According to an exclusive report from The Wrap, Cate Blanchett has signed on to play I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball in a new authorized biopic that will be written by Aaron Sorkin and produced with the cooperation of Ball’s children, Lucy Arnaz Jr. and Desi Arnaz Jr.
The film will chronicle Ball’s 20-year marriage to Desi Arnaz, with whom she starred on the classic TV sitcom “I Love Lucy.” Ball had two children with Arnaz before they divorced in 1960. She married Gary Morton the following year.
Making a Lucille Ball biopic is a no-brainer. Lucille Ball is a television icon and a woman who wielded a substantial amount of power in an industry and a time when women, by and large, did not wield substantial amounts of power. Having Cate Blanchett star as Ball is a no-brainer, too. Cate Blanchett is an Academy-Award winning actress who appears to be working her way down a list of Old Hollywood legends to portray, starting with her role as Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator.
Having the script written by Aaron Sorkin is… interesting. Not necessarily bad, because Sorkin is a very talented and prolific writer with enough trophies to melt them down and commission a life-size golden statue of Lucille Ball if he wants. (Better than this one, one hopes.) It’s just… interesting. Like, in general. Lot goin’ on here, is my point.
Hopefully there’s a lengthy scene where Lucy and Desi march through Desilu studios discussing this scene in a peppy, rapid-fire walk and talk. I mean, if we’re gonna do this, let’s really do it, right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NPzLBSBzPI
(Via The Wrap)
