Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Lucy and Desi,’ Starring Cate Blanchett as Lucille Ball, Lands at Amazon Studios
Now this is a thrilling combination of nouns: Amazon Studios has snatched up Lucy and Desi, an upcoming biopic written by Aaron Sorkin and starring Cate Blanchett as TV icon Lucille Ball. A masterful actress playing a masterful comedian in a film scripted by a masterful screenwriter is quite a catch, to say the least — all that’s missing is Desi himself, and given the talent involved so far, you have to imagine it’ll be someone great.
Blanchett first signed on to play Lucille Ball in the Sorkin-scripted biopic back in 2015, but the project seems to have taken a backseat to the acclaimed screenwriter’s directorial debut, Molly’s Game. According to Deadline, Lucy and Desi is now officially moving forward as Amazon Studios has landed the distribution rights to the film, which traces the tumultuous romantic and professional relationship between groundbreaking TV star and comedian Lucille Ball and her husband on and off screen, Desi Arnaz. Together, the duo produced and starred in the classic sitcom I Love Lucy and launched Desilu Productions, the company behind Star Trek.
Sorkin’s biopic, based on Ball and Arnaz’s respective memoirs, has the full authorization and involvement of the couple’s children, Lucie Luckinbill and Desi Arnaz Jr.
Several key roles still need to be filled, including Desi Arnaz himself (obviously), as well as Vivian Vance and William Frawley — the actors who played Fred and Ethel on I Love Lucy, which ran from 1951 to 1957. Amazon is reportedly looking for big name actors to round out the cast, and Javier Bardem is said to be one of the candidates under consideration for the role of Desi.
Lucy and Desi is also in need of a director, and it’s unclear if Sorkin is interested in (or being considered for) the task.