept secret (Lucy had no eyebrows — really!), we go through it all. So sit back and celebrate the icon known as Lucille Ball with this deep-dive into her life.
Photo credit: YouTube
• The grape stomping scene turned into a real wrestling match
“I got into the vat with one, and she had been told that we would have a fight,” Lucy said on “The Dick Cavett Show.” She continued, “I slipped and, in slipping, I hit her accidentally and she took offense,...
Photo credit: YouTube
• The grape stomping scene turned into a real wrestling match
“I got into the vat with one, and she had been told that we would have a fight,” Lucy said on “The Dick Cavett Show.” She continued, “I slipped and, in slipping, I hit her accidentally and she took offense,...
- 8/6/2023
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
The classic TV series I Love Lucy aired 180 episodes. The series premiered in 1951 and aired its final episode in 1957. Despite ending more than 60 years ago, I Love Lucy remains a beloved show, amassing new fans even today. While most episodes are considered classic and iconic, a few scenes are more treasured than all the others. Not all of them were scripted. In fact, the show’s iconic grape stomping scene was completely unscripted, and the fight was the real deal.
Lucille Ball and Teresa Tirelli | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images The famed grape stomping scene in ‘I Love Lucy’ was unscripted
Fans of the classic sitcom often cite the chocolate factory scene, with Lucy and Ethel shoveling chocolates into their mouths and blouses, as comedy gold. Some viewers insist Lucy’s drunken “Vitameatavegamin” commercial is the most iconic scene of the series, while others point to Lucy’s grape stomping...
Lucille Ball and Teresa Tirelli | CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images The famed grape stomping scene in ‘I Love Lucy’ was unscripted
Fans of the classic sitcom often cite the chocolate factory scene, with Lucy and Ethel shoveling chocolates into their mouths and blouses, as comedy gold. Some viewers insist Lucy’s drunken “Vitameatavegamin” commercial is the most iconic scene of the series, while others point to Lucy’s grape stomping...
- 5/12/2023
- by Andrea Francese
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
There’s very little Amy Poehler can’t do. She serves as an executive producer on four projects currently on the air, including Emmy contenders “Russian Doll” and “Making It,” which she also co-hosts. She also voices two leading characters on Fox’s animated series “Duncanville,” which she co-created.
Though she’s stepped behind the camera many times over the course of her career, this year came with a whole new challenge: directing an Amazon Prime Video documentary about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, titled “Lucy and Desi.” Luckily, the timing was perfect.
“Working on a documentary during these past few years was very fortuitous because so much of it is research, interviews and time with your editors, so I didn’t have as much on-set experience,” she tells Variety of filming during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I take great pride in working in an industry where a bunch of different...
Though she’s stepped behind the camera many times over the course of her career, this year came with a whole new challenge: directing an Amazon Prime Video documentary about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, titled “Lucy and Desi.” Luckily, the timing was perfect.
“Working on a documentary during these past few years was very fortuitous because so much of it is research, interviews and time with your editors, so I didn’t have as much on-set experience,” she tells Variety of filming during the Covid-19 pandemic. “I take great pride in working in an industry where a bunch of different...
- 6/16/2022
- by Emily Longeretta
- Variety Film + TV
Everything old is new again, or at least worthy of deeper exploration. Consider two of this year’s biggest awards contenders, one at the Oscars and the other at the Emmys, thanks to a pair of backward-looking examinations of some of pop culture’s biggest modern obsessions: The Beatles and “I Love Lucy.” On the surface, “The Beatles: Get Back,” Peter Jackson’s six-hour saga of bedraggled young Beatles on deadline in 1969, and “Being the Ricardos,” Aaron Sorkin’s take on the comic mastermind Lucille Ball as she works in the mid-1950s alongside her great enabler Desi Arnaz might not sound simpatico, but both offer compelling explorations of creation.
The first is a 2022 documentary Emmy contender, while the second has given three Oscar winners a second shot at a gold statue. Almost as a reward for taking on the role of a wildly gifted comedienne, Nicole Kidman also scored a Golden Globe Drama win,...
The first is a 2022 documentary Emmy contender, while the second has given three Oscar winners a second shot at a gold statue. Almost as a reward for taking on the role of a wildly gifted comedienne, Nicole Kidman also scored a Golden Globe Drama win,...
- 3/9/2022
- by Fred Schruers
- Indiewire
"Being the Ricardos" is the Oscar-nominated Amazon Original Movie set in the 1950's written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, starring Nicole Kidman as 'Lucille Ball':
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer'...
... and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer'...
... and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 2/9/2022
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
It’s always a kick to encounter a documentary about a subject after you’ve seen the deluxe scripted and acted Hollywood version. “Lucy and Desi,” Amy Poehler’s film about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — their love, their showbiz partnership, their revolutionary influence on the creative landscape of television, their meshing and clashing spirits — is a nimble and fascinating documentary. But I suspect I’ll be far from alone in experiencing it through the lens of Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos,” especially given the awards heat that was shined on that film this week. “Lucy and Desi” gives you the real story, so it’s only natural that you want to compare notes.
What did “Being the Ricardos” get right and wrong? Given that Sorkin’s film compresses three major story arcs — the public accusation that Lucy was a Communist; the attempt to turn her pregnancy into the...
What did “Being the Ricardos” get right and wrong? Given that Sorkin’s film compresses three major story arcs — the public accusation that Lucy was a Communist; the attempt to turn her pregnancy into the...
- 1/29/2022
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons, who plays William Frawley in “Being the Ricardos,” faced challenges researching Frawley since he died back in 1966. Frawley rose to prominence in the 1950s as Fred Mertz on “I Love Lucy.”
“I didn’t have any conversations with anybody who actually knew Bill,” Simmons told Joe McGovern as part of TheWrap’s Screening Series. “At first it was frustrating for me, doing my research, trying to find anything about Bill off camera, trying to find any footage of him outside of ‘I Love Lucy’ or obviously his film roles.”
Unable to find individuals who directly knew Frawley, Simmons decided to base his performance on published information, which he found liberating.
“At the end of the day, I found that to be a little bit freeing in a way because all the information I was able to get about Bill was from other people’s perspective,...
“I didn’t have any conversations with anybody who actually knew Bill,” Simmons told Joe McGovern as part of TheWrap’s Screening Series. “At first it was frustrating for me, doing my research, trying to find anything about Bill off camera, trying to find any footage of him outside of ‘I Love Lucy’ or obviously his film roles.”
Unable to find individuals who directly knew Frawley, Simmons decided to base his performance on published information, which he found liberating.
“At the end of the day, I found that to be a little bit freeing in a way because all the information I was able to get about Bill was from other people’s perspective,...
- 1/29/2022
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
On June 29, 1966, CBS had an internal debate over its morning programming: Whether to cut to a news conference about a turning point in the Vietnam war — the U.S. bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong — or to air a decade-old “I Love Lucy” rerun. They decided to stick with “Lucy.”
The sitcom, which ran 1951-57, is more than beloved: It’s become part of our collective unconscious. The word “iconic” is overused, but it certainly applies to “I Love Lucy.”
So it was an act of daring for writer-director Aaron Sorkin, stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem and the team to center their Oscar-worthy film, Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos,” around the show and its creators.
What drew him to the project?
“A few things,” Sorkin says, “but mostly the contrast between the real people and the people you see on TV. And the fact that people even today have such...
The sitcom, which ran 1951-57, is more than beloved: It’s become part of our collective unconscious. The word “iconic” is overused, but it certainly applies to “I Love Lucy.”
So it was an act of daring for writer-director Aaron Sorkin, stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem and the team to center their Oscar-worthy film, Amazon’s “Being the Ricardos,” around the show and its creators.
What drew him to the project?
“A few things,” Sorkin says, “but mostly the contrast between the real people and the people you see on TV. And the fact that people even today have such...
- 1/27/2022
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Apparently it is the season to celebrate the iconic marriage and professional relationship of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Aaron Sorkin wrote and directed a penetrating, funny, revealing, and ultimately moving film, Being The Ricardos which covers a lot of ground in the Lucy/Desi world using dramatic license to place several real events in their lives all in the course of one week of production on I Love Lucy. Although starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem as the iconic pair, it felt quite real and actually was as you discover watching Amy Poehler’s marvelous love letter to their lives and times in Lucy And Desi, which like Ricardos will be available on Amazon Prime, the perfect companion piece to Sorkin’s film, and a compelling documentary portrait all on its own.
Poehler clearly is an admirer and she has been given the keys to the kingdom here with...
Poehler clearly is an admirer and she has been given the keys to the kingdom here with...
- 1/23/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
“I Love Lucy” writers Madelyn Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll Jr. thought the seminal CBS comedy series starring Lucille Ball, her husband Desi Arnaz, William Frawley and Vivian Vance would last three months. When I chatted with the duo, who wrote 181 episodes of the classic, in 2001 for the L.A. Times, Davis recalled watching the premiere Oct. 15, 1951 at the home of series director Marc Daniels. “Emily, his wife, was the camera coordinator. She was a good cook. She had dinner and watched the show.” Ball, Davis noted, “was terribly funny and wonderful. We had hopes for the show. We hoped it would be on for 13 weeks.
How about 71 years and counting?
The series ended in 1957 never below No. 3 in the ratings. It was followed by “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” specials from 1957-60, “I Love Lucy” continued in reruns on CBS on primetime for two more years and ran on the...
How about 71 years and counting?
The series ended in 1957 never below No. 3 in the ratings. It was followed by “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” specials from 1957-60, “I Love Lucy” continued in reruns on CBS on primetime for two more years and ran on the...
- 1/5/2022
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Updated: Ever since Todd Black got into the film business as a producer, he wanted to work with Aaron Sorkin.
“I remember early on seeing things he wrote, even plays, and going ‘Wow, this guy has a voice like nobody’s business,'” says the Oscar-nominated producer of Fences.
However, Black says “I never had anything good enough to bring to him.” This goes back to some sage advice Black received from Denzel Washington years ago.
The two were having lunch at the Columbia Pictures commissary shortly after Washington took home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Glory. The budding producer was eager to make a movie with Washington, but the actor told him, “‘When you read a script that keeps you up at night and makes your heart pound and you can’t get it out of your mind because of the characters and the story, call me. Otherwise,...
“I remember early on seeing things he wrote, even plays, and going ‘Wow, this guy has a voice like nobody’s business,'” says the Oscar-nominated producer of Fences.
However, Black says “I never had anything good enough to bring to him.” This goes back to some sage advice Black received from Denzel Washington years ago.
The two were having lunch at the Columbia Pictures commissary shortly after Washington took home a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Glory. The budding producer was eager to make a movie with Washington, but the actor told him, “‘When you read a script that keeps you up at night and makes your heart pound and you can’t get it out of your mind because of the characters and the story, call me. Otherwise,...
- 12/24/2021
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
I Love Lucy remains the single most influential series in television history; there is perhaps not a single sitcom in the medium’s long existence that doesn’t owe some stylistic debt to the program, and its creation and development were groundbreaking in ways that we are still trying to catch up with in 2021. Yet the one thing you won’t really get from Being the Ricardos, writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s look at a week in the life of Lucy creators and stars, and real-life couple, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, is a true sense of what the show was like, and how it was produced and written from week to week.
Oh sure, Being the Ricardos ostensibly takes place during the production of one episode, from the Monday table read of the script to the Friday taping of the show in front of a live audience, but it’s almost incidental to the many,...
Oh sure, Being the Ricardos ostensibly takes place during the production of one episode, from the Monday table read of the script to the Friday taping of the show in front of a live audience, but it’s almost incidental to the many,...
- 12/21/2021
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Javier Bardem, J.K. Simmons, Nina Arianda, and Nicole Kidman star in Being The Ricardos Photo: Glen Wilson © Amazon Content Services LLC
As awards season is now in full swing, just what subject is the source of the newest work by an Oscar-winning screenwriter and three Oscar-winning directors? An acclaimed literary classic, perhaps? Maybe a pivotal moment in history, eh? No, they’ve decided to shine their talents, and considerable “star power”, on … a TV show. Really? Well, it’s not just any bit of “video escapism”. Oh no, this is a “biggie”, a true icon, one that still influences all matter of media to this day. And it’s still on the air, either being broadcast or streamed or replayed in all recorded formats, from Beta to Bluray. In any list of the “greatest TV shows of all time” it’s placed near the very top. And during its “hay...
As awards season is now in full swing, just what subject is the source of the newest work by an Oscar-winning screenwriter and three Oscar-winning directors? An acclaimed literary classic, perhaps? Maybe a pivotal moment in history, eh? No, they’ve decided to shine their talents, and considerable “star power”, on … a TV show. Really? Well, it’s not just any bit of “video escapism”. Oh no, this is a “biggie”, a true icon, one that still influences all matter of media to this day. And it’s still on the air, either being broadcast or streamed or replayed in all recorded formats, from Beta to Bluray. In any list of the “greatest TV shows of all time” it’s placed near the very top. And during its “hay...
- 12/9/2021
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Aaron Sorkin’s ingeniously structured but weirdly mannered film offers an exhausting peek behind the scenes on I Love Lucy
Aaron Sorkin’s strenuously unrelaxed comedy-drama is inspired by the legendary US TV show I Love Lucy starring real-life married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz whose surname on the show was “Ricardo”; their programme boldly cast Latino and white together, pioneered the three-camera sitcom, ruled the airwaves in the 1950s and dominated schedules with reruns for decades afterwards. (There’s a gag in Crocodile Dundee about Mick seeing a TV for the first time in years and nodding calmly to see I Love Lucy is still on.)
This movie imagines a stressed Ball dealing with tabloid rumours about her husband’s infidelity and career-endangering rumblings from the reactionary press that she is a Commie, all the while striving with unashamed perfectionism to get a misfiring scene exactly right. Nicole Kidman...
Aaron Sorkin’s strenuously unrelaxed comedy-drama is inspired by the legendary US TV show I Love Lucy starring real-life married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz whose surname on the show was “Ricardo”; their programme boldly cast Latino and white together, pioneered the three-camera sitcom, ruled the airwaves in the 1950s and dominated schedules with reruns for decades afterwards. (There’s a gag in Crocodile Dundee about Mick seeing a TV for the first time in years and nodding calmly to see I Love Lucy is still on.)
This movie imagines a stressed Ball dealing with tabloid rumours about her husband’s infidelity and career-endangering rumblings from the reactionary press that she is a Commie, all the while striving with unashamed perfectionism to get a misfiring scene exactly right. Nicole Kidman...
- 12/7/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer-director Aaron Sorkin said there are three things he hopes audiences walk away with after watching his newest film, “Being the Ricardos,” about the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
“Mostly, I want them to have a good time during the two hours that were asked for their attention, realize that the lives of Lucy and Desi were considerably more complicated than Lucy and Ricky and pay less attention to Twitter,” he told Variety.
Set in the backdrop of 1950s Hollywood, “Being the Ricardos” examines the complex marriage of the beloved “I Love Lucy” co-stars. The entire film spans one week of production on the classic sitcom, specifically when a major story in the press accuses Ball of registering as a member of the Communist Party back in the 1930s.
Sorkin said that he hopes viewers pick up on the similarities between society’s fear of Communism in the...
“Mostly, I want them to have a good time during the two hours that were asked for their attention, realize that the lives of Lucy and Desi were considerably more complicated than Lucy and Ricky and pay less attention to Twitter,” he told Variety.
Set in the backdrop of 1950s Hollywood, “Being the Ricardos” examines the complex marriage of the beloved “I Love Lucy” co-stars. The entire film spans one week of production on the classic sitcom, specifically when a major story in the press accuses Ball of registering as a member of the Communist Party back in the 1930s.
Sorkin said that he hopes viewers pick up on the similarities between society’s fear of Communism in the...
- 12/3/2021
- by Antonio Ferme
- Variety Film + TV
"Being the Ricardos" is the new Amazon Original Movie set in the 1950's written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, starring Nicole Kidman as 'Lucille Ball', in movie theaters December 10, 2021 and streaming December 21, 2021 on Prime Video:
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer'...
... and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer'...
... and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 11/17/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
"If they 'boo' you, we're done..." Amazon Prime has debuted the official trailer for Being the Ricardos, the latest film written and directed by Aaron Sorkin following his other two features - Molly's Game and The Trial of the Chicago 7. The first teaser dropped last month. This time he's pulling a Steve Jobs but for classic TV show "I Love Lucy" instead. The film follows Lucy and Desi (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) as they face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. It takes place over one week during the production of the show, hence the Steve Jobs concept of the story taking place in a short amount of time. Nicole Kidman stars as Lucille Ball, with Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, plus a fabulous cast including J.K. Simmons, Jake Lacy, Nina Arianda, Alia Shawkat, Linda Lavin, Clark Gregg, and Tony Hale as Jess Oppenheimer.
- 11/10/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
"Being the Ricardos" is the new biographical drama feature, set in the 1950’s written and directed by Aaron Sorkin, starring Nicole Kidman as 'Lucille Ball' and Javier Bardem as 'Desi Arnaz', in movie theaters December 10, 2021 and streaming December 21, 2021 on Prime Video:
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer' and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
"...over the course of a week during production of the 1950's sitcom "I Love Lucy", 'Lucy' and 'Desi' encounter a crisis that could jeopardize their careers and marriage..."
Cast also includes J. K. Simmons as 'William Frawley', Nina Arianda as 'Vivian Vance', Tony Hale as 'Jess Oppenheimer' and Alia Shawkat as 'Madelyn Pugh'.
Click the images to enlarge...
- 10/19/2021
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Amazon Studios began principal photography this week on Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos” — a biopic about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz — and Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy have joined the film’s cast.
They join Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, who are playing the “I Love Lucy” stars, as well as J.K Simmons and Nina Arianda as William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who played Fred and Ethel on the classic sitcom.
Hale will play “I Love Lucy” executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, and Shawkat and Lacy will play the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr.
Also joining “Being the Ricardos” and rounding out the cast are Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep”), John Rubinstein (“Family”), Linda Lavin (“The Good Wife”), Robert Pine (“CHiPs”) and Christopher Denham (“Billions”).
“Being the Ricardos” is written and directed by Sorkin and...
They join Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, who are playing the “I Love Lucy” stars, as well as J.K Simmons and Nina Arianda as William Frawley and Vivian Vance, who played Fred and Ethel on the classic sitcom.
Hale will play “I Love Lucy” executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, and Shawkat and Lacy will play the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr.
Also joining “Being the Ricardos” and rounding out the cast are Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep”), John Rubinstein (“Family”), Linda Lavin (“The Good Wife”), Robert Pine (“CHiPs”) and Christopher Denham (“Billions”).
“Being the Ricardos” is written and directed by Sorkin and...
- 3/29/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
“Being the Ricardos,” an upcoming movie about the relationship between “I Love Lucy” stars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, has added several names to the call sheet.
Ahead of the start of production in Los Angeles this week, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy have joined the cast of the Amazon Studios film.
As previously announced, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem will portray Ball and Arnaz. Meanwhile, J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda are playing their “I Love Lucy” co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
Hale will play the sitcom’s executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Shawkat and Lacy will embody the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr.
Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep”), John Rubinstein (“Family”), Linda Lavin, Robert Pine (“CHiPs”) and Christopher Denham (“Billions”) also have supporting roles.
Directed by Aaron Sorkin, the story is set during one...
Ahead of the start of production in Los Angeles this week, Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat and Jake Lacy have joined the cast of the Amazon Studios film.
As previously announced, Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem will portray Ball and Arnaz. Meanwhile, J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda are playing their “I Love Lucy” co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
Hale will play the sitcom’s executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Shawkat and Lacy will embody the show’s longtime writing partners Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr.
Clark Gregg (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Nelson Franklin (“Veep”), John Rubinstein (“Family”), Linda Lavin, Robert Pine (“CHiPs”) and Christopher Denham (“Billions”) also have supporting roles.
Directed by Aaron Sorkin, the story is set during one...
- 3/29/2021
- by Rebecca Rubin
- Variety Film + TV
Tony Hale, Alia Shawkat, Jake Lacy, Clark Gregg and more have rounded out the cast of Being the Ricardos, a biopic of sorts of I Love Lucy stars and real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz that stars Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. Aaron Sorkin wrote and is directing the Amazon Studios drama, which has now started principal photography.
The film is set during one production week of the iconic TV comedy I Love Lucy — the Monday table read through Friday audience filming — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play Lucy and Desi’s I Love Lucy co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
With the additions to the cast, Hale will play I Love Lucy executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Shawkat and Lacy will portray the show’s longtime...
The film is set during one production week of the iconic TV comedy I Love Lucy — the Monday table read through Friday audience filming — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. J.K. Simmons and Nina Arianda play Lucy and Desi’s I Love Lucy co-stars William Frawley and Vivian Vance.
With the additions to the cast, Hale will play I Love Lucy executive producer and head writer Jess Oppenheimer, while Shawkat and Lacy will portray the show’s longtime...
- 3/29/2021
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Amazon Studios has announced the start of principal photography on writer/director Aaron Sorkin’s next drama film, “Being the Ricardos.” Filming started this week in Los Angeles. Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem star as real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the faces behind the classic 1950s TV sitcom “I Love Lucy,” which centered on the happy but idiosyncratic marriage of Lucille and Ricky Ricardo.
Working in a confined timeframe similar to Sorkin’s script for “Steve Jobs,” “Being the Ricardos” unfolds during one production week of “I Love Lucy” — starting with the Monday table read through Friday filming with a live audience — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers, as well as their marriage.
Kidman stars as Ball opposite fellow Oscar winner Bardem as her husband Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-American actor, musician, and president of their television production company, Desilu Productions.
Kidman ended up replacing Cate Blanchett,...
Working in a confined timeframe similar to Sorkin’s script for “Steve Jobs,” “Being the Ricardos” unfolds during one production week of “I Love Lucy” — starting with the Monday table read through Friday filming with a live audience — when Lucy and Desi face a crisis that could end their careers, as well as their marriage.
Kidman stars as Ball opposite fellow Oscar winner Bardem as her husband Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-American actor, musician, and president of their television production company, Desilu Productions.
Kidman ended up replacing Cate Blanchett,...
- 3/29/2021
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
The Actors Fund — the national human services organization that fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan — announced today that television favorites Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) and Oscar Nuñez (The Office) will portray Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in I Love Lucy: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Sitcom by Gregg Oppenheimer, on Saturday, March 2 (7pm) at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.
Sarah Drew and Oscar Nunez to star in The Actors Fund's I Love Lucy... benefit performance
Credit/Copyright: Mike Petit
All proceeds from this one-night-only live radio theater performance will benefit The Actors Fund’s programs and services. Tickets are now on sale at actorsfund.org/Lucy or via phone by calling 212-221-7300 ext. 134.
The performance will be directed by playwright Gregg Oppenheimer. Rounding out the cast are Seamus Dever (Castle...
Sarah Drew and Oscar Nunez to star in The Actors Fund's I Love Lucy... benefit performance
Credit/Copyright: Mike Petit
All proceeds from this one-night-only live radio theater performance will benefit The Actors Fund’s programs and services. Tickets are now on sale at actorsfund.org/Lucy or via phone by calling 212-221-7300 ext. 134.
The performance will be directed by playwright Gregg Oppenheimer. Rounding out the cast are Seamus Dever (Castle...
- 1/29/2019
- Look to the Stars
Get ready for an end of the week treat.
Actor, musician, Oscar winner and all around hottie Jared Leto posted a shirtless picture on his Instagram late Thursday to give his fans — and the world — a reason to drool.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman showed off his chiseled bod and asked followers to “caption” a revealing picture of his torso. Leto also seemed to have shaved off the bushy beard he’s been sporting on tour with the rock band for the last few months.
His fans certainly responded.
While most just commented about how “dead” they are now,...
Actor, musician, Oscar winner and all around hottie Jared Leto posted a shirtless picture on his Instagram late Thursday to give his fans — and the world — a reason to drool.
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman showed off his chiseled bod and asked followers to “caption” a revealing picture of his torso. Leto also seemed to have shaved off the bushy beard he’s been sporting on tour with the rock band for the last few months.
His fans certainly responded.
While most just commented about how “dead” they are now,...
- 9/22/2017
- by Ale Russian
- PEOPLE.com
Rare color footage shot behind-the-scenes on the set of “I Love Lucy” has surfaced, showing comic legend Lucille Ball “clowning” around and Desi Arnaz banging away on his conga drum. More than a half-century before people would sneak iPhones into concerts and TV show tapings, a studio audience member covertly shot what appears to be 8mm film of the classic sitcom. Also Read: New, Non-Horrifying Lucille Ball Statue to Replace Reviled Eyesore in Comedian's Hometown According to openculture.com, Jess Oppenheimer, who was a producer on “I Love Lucy,” obtained the rare color footage shot on Oct. 12, 1951 and inter-cut it with.
- 11/26/2016
- by Rosemary Rossi
- The Wrap
Secret Hero Society: Study Hall of Justice
By Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen
Scholastic, 176 pages, $12.99
DC Comics and other companies with rich libraries, have decided to slice and dice their properties to fit whatever audience they think they can service. Fidelity to the source material has become increasingly irrelevant so to enjoy most adaptations, you have to accept that, sit back, and enjoy the work for what it is. Such is the case with the latest offering from the team of Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen, who produced the youth-oriented Batman: Li’l Gotham for DC and are back with the first in a series of Ya graphic novels under the Secret Hero Society umbrella.
Study Hall of Justice is set at the Ducard Academy and Bruce Wayne has just been accepted as a new student. Upon arrival, his keen senses already tip him off that things are not...
By Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen
Scholastic, 176 pages, $12.99
DC Comics and other companies with rich libraries, have decided to slice and dice their properties to fit whatever audience they think they can service. Fidelity to the source material has become increasingly irrelevant so to enjoy most adaptations, you have to accept that, sit back, and enjoy the work for what it is. Such is the case with the latest offering from the team of Derek Fridolfs and Dustin Nguyen, who produced the youth-oriented Batman: Li’l Gotham for DC and are back with the first in a series of Ya graphic novels under the Secret Hero Society umbrella.
Study Hall of Justice is set at the Ducard Academy and Bruce Wayne has just been accepted as a new student. Upon arrival, his keen senses already tip him off that things are not...
- 1/19/2016
- by Robert Greenberger
- Comicmix.com
The past Monday, Gotham had its fall finale. While the episode itself was a bit meh to not-bad, the show thus far this season has been darn good to dare I say great. Since I last wrote about James Gordon and friends, the show has really settled into a fantastic groove. It’s been so good, I’ve privately sang its graces enough to ComicMix‘s Eic, Mike Gold, such that he mentioned it on his rockin’ good radio show. When Mr. Gold recognizes your opinion as valued, then you know something must be going right.
With the new season dubbed “Rise of the Villains,” Gotham has added a bit more serialization to its previously procedural format. We started with the entrance of the never-been-comic-booked nemesis Theo Galavan. Introduced as a scene chewing billionaire by day/evil criminal mastermind by night, Theo’s been mostly a high point to the proceedings.
With the new season dubbed “Rise of the Villains,” Gotham has added a bit more serialization to its previously procedural format. We started with the entrance of the never-been-comic-booked nemesis Theo Galavan. Introduced as a scene chewing billionaire by day/evil criminal mastermind by night, Theo’s been mostly a high point to the proceedings.
- 12/5/2015
- by Marc Alan Fishman
- Comicmix.com
Today, pregnancies (particularly those of the unexpected variety) are one of the most popular TV tropes. You'd be hard-pressed to find a show that didn't use a baby as a catalyst for more storylines and scandal. But there was a time when you couldn't even use the "p" word on TV.
More than 60 years ago, CBS aired "Lucy is Enceinte," the Season 2 episode of "I Love Lucy" in which Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ricky (Desi Arnaz) find out they're going to have a baby. The episode, which aired on Dec. 8, 1952, made Lucy TV's first pregnant character, but the script didn't use the word "pregnant" once.
"'Lucy Is Enceinte' was scandalous at the time, at least in the eyes of the CBS executives who balked at the idea of its star -- who slept in a twin bed next to her husband onscreen -- actually acknowledging and openly displaying the biological consequences of S-e-x,...
More than 60 years ago, CBS aired "Lucy is Enceinte," the Season 2 episode of "I Love Lucy" in which Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ricky (Desi Arnaz) find out they're going to have a baby. The episode, which aired on Dec. 8, 1952, made Lucy TV's first pregnant character, but the script didn't use the word "pregnant" once.
"'Lucy Is Enceinte' was scandalous at the time, at least in the eyes of the CBS executives who balked at the idea of its star -- who slept in a twin bed next to her husband onscreen -- actually acknowledging and openly displaying the biological consequences of S-e-x,...
- 7/25/2013
- by Chris Harnick
- Huffington Post
The Sopranos was named the best-written show in television history by the Writers Guild of America, edging out an eclectic collection of some of the most beloved and admired series. Members of the Writers Guild of America, West (Wgaw) and the Writers Guild of America, East (Wgae) voted online for the 101 Best Written TV Series, with David Chase’s iconic “family” drama topping Seinfeld, The Twilight Zone, All in the Family, and M*A*S*H*.
“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers...
“At their core, all of these wonderful series began with the words of the writers who created them and were sustained by the writers...
- 6/3/2013
- by Jeff Labrecque
- EW - Inside TV
Before Emmy fever dies down for good, here's one last treat to tide over your award cravings 'til the Golden Globes. I've culled the 25 most bad-ass photos of women with their Emmys, and you'll notice the might of these snapshots is downright contagious. Ready for a blitz of TV's greatest ladies? Go.
1. Melissa McCarthy, pageant queen
2. Camryn Manheim, shouting to the gods
3. Jane Lynch, silly and flabbergasted
4. Jackee, reeling
6. Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore (with Ed Asner and Ted Knight), bejeweled TV goddesses
7. Kathy Griffin, adorned
8. Rhea Perlman, ecstatic
9. Gillian Anderson, august and proud
10. Tina Fey, hauling
11. Kristen Johnston, cheeky
12. Sally Field, royal waving
13. Laurie Metcalf (with a leopard-bedecked Rosie O'Donnell), electrified
14. Paula Abdul (for choreography!), resplendent
15. Gilda Radner, gushing
16. Rue McClanahan, sentimentally feathered
17. Sela Ward, supercharged
18. Michael Learned, rightfully cocky
19. Barbara Stanwyck, poised
20. Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance (with Jess Oppenheimer and Desi Arnaz), the originators
21. Jane Curtin...
1. Melissa McCarthy, pageant queen
2. Camryn Manheim, shouting to the gods
3. Jane Lynch, silly and flabbergasted
4. Jackee, reeling
6. Betty White and Mary Tyler Moore (with Ed Asner and Ted Knight), bejeweled TV goddesses
7. Kathy Griffin, adorned
8. Rhea Perlman, ecstatic
9. Gillian Anderson, august and proud
10. Tina Fey, hauling
11. Kristen Johnston, cheeky
12. Sally Field, royal waving
13. Laurie Metcalf (with a leopard-bedecked Rosie O'Donnell), electrified
14. Paula Abdul (for choreography!), resplendent
15. Gilda Radner, gushing
16. Rue McClanahan, sentimentally feathered
17. Sela Ward, supercharged
18. Michael Learned, rightfully cocky
19. Barbara Stanwyck, poised
20. Lucille Ball and Vivian Vance (with Jess Oppenheimer and Desi Arnaz), the originators
21. Jane Curtin...
- 9/24/2012
- by virtel
- The Backlot
Madelyn Pugh-Davis, co-founder of I Love Lucy (1951 - 1957) and quiet 1950s pioneer for women in the TV industry, has passed away at the age of 90. Pugh-Davis, along with a slim staff that consisted of longtime professional partner Bob Carroll Jr. and third writer Jess Oppenheimer, penned nearly 200 episodes of the iconic Lucille Ball series, often in spite of discord and b*tching from the series' difficult (and, in William Frawley's case, hammered) stars.
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- 4/22/2011
- by Anna Breslaw
- Filmology
If you're a fan of the Ricardos and the Mertzs, don't miss the opportunity to speak with Gregg Oppenheimer. He's the producer of the very high quality I Love Lucy DVD sets and finished the book Laughs, Luck...and Lucy: How I Came to Create the Most Popular Sitcom of All Time for his dad.
Gregg's father is the late Jess Oppenheimer, head writer and producer of I Love Lucy. After leaving Lucy, the senior Oppenheimer went on to write and co-produce Get Smart and many other series. He also has the distinction of inventing the TelePropmTer, which was originally invented to help Lucille Ball read commercials.
Gregg will be the in-studio guest for Stu's Show hosted by Stu Shostak on Shokus Internet Radio. He'll discuss the painstaking restoration of every Lucy episode as well as his dad's work on Lucy, battles with Desi Arnaz, and decision to leave after five seasons.
Gregg's father is the late Jess Oppenheimer, head writer and producer of I Love Lucy. After leaving Lucy, the senior Oppenheimer went on to write and co-produce Get Smart and many other series. He also has the distinction of inventing the TelePropmTer, which was originally invented to help Lucille Ball read commercials.
Gregg will be the in-studio guest for Stu's Show hosted by Stu Shostak on Shokus Internet Radio. He'll discuss the painstaking restoration of every Lucy episode as well as his dad's work on Lucy, battles with Desi Arnaz, and decision to leave after five seasons.
- 11/28/2007
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
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