MovieChat Forums > Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991) Discussion > Why was Lucie Arnaz outraged by this fil...

Why was Lucie Arnaz outraged by this film?


I didn't see anything all that controversial about this film, though, admittedly, children would presumably be more sensitive about portrayals of their own parents

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I know this post is rather old, but I'm watching this TV movie now, and so far the only thing I can guess is that Lucie didn't like the somewhat flat versions of true events. Sort of made it look too simple and, as is often the case, made Desi into just "a no good cheating Cuban pig." Truth is, it is never so simple. So far, this is the only thing I've seen that their daughter might not have liked.


"If you are like me...and I know I am.."

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The movie was originally pitched by the family's agent as "The Desi Arnaz Story" soon after his death. Lucie Arnaz and husband Larry Luckinbill became personally involved, with Luckinbill working on numerous rewrites of the script, but CBS passed on it because they wanted "The LUCY and Desi Story." After Ball's death, Lucie got on board for the Lucy and Desi film until she realized that she'd have no script approval. She withdrew her support and figured that would be the end of the bio-pic... but production soldiered on without her.

After getting her hands of the shooting script, Lucie claimed that the film made her mother out to be a hero, her father a villain, and there was no proof that any of the events portrayed actually happened. "This is as much of a cartoon of their lives as any unauthorized fiction," Arnaz told TV Guide.

Desi Jr., meanwhile said that "to say anything about it would validate the film, which was have no interest in doing."

Here's scans of an old TV Guide article about the movie which delves further into the story:
http://www.imagebam.com/gallery/yy1pzu5vwbrs2j3em8zuty1ali8jl7nd


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