- My line? (laughing)
You're thinking I'm gonna say all that in English?
Subscribe, buy Amazon. (Javier and Nicole laughing)
(whimsical music)
♪ Da-da-da-da-da-da ♪
- We'll edit that out.
- Don't edit it out.
We are the cast of "Being the Ricardos",
and we are here to answer
some tough, tough, tough questions.
Are you ready?
- We're ready.
- Okay, let's see.
First one. Why am I so sexy?
Desi and Lucille were an incredible team,
tell us about their relationship and Hollywood legacy.
Yeah, they were an incredible team. What can I say?
They were icons, they are icons.
I mean, they are so alive today.
It's a big responsibility to play those icons,
and I think the bottom line is about
how much they loved each other,
how much they really wanted to support each other
in any way, shape, or form.
- They were a fantastic team,
they were a creative team, they were romantic team.
They were also sort of groundbreaking
because they created Desilu Productions,
which I think was the first production company
owned by actors.
- I think so. - Yeah, run by actors.
I mean, that is extraordinary in itself.
- Yeah, what a power couple they were.
And when you're talking about the early 1950s,
and you're talking about a woman and a Cuban immigrant,
you know, becoming the power couple in Hollywood.
We all, in this business in the world,
owe a lot to them and to the walls they broke down.
- Yeah. - Absolutely.
- What is the same, what is different about showbiz today?
I give that question to the room.
- Nothing's changed, everything's the same.
No, but I think in the case of our show,
these are – excellent –
These are people that paved the way,
so they had to go through the really the hardest part
of everything that we're talking about.
I think things are still a little similar,
but not having that golden handcuffs of the studio system,
I think things are quite different without that in place.
- It's still a very, you know, wah-wah-wah, poor actors.
But, you know, when you sign up for a television series now,
still you're signing a very one-sided contract.
You know, it is a daunting prospect to sign something
and go, "I might be doing this for the next 5, 6, 7 years.
I hope it's good." You know? (J.K. and Javier laughing)
- J.K., you're fantastic. - [Nina] So good.
- You're actually gonna go to the front of the class.
- Well we’re just hanging around my living room
by my table. You know. - But you're excellent.
- Okay, tell us about the real life characters
that you embody,
and what you learned about them during the filming process,
J.K. Simmons as William Frawley, would you like to comment?
- I would like to comment on the similarities
between Bill, William Frawley and Fred Mertz.
He was pretty much the same guy. Let's face it.
It was not a real big stretch
for Bill Frawley to play Fred Metz,
nor was it a gigantic stretch for me
to play a crabby old white guy
who's been in show business for a long time.
I mean, you know, it was a pretty good fit.
- Stop that. - That's not true.
- Oh, Nina, what do you think? Well
- What do you think, Nina?
- I'm sorry, we don't have time for it.
(Javier, Nicole, and Nina laughing)
- Oh, okay, J.K. said it, I think the most interesting thing
was just how different these two women were.
We kind of find Vivian is mourning who she used to be.
She is mourning the fact
that she won't be able to ever dip her toe back
into who she really was, which was more than who Ethel was.
You know, she won't be able to get in touch
with her sensuality or her sexuality
or how she would move or what she would wanna do.
Javier Bardem as Desi Arnaz, what do you think?
- Oh my God, let me think about what I think.
Desi Arnaz was a-
- You can answer in Spanish.
- And for me was a big pleasure to become,
or to become – to try to at least get close as I could
into the world and the essence of this man,
to just recreate that energy of his, was a great pleasure,
was a beautiful thing to do,
and I had the chance to sing,
which is something that I'd never done before,
and I don't think I will ever do it again.
- Thank you for your support
- Very nice.
- And is it Kide-man or Kid-man?
(Javier, Nicole and J.K. laughing)
Nicole Kidman as Lucille-
- Kide-man, it's been Kide-man all along.
Thank you for finally correcting that.
- Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball, please, if you would.
- There's so much to talk about with her.
And I think the film, when I first read the screenplay,
gave me an insight into her that I had no idea.
I mean the storytelling in this screenplay is extraordinary
and yeah, I had an image of the I Love Lucy show
and Lucy herself,
and this sort of funny red-headed clown with big blue eyes.
And then, as you delve into her and her life
and what it took to make that show
and where she came from, incredible life.
- Now, my position is not gonna change.
There is only one television show that I'm willing to do.
So, what's it gonna be?
- What behind the scenes dynamics
from the I Love Lucy series did you learn
that the general public hadn't really heard about?
Well, I mean, pretty much everything that was going on,
I had no idea.
There's a sense when you go, "Oh, a comedy show,"
there's some riffing and some improvising
and they'll get it.
But when you're doing a show every week,
I've come to realize, it is sharp
and has to be studied and has to be thought through,
and nothing is by chance.
You've got to get there.
- You need to work out the moves at the table.
- Bill and I can work out the moves.
- It’s not that I’m not confident that you can’t work out –
- This is camera blocking,
we can work out the stage business
during tomorrow's run-through.
- I would strongly prefer that we do it now.
- I learned the way they were approaching each other
and the way they were, I mean, creating a team,
and how him, as Desi, as a producer,
have to hold the reins of so many things,
so the bomb won't explode, because as you can see,
there were many things going on,
and he was trying to overcome everything with lots of humor,
but also a lot of manpower.
- This is a very entertaining look,
that's why we're all sitting here at the making of a show,
but it then layers in lives, and these lives,
and this moment in their lives.
And it's riveting. I mean to me
the story is really the strongest part of this film.
Anyway, I'll pass it over.
- No, no, no, no. - Javier, please.
Talk to me. (Javier laughing)
- Caught it!
- J.K., please answer, you're very good at this.
What behind the scenes dynamics
from the I Love Lucy series did you learn
that the general public hadn't really heard about?
What did you learn?
Tell us. No, but tell us.
- No, but tell us! - I'm telling. Calm down.
(Javier laughing)
All of these interpersonal relationships that these four had
in addition to all the other characters in the film,
I learned a lot about the relationships that, you know,
that these guys became very good friends, you know.
Then, this relationship was like, not so great.
You know, starting day one at the first table read
of the first episode of I Love Lucy,
these two were at odds, and that's what the relationship was
the entire time they worked together.
- But you shot that scene,
the scene that started the first day.
- The first day of shooting
was us bickering with each other, yeah.
- And that's what surprised me the most also,
it's just how deep their dislike was for one another.
And I just heard something the other day,
which I don't know how I didn't hear this
when I was doing research,
but upon learning of William Frawley's death,
apparently, Vivian said, "Champagne for everyone."
- Noo! - Is that not?
- Wow. - I did hear that.
That's cold. - That's brutal.
- That's cold. - That is cold
- [Javier] You heard that? - Yeah.
- Wow, I never heard that.
- [Nina] Champagne for everyone!
(Javier and Nina laughing)
- Whereas Desi said, "I want Lucy, I want her to,"
on his deathbed. - Absolutely.
One of the last conversations was with Lucy on the phone
to tell her how much, - I hope that's true.
- Yeah. - I believe it.
And everything in the script
in terms of what Aaron said is that,
"Yes, it didn't happen in a week, but it all happened."
I mean, there's a phone call that he makes
not to give the film away.
That is such a strategic, brilliant move.
I couldn't believe it was true, and it's true.
And the telegram that gets sent, "Don't F with the Cuban."
- Yeah. Yeah.
- Yeah, I was like, that's a great dramatic device.
(Javier laughing)
Obviously, there are plenty of, you know,
Aaron took a year and a half to assemble this screenplay,
but so much of it is just like,
"Oh, that actually happened, I'm gonna write that down."
Really, really this Sorkin guy
didn't do all that much writing.
I mean, kind of overrated.
- Cut and copy. I mean, come on,
write something for Christ's sake that is original.
(energetic music) (audience applauding)
- Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my wife,
and the star of I Love Lucy, Lucille Ball.
(energetic music)
- Thanks for joining us.
Be sure to subscribe for more Ricardo's content
and watch us on Amazon Prime Video.
- Come on. - Oh my god!
- Come on. (Nina clapping)
- That's right, that's our guy.
- That's how you got it right. - That's how you do it.
- You just need an insurance salesman.
(Javier, Nina, and Nicole laughing)
(energetic music)