J.K. Simmons & Nina Arianda in talks for Aaron Sorkin’s I Love Lucy movie

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

J.K. Simmons is one of those actors whose mere involvement with a project is enough to get me excited, and THR has reported that Simmons is currently in talks to join Aaron Sorkin's upcoming I Love Lucy movie starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem.

J.K. Simmons is in talks to play William Frawley, the actor who played Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy, with Nina Arianda also in talks to play Vivian Vance, the actress who played Ethel Mertz. The pair starred alongside Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez in the series as a fellow married couple who frequently found themselves entangled in Lucy's shenanigans. The project, titled Being the Ricardos, will be written and directed by Aaron Sorkin for Amazon Studios. The film will take place over the course of one production week of I Love Lucy, from the Monday table read through to the audience taping on Friday, all while the pair face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage. Production is looking to kick off in Los Angeles in April, and although some have argued that Nicole Kidman isn't the right person to play Lucille Ball, but Lucille and Desi's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, spoke out in defense of Kidman last month.

It's a done deal, but the contracts aren't actually signed, which is why I haven't said anything publicly about it, but i felt I should at least try to calm the waters here. There seems to be a lot of discussion about Nicole Kidman [and people saying] it should be Debra Messing…. I don't know, but here's the deal and what you should understand: We're not doing a remake of I Love Lucy. No one has to impersonate Lucy Ricardo nor do any of the silly things. It's the story of Lucille Ball, my actual mother — not Lucy Ricardo — and her husband, Desi Arnaz, my dad — not Ricky Ricardo.

Nina Arianda was seen in Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell as well as Showtime's Billions and Amazon's Goliath. As for J.K. Simmons, the actor will next be seen alongside Chris Pratt in The Tomorrow War, a sci-fi/action film that is in the process of being acquired by Amazon for a streaming debut.