The film premieres December 10 in theaters and on Prime Video on December 21.
Photo: The Long, Long Trailer, Lucille Ball’s Most Commercial Film
The first Being the Ricardos trailer notably keeps Kidman’s transformation hidden for most of the short runtime. The Oscar-winning actress is primarily glimpsed in long shots or with her back facing the camera, only appearing in close-up once during a black-and-white recreation of famous episode of the sitcom. (Watch the trailer above.)
That Kidman close-up also happens to be dialogue-free, but she does narrate the trailer, discussing Ball’s outsized importance to the TV industry when it was still in its relative infancy. “I am the biggest asset in the portfolio of the Colombia Broadcasting System,” Ball says: “I get paid a lot to do exactly what I love doing.”
She introduces us to her husband, Desi Arnaz, the Cuban-American musician-actor. Arnaz is played by Javier Bardem. “They got their money’s worth,” Arnaz tells Ball, emphasizing her value to both the studio and to him.
Sorkin’s script describes one week in the lives of Ball and Arnaz, during the production of an I Love Lucy episode, as well as off-screen personal crisis that could upend their power as Hollywood’s reigning couple.
In addition to Kidman and Bardem, the A-list supporting cast includes Tony Hale, J.K. Simmons, Linda Lavin, Alia Shawkat.