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Cate Blanchett and Aaron Sorkin join forces for Lucille Ball biopic

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Sat, 08, 17

The prospect of a possible Lucille Ball biopic surfaced nearly two years ago but is finally taking concrete shape just now. As Aaron Sorkin, creator and executive producer of TV shows like The Newsroom and The West Wing has ended his self-imposed exile from TV, it is being reported that he has joined forces with Amazon Studio to get the project going.

The prospect of a possible Lucille Ball biopic surfaced nearly two years ago but is finally taking concrete shape just now. As Aaron Sorkin, creator and executive producer of TV shows like The Newsroom and The West Wing has ended his self-imposed exile from TV, it is being reported that he has joined forces with Amazon Studio to get the project going. As Vanity Fair reports, “Cate Blanchett will star as Ball, the actress and sitcom star who blazed a professional path just as bright off-screen, becoming the first woman to run a major television production studio.”

Reports suggest that the biopic will be called Luci and Desi and will focus on the I Love Lucy star’s 20-year marriage to Desi Arnaz. While Blanchett is starring as Ball, it remains unclear who will be cast as Arnaz. The producers are looking at someone like Javier Bardem. The biopic, penned by Aaron Sorkin, counts Ball and Arnaz’s surviving children as producers. Ball has appeared in over 50 films and picked up 13 Emmy nominations in her career, winning on four occasions. She once said, “I have to work or I’m nothing. . . . I’ve never been out of work except for two hours once between contracts.”

It remains to be seen whether Sorkin can redeem himself with this project as many believe that he doesn’t write well for women and is more comfortable writing about male-oriented characters.