“What?” That was Nicole Kidman’s reaction when she was told just how popular her AMC Theatres ad had become online and, well, in theaters. During a conversation about her SAG Awards-nominated performance in “Being The Ricardos,” the Oscar winner had mentioned a number of times how she does not go online. If you could hear her shock to our inquiry about the “We Make Movies” promotion, you’d certainly believe her.
Kidman says AMC CEO Adam Aron has sent her messages about its success, but she was unaware that fans speak the lines out loud while it plays in theaters, were upset it got cut down to just 30 seconds, or had made t-shirts with the now-iconic line, “Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this.”
Flabbergasted, Kidman says, “But it’s a great line, right? It’s so true. How true is it too? I mean, talk about not feeling alone, sitting in a cinema with a broken heart, and then watching something that breaks your heart again, and you go, ‘I’m not alone.’ Please. This must not go away. We have to have cinema.”
Aaron Sorkin’s “Being The Ricardos” had just a brief run in theaters (she’ll be seen on the big screen in Robert Eggers’ “The Northman” this Spring), but considering its focus on two of television’s legendary figures, Lucille Ball (Kidman) and Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem), the fact it’s a streaming hit for Prime Video may be somewhat more appropriate. And, in the context of this particular period piece, Kidman is pleased it’s found an audience.
“I’m actually glad that the film itself is really connecting because so much of what we’re doing right now is about trying to not just make big tent pole movies but get movies that are adult movies or that are about different subjects,” Kidman says. “Keep them being made, and keep the streamers or the financiers going, ‘No, this is actually a viable option.’ Otherwise it’s sort of like a losing battle.”
Over the course of our interview, Kidman discusses a very special moment with Lucille’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, learning to rumba in masks with Bardem, and much more.
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The Playlist: Congratulations on the SAG Awards nomination.
Nicole Kidman: Thank you so much. Wow!
Was that your reaction, “Wow”?
Yes. Yes. Yes, a big “Wow.” Like in capital letters and elongated, with lots of O’s. “WOOOOOOOOOOOOW,” Very Lucy. [Laughs.]
You’ve talked about how you almost dropped out of the project because of the reaction to your being cast in the role…
No, not because of that.
Oh, O.K. I must have misread.
Because I don’t go online. No, no. Just from pure fear of the actual doing of the sound and the whole mountain to climb. Because on paper, I was like, “Oh yeah, fantastic.” But then the actual doingness of it, that was the overwhelming part of it. I didn’t know about the online thing until I was already shooting, thank God. And then there’s no way out once you’re shooting, so I was like, “Oh, well.” Because I don’t go online myself, I was oblivious to it until the whispers of it sort of came to me on the set and everything. And I was like, “Oh, I didn’t know that they were so against me doing it.” So I was like, “Yeesh, yikes.” But by that stage, I was so in it that it was like, “Well, the only way out is through,” so…
Knowing then that the reviews have been almost universally positive and getting this recognition from your peers, do you have a sense of relief or does it not really matter to you?
Oh no. Extreme relief, because I didn’t quite realize how far I could fall. I was like, “Yikes.” When it finally came out, yeah, it was a relief. It was like a flood of emotions actually. There was a night in Westwood actually when we first showed the film, and that sensation when people embraced the film in such a big way, and the performance, I didn’t quite realize, emotionally, what I’d been sitting on, because it sort of just came out of me after that. And I kind of don’t even have the word. It’s a much bigger word than relief. It was almost a release because I think I’d been holding iso much inside, trying to just sort of keep my chin up. But emotionally, it kind of went right in, in a way. I’ve had one other experience where I was doing a play in London and we weren’t selling many tickets. I mean we sold some tickets, but I didn’t realize how important [reviews were] for a new play was. And it got good reviews and suddenly all our tickets sold. And that was the same thing where you’re like, “I actually had no idea how much was riding on this.”
I don’t know if you saw, but Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, did an interview yesterday, where it was revealed that “Being the Ricardos” has done beyond their expectations on Amazon Prime Video and is already in their top 10 movies of all time.
Oh, no, I didn’t see that. Part of my not going online. I sort of had a feeling that it was doing well, because I’m getting texts from people, and people are watching it. So I was like, “God, I mean, people must be watching the thing,” because I’m hearing from a lot of people from different countries and different states in America, just people that aren’t in the industry. And I’m like, “Well, thank God it’s on their radar.” But I’m actually glad that the film itself is really connecting because so much of what we’re doing right now is about trying to not just make big tent pole movies but get movies that are adult movies or that are about different subjects. Keep them being made, and keep the streamers or the financiers going, “No, this is actually a viable option.” Otherwise it’s sort of like a losing battle.
Absolutely. It is.
Yeah. These are the movies that are hard to get made. They just are.
For sure. I spoke to Javier last month and he talked about how there was almost no rehearsal on set because of COVID restrictions and it was mostly on Zoom.
Yes. Yeah.
I was sort of confounded because, as you’d expect with an Aaron Sorkin project, it’s so dialogue-heavy. Was there any fear going into it that you didn’t have three weeks to hang out in a room and figure it all out?
I think at this stage, and I think probably given what we’ve all been going through, there’s such a desire to just flow. So whatever we’re given, you go, “O.K., we just got to go with it, and really just sort of let it…” Yes, coulda, woulda, shoulda, but at the same time, the other option is just do nothing, which is not really an option, you know?
Of course.
Because you want to get the story told. So, we will just say, “O.K., it’s going to be harder, much harder than if we weren’t in a pandemic, but the other option is to postpone it or cancel it, or don’t make it at all.” And Aaron was like, “No.” And Javier and I, and all of the actors were like, “O.K., we’re up for it. We’ll rehearse on the Zoom.” Is it your first choice? Absolutely not. But if it’s the choice between doing it and not doing it? Let’s go. And that was kind of where we were all at, I think, because we’re creative, we’re artists, we want to tell our stories. Come hell or high water, we’re going to do it. And also, part of being an actor is sometimes you get rehearsals, sometimes you don’t. Sometimes someone gets sick. There’s always so many different things that can happen, and if you don’t learn early on that you’re just going to have to go with it, then you don’t get to control your environment. I mean, so much of being an actor is going, “O.K., what do I have to work with? If this is it, I just got to do the best I can with what I’m given.”
Well, you and Javier have such great chemistry. That has to help.
Thank God! I mean, it was a crapshoot, because I showed up and I looked in his eyes and I went, “I’m here. I’m so open. I’m terrified. Let’s go.” And the first thing we did was we started to learn to rumba together, and that’s a great way in, because chemistry-wise rumba-ing is a particular thing. Right?
Yeah.
You’ve got to put hands on each other’s hips. And even if you’re wearing a mask, you’ve still got to connect physically. And that was the way we connected. And in the middle of a pandemic to be able to go, “Is it O.K. if I put my hands on your hips and touch you?” And immediately the chemistry begins. And we were able to be far more, as I say, Lucille and Desi than Nicole and Javier. So the way we would connect was through them.
That’s fantastic.
Yeah.
The film has such insight into television history. As someone who has been jumping back and forth between films and television, did that resonate with you at all?
I mean, for me, what, in in terms of television or…
Just the history of television in that way.
I think through the story you understand so much about gender, you understand so much about staying with it and never giving up. I mean, Lucille’s trajectory was it was pretty much over. And out of her failure came some of her strongest work, and that’s a really great thing to discover. I didn’t know that. I didn’t realize that at first, she was like, “I don’t want to do television.” And out of getting fired came a radio play, which became her hit show. Out of going, “Well, I’ve pretty much gone as far as I can go,” she meets a man who goes, “But I see you and I believe in you, and I’m going to help you. And I’m going to love you. And I’ve got my own problems, but I’m actually deep down just madly in love with you.” And I think they did have this extraordinary chemistry. Would she have met him in her 20s? Probably not. I mean, she was really not a young mother. I didn’t know that. She goes against the norm on everything. And I think for me, it gives me the chance to be inspired by her, and go, “She did that in the ’50s.” I mean, a lot of the things are still reverberating now, but we can lean into what she did and what they did as a couple because they were an amazing couple. And I had no idea they created Desilu Productions. I had no idea they didn’t just have the “Lucy” shows. They did “Mission: Impossible.” They did “Star Trek.” I mean, I’m like, who were these people? And then the idea of having to be your television persona or the persona that 60 million people want you to be, but you’re not actually that, that’s really interesting too. Because they weren’t Lucy and Ricky. Which is sort of almost what we were up against [making the film], because Aaron kept saying, “We’re not remaking the ‘I Love Lucy’ show, we’re telling the story of Lucille and Desi, their marriage, their path together, and what they did. And we’re compressing it into a week.” But I had no idea about the Communism. I had no idea that Desi called [Edgar] Hoover like that. And what an incredible move on his behalf to protect his wife.
I mean, I actually was so stunned by that particular aspect. I’m like, “How did I miss that in her Wikipedia entry?” How did I not know this?
Right? And that [everything they had] was going to be taken away overnight if they’d run that headline and it had gotten out. It would have taken off like wildfire. And she’s like, “But hold on, this is the explanation, and I was cleared.” “No, but that doesn’t matter. No, no, we’re not interested.” It was just like, what? What? And then on top of that, getting pregnant and being told, “No, you can’t be pregnant on the show.” And Desi going, “No, we’re going to have the baby. You’ll see.” And it was the biggest ratings the show had when they had the baby. Talk about defying the odds.
That’s why I think why the film’s subject matter is important in that chronicles a moment in American and Hollywood history many people were unaware of.
And it’s not just a TV show. As with Aaron’s writing always, it sort of works with so many different layers. And when you unravel it…I mean, one of my favorite scenes is when you have a woman who’s working during the day and he’s working at night and they meet at the top on Mulholland Drive, and she’s like, “I want to see you more.” I mean, how many relationships have that? “We don’t have any time anymore.” And he’s like, “Well just…” And she’s like, “Don’t make me feel like a bitch for wanting to see my husband.” But that’s so relatable in a relationship.
Javier said he didn’t talk to their daughter, Lucie Arnaz, until after filming was almost finished. Did you talk to her before shooting began?
Yes, I did.
What was one thing she told you about her mother that stuck with you?
Oh, she told me a lot of things. She told me a lot of things in confidence, and I feel very protective of her because having played her mother and then understanding things about Lucy herself now, her daughter. She told me so many things that they’re all embedded into the performance. Her mother wanted a home. She really did want a home. But she also was extraordinarily creative and talented and worked so hard, so the juggling of those two things as a woman was a huge part of Lucie’s life, watching her mom do that. But she gave me these recordings of her mother talking to her when she was little, which were totally private, completely private. And she gave them and just said, “Don’t ever play these for anyone, but I want you’d have these.” And also, one night, when we were having dinner together, she goes, “I’m going to give you something now.” And she gave me their wedding rings.
Oh my.
Yeah. I mean, not to keep, but I held them in my hand, and I sort of closed my eyes, and I could feel them in there. And it was like I was holding her mother sacred, in my hand. It’s a very strange path as an actor when you’re playing somebody’s mother, and she’s here and around, and then standing in front of her all dressed up as her mother, and looking in her eyes and going, “Hi.” It’s all too weird. The weirdness of acting in real life, and the collision of it all. She allowed me into her mother’s mind and heart.
I know Javier said that it meant a lot to him that she was happy with his portrayal. Did it matter to you?
Beyond. I mean, she called me and said, “I’m seeing the movie tomorrow.” And I’m like, “Oh, no.” And then she saw it. She then sat with us in the theater and rewatched it and wept. And my husband sat next to her, and he said it was the weirdest thing sitting right next to her. He said hearing every single sigh and intake and gasp, and then her tears. It’s a really confronting thing to do. This whole story, I mean, it’s a remarkable story in the sense of even getting the film made and playing her. And I’m kind of gobsmacked that it’s happened and it’s out. But at the same time, I’m glad I didn’t overthink it.
I’m glad you didn’t either.
I’m glad I just jumped in.
I know I don’t have that much time left, but I want o ask you two quick things. One is, I think you shot “The Northman” before “Being the Ricardos.”
Before Lucy. Yeah.
Taking into account all the incredible directors you’ve worked with over your career, how would you describe working with Robert Eggers?
Intense. Crazy. And would do it again in a heartbeat.
And then my last question for you is, I know you’re not on the internet, but do you know how beloved your AMC Theaters ad is?
Oh, the only reason I know is because Adam Aron, the head of AMC, sends me these tidbits saying, “Oh, thank you.” Because Jeff Cronenweth shot it, he and his brother, and he shot [“Being the Ricardos”]. And the reason he shot it was because I was doing Lucy, and then I said, “Listen, I’ve been asked to support AMC, would you be willing?” And he was like, “Yeah.” And then Billy Ray, a friend of mine, I was like, “Billy, will you be able to do something, write something for us? Should we do this to support AMC?” And Billy’s like, “Hell yes.” So that was how that all came about, basically. And then I was like, “Gosh, I mean…” But I’ve never seen it in the theater or anything. I showed up to show a screening of Lucy, of “Being the Ricardos,” and Adam was there, but Adam’s kind of a rock star. He’s very popular.
He’s very popular with the blockchain investors.
Right. Not my forte. I just wanted to support AMC, but he’s a great guy. Thinking out of the box and defying the odds. Go Adam!
Well, I don’t know if you know this, but people love the line, “Somehow heartbreak feels good in a place like this,” so much that they have printed it on T-shirts.
Are you kidding?
Oh no. It’s real. Ask [your publicist]. She can send you stuff. It’s a thing.
Publicist: People have printed it out and handed it out in a theater so they could read it with you before a movie.
What?
Yes. It is a thing.
No.
Yes.
What?
And in fact, people were very upset because it was originally a minute long, and then they shortened it down to 30 seconds, and they cut that line out. Fans were going to see “Spider-Man: No Way Home” and they wanted to see it beforehand, and they were upset the line was missing.
But it’s a great line, right?
Yes.
It’s so true. How true is it too?
It is.
I mean, talk about not feeling alone, sitting in a cinema with a broken heart, and then watching something that breaks your heart again, and you go, “I’m not alone.” Please. This must not go away. We have to have cinema.
I feel like we’ve seen these little sparks of light that prove movie theaters are gonna be O.K. It’s going to take a while, but I think theaters are going to survive.
Well, “The Northman’s” going to be in theaters. We made “Northman” to be in theaters. It better be in theaters.
“Being the Ricardos” are available on Prime Video worldwide.