She Loves Lucy!
THE OSCAR WINNER GETS SET TO PLAY ONE OF HER IDOLS
Over the course of her career, Cate Blanchett has played some powerful real-life women — Queen Elizabeth I, Katharine Hepburn — but no one like Lucille Ball. “You want to talk about astonishing women who have made a lasting impact?” Cate says. “You walk onto a film set, and you’ve got the female bathrooms called ‘Lucy’ and the male bathrooms called ‘Desi!’ ”
Now Cate may have drawn a royal flush: She’s set to play the Queen of Comedy in a new biopic written and directed by Emmy and Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing, The Social Network). “Lucy was the first female studio head, for goodness’ sake, and a mother, and she broke all the rules and changed comedy and was this incredible actress,” the 48-year-old star raves.
As a teen in Australia, Cate first fell for the wacky redhead when her ’60s sitcom, Here’s Lucy, started airing in syndication. Her father, Robert Blanchett Jr., an American who died when Cate was only 10 in 1979, had been a fan of I Love Lucy, and Cate discovered it later in life. “Lucy was watched all around the globe,” Cate marvels. “I’ve watched them all. But of course, it’s one thing to watch as a fan and it’s another to think about how to delve in — there’s so much and it’s so rich.”
The actress can rely on the support of Lucy’s real-life daughter, Lucie Arnaz, 66. “She’s been incredibly, unbelievably generous,” Cate says. “We met a few years ago and started talking about this. Lucie has been so amazing to give us the authorized version of her story. It’s an incredible act of trust.”
Cate’s also getting encouragement from her own kids: sons Dashiell, 15, Roman, 13, and Ignatius, 9, and daughter Edith, 2, with husband Andrew Upton, 51. “The whole family has been watching I Love Lucy for years,” a friend tells Closer. “Cate says the kids would never forgive her if she didn’t take this on. They love the idea of their mom playing this lady they love on TV.”
SOME ’SPLAININ’ TO DO
A big part of the film will be devoted to Lucy’s turbulent marriage to Desi Arnaz. “You’ve got this amazing love story — Desi was Cuban and younger than her,” she says, joking, “of course, we won’t be casting anyone younger than me!” (Actually, No Country for Old Men Oscar winner Javier Bardem, who’s Cate’s age-mate at 48, has been mentioned for the role.)
Cate hasn’t done much comedy before, although she won an Oscar for Woody Allen’s 2013 dramedy Blue Jasmine. So the biggest challenge may be recreating Lucy’s classic shtick. Still, “Cate is a chameleon who can really sink her teeth into a role,” Michael Stern, author of I Had a Ball: My Friendship With Lucille Ball, tells Closer. “Lucy would be honored to have someone of Cate’s caliber playing her.”
Like Lucy, Cate won’t let tough challenges scare her away. “It’s a lot to try and think about inhabiting that genius,” Cate admits. “It’s terrifying. But like all good things, it’s equally terrifying and exciting.” — Bruce Fretts, with reporting by Ilyssa Panitz