Amazon Studios has released a trailer for Aaron Sorkin’s “Being the Ricardos,” starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem.
The film follows Hollywood couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, played by Kidman and Bardem respectively, during a production week on the set of “I Love Lucy.” Throughout a Monday table read all the way through an audience shot on Friday, both Ball and Arnaz face challenges that could end both of their careers and their marriage.
In the trailer, quick glimpses of the couple’s whirlwind life are shown accompanied by Kidman’s voiceover, with the first clear look at Kidman coming via the recreation of Ball’s iconic grape stomping scene.
Sorkin has written the screenplay and helms the film for Amazon Studios and Escape Artists. Todd Black, Jason Blumenthal and Steve Tisch of Escape Artists are producers. Escape Artists’ Jenna Block and David Bloomfield serve as executive producers, along with Stuart Besser, Lucie Arnaz, Desi Arnaz Jr. and Lauren Lohman.
In Kidman’s recent Variety Actors on Actors conversation with Chris Rock, she stated that the biopic will not be a remake of “I Love Lucy,” but will instead tackle series themes. “The strange thing about Lucille Ball is that everyone thinks we’re remaking the ‘I Love Lucy’ show, and it’s so not that,” Kidman said. “It’s about Lucy and Desi and their relationship and their marriage. It’s very deep, actually.”
“Being the Ricardos” also navigates the racial barriers that the couple had to face, with Desi being discriminated against for being Cuban, and Lucille fighting for him to remain on the show.
The trailer also announced a theatrical release date of Dec. 10 and a Prime Video release date of Dec. 21. Watch the full trailer below.