Aaron Sorkin defends casting Nicole Kidman as Lucille Ball: 'Let her be sexy'

• Nicole Kidman plays Lucille Ball in "Being The Ricardos" and may be sexier than "I Love Lucy" fans expect.
• Some objected to her casting because they don't think Kidman looks like Ball.

Nicole Kidman transformed into comedy icon Lucille Ball for her upcoming role in Amazon Studios' "Being the Ricardos." The film's writer and director Aaron Sorkin recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and addressed the criticism he's facing from fans of Ball's classic sitcom "I Love Lucy" for not casting someone who looks more like Ball.

Sorkin clarified that his film is about the actress Lucille Ball, who sometimes plays the character of Lucy Ricardo. But scenes from the sitcom only account for about three minutes of the movie.

"So, finding an actress who looked like Lucille Ball wasn't important to me," he said. "Especially because I was excited by the idea that Lucille Ball doesn't look like Lucille Ball - and that every time we're seeing Lucille Ball not as Lucy Ricardo, she should both literally and metaphorically let her hair down."

The filmmaker explained that there were restrictions put on how women could look and act on TV at the time "I Love Lucy" was on the air. So, when the cameras stopped rolling, Sorkin said, it was like a whole different version of Ball.

"Let her be what she's not allowed to be on TV in 1952 on CBS," he told THR. "Let her be a woman. Let her be sexy."

"Being The Ricardos," which only follows a fictionalized week in Ball's life while filming an episode of "I Love Lucy," was recently praised by Lucie Arnaz, Ball's daughter with her on-and-off screen husband Desi Arnaz.

Despite admitting that she had at first issues with some of the artistic license taken in the film, she called it "fricken amazing" on Instagram.

Arnaz, who's a producer on the movie, alongside her brother, Desi Arnaz Jr., supported the film in various ways. She made a visit to the set and even provided Sorkin with reference photos and home videos of her parents from the 1950s to help his story come to life.

"And looking at these home movies that Lucie Arnaz gave me of Lucy and Desi just hanging out by the pool, you have to look twice, like, is that Marilyn?" Sorkin said, comparing Ball's sexiness in the photos to legendary Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe. "She's not at all Lucy Ricardo. And I was excited by that contrast."

"Being the Ricardos" premieres December 10 on Amazon Prime.