Before the Laughter and Lucy, TV Movie

[Mot Morenzi]

 

Yea, that movie had great potential but the production, research, and overall casting was horrible. Francis does have the looks, but it seems they didnt take full advantage of her by slapping together a script hardly a year after Lucy's death. As I might have written earlier, I own one of the original scripts, it is honestly... garbage. Plus adding in Maurice Benard, who had barely any experience at the time. Like this is one of Desi's opening lines from the original script: "...and I, jus' want you to know how much we 'preciate your talent and hard work, putting this thin' together under da gun...you fellas know what I mean. We gonna let da audience in now, but I jus' wanna say, we gotta good show... (winks at Lucy) ... so let's have some fun!!!" This exaggerated accent was just one of the million things wrong with the character development, they were setting Maurice up from the beginning... he barely looks like Desi, he had practically no experience, and they give him this. When he was interviewed in 2010 he even said this- "My wife and I watched [L&D: Before the Laughter] on TV a few years after it came out. There was a scene and my wife looked over at me and said, 'What did you think?' She got quiet and said, 'I know, pretty bad."' This sums it up for me.

 

Just be glad Larry Thompson didn't make a trilogy as he originally planned. What would those have been called, "During the Laughter" and "After the Laughter"?

 

I'd found that interview with Frances too, plus some other articles I'm incorporating into a piece I'm doing about the film for my blog.

[C L A U D E]

Just be glad Larry Thompson didn't make a trilogy as he originally planned. What would those have been called, "During the Laughter" and "After the Laughter"?

 

I'd found that interview with Frances too, plus some other articles I'm incorporating into a piece I'm doing about the film for my blog.

No, it might have been better as a three part miniseries, then he could have spent time developing the characters properly and it might have been more COMPLETE in the telling of their story. God knows they had enough material for a miniseries.

[leenorman]

Found an interview with Francis Fisher discussing her roles. Here is what she had to say about playing Lucy.

 

FF: That was always a dream of mine, ever since I did a set of head shots where—this photographer, after I’d done this straight head shot, he decided to play a bit, use some makeup on me, put my hair up. And Desmond Child, who was in my acting class at the time but has gone on to be a fabulous producer and musician, he saw the pictures and said, “You know, you look like a young Lucille Ball!” I said, “Really?” So I started doing research on Lucy and fell in love with her history and who she was. Not just what she did in I Love Lucy and everything she accomplished with Desi Arnaz, but just her life growing up. I thought, “Someday I’m going to play that part.” And sure enough, when I saw the casting call in Variety, I went back to that photographer 10 years later, I went out and got a couple of thrift-store dresses, hired a makeup person, and sent in my headshot as Lucille Ball. And I was the first one to audition, and after a long couple or three tours of auditioning Lucys all over the planet, they finally decided to give me the role.

 

LOVE this; got a date for the interview, and by whom? Frances would be a GREAT ADDITION to LucyDays; she maybe didn't KNOW Lucille; but, she surely loved Lucy, it seems Love, JK

[Mot Morenzi]

No, it might have been better as a three part miniseries, then he could have spent time developing the characters properly and it might have been more COMPLETE in the telling of their story. God knows they had enough material for a miniseries.

 

That's true, maybe with ample running time they could've made something worthwhile. He made the same mistake with Liz & Dick, trying to cram too much information into 9 minutes.

[C L A U D E]

That's true, maybe with ample running time they could've made something worthwhile. He made the same mistake with Liz & Dick, trying to cram too much information into 9 minutes.

And you know one of the things I hate most in any movie? When they keep going back in time and back to now and back in time and back to now, just show the damned thing in sequence already!

[C L A U D E]

That's true, maybe with ample running time they could've made something worthwhile. He made the same mistake with Liz & Dick, trying to cram too much information into 9 minutes.

9 minutes? Was this a documentary SHORT subject?

[Mot Morenzi]

9 minutes? Was this a documentary SHORT subject?

 

Whoops...90 minutes!

[C L A U D E]

Whoops...90 minutes!

Figured, was just teasing.

[Irene Kampen Tripp]

I liked Francis Fisher as Lucille and the guy from LUCY as Desi... My thing is... they (the producers of any LUCY MOVIE) are in show business and have to KNOW who their audience will be... so why all the mistakes and wrong information?!? Do they think idiots would be interested in watching their movie?? NO.. it is fans.. die hard fans who know her work backward and forward.. any run of the mill individual would probably not be interested in a LUCY movie in the first place... anyway.. it is difficult to capture the right look, voice, and timing.. however.. it isn't THAT difficult to get the facts straight... all of the books that are out.. all of the dvd releases.. all of the people like Tom Watson... why aren't these resources tapped to provide a great outline for a fantastic story and then audition some actors to portray the roles??? Seriously... stuff like this takes time.. it isn't easy.. maybe someone some day will have the resources to do the lady justice.. I just hope people will want to watch it after 2 foul balls!

[C L A U D E]

I liked Francis Fisher as Lucille and the guy from LUCY as Desi... My thing is... they (the producers of any LUCY MOVIE) are in show business and have to KNOW who their audience will be... so why all the mistakes and wrong information?!? Do they think idiots would be interested in watching their movie?? NO.. it is fans.. die hard fans who know her work backward and forward.. any run of the mill individual would probably not be interested in a LUCY movie in the first place... anyway.. it is difficult to capture the right look, voice, and timing.. however.. it isn't THAT difficult to get the facts straight... all of the books that are out.. all of the dvd releases.. all of the people like Tom Watson... why aren't these resources tapped to provide a great outline for a fantastic story and then audition some actors to portray the roles??? Seriously... stuff like this takes time.. it isn't easy.. maybe someone some day will have the resources to do the lady justice.. I just hope people will want to watch it after 2 foul balls!

You`re right of course, any Lucy fan, including Jim Brochu who had a small role in this fiasco, could have read the script and set them straight but Nooooooooooooooooo. BUT, you did say one thing that`s wrong, Lucy`s fans are not all to the extent that WE are, and many people who are just casual fans or even curious admirers of hers watched that movie. Do you know how many fans, myself included, repeat stories that were fabricated by publicists and we now think are true.

[leenorman]

Luvsbway: Do you have the date of Frances Fisher's interview???? Thanks if you can supply it. Love, JK

[Lucyilove]

I liked Francis Fisher as Lucille and the guy from LUCY as Desi... My thing is... they (the producers of any LUCY MOVIE) are in show business and have to KNOW who their audience will be... so why all the mistakes and wrong information?!? Do they think idiots would be interested in watching their movie?? NO.. it is fans.. die hard fans who know her work backward and forward.. any run of the mill individual would probably not be interested in a LUCY movie in the first place... anyway.. it is difficult to capture the right look, voice, and timing.. however.. it isn't THAT difficult to get the facts straight... all of the books that are out.. all of the dvd releases.. all of the people like Tom Watson... why aren't these resources tapped to provide a great outline for a fantastic story and then audition some actors to portray the roles??? Seriously... stuff like this takes time.. it isn't easy.. maybe someone some day will have the resources to do the lady justice.. I just hope people will want to watch it after 2 foul balls!

 

I only saw the first one when it originally aired, didn't tape it, so my memories are hazy but I recall Frances Fisher was very good and really hit the target in moments (notably Lucy's teary ones) she wasn't quite pretty enough to play Lucy despite a resemblence around the eyes. That's a big issue with casting a Lucy, she's not only got to be talented, a great comedienne, she's got to be beautiful but not sex symbol beautiful . I honestly hope they don't make any more Lucy "biopics" big screen, small screen, or play or musical. Lucy's one a kind and these type productions prove this again and again.

 

Re Maurice Bernard, I think he had something of a resemblence to Desi trouble is the age difference between him and Frances was far more obvious (and I suspect bigger in life) than Lucy and Desi. (And just presuming but I suspect Lucie's main furor over this tv movie was it's stance at making Desi the bad guy in their relationship even if this is also how most biographers characterize the marriage's disintregration.) Never saw the later movie, was working nights in that period and I'm sure didn't even tape it. There's so much of 2000-2010 television I'm not familiar with at all.

[C L A U D E]

I only saw the first one when it originally aired, didn't tape it, so my memories are hazy but I recall Frances Fisher was very good and really hit the target in moments (notably Lucy's teary ones) she wasn't quite pretty enough to play Lucy despite a resemblence around the eyes. That's a big issue with casting a Lucy, she's not only got to be talented, a great comedienne, she's got to be beautiful but not sex symbol beautiful . I honestly hope they don't make any more Lucy "biopics" big screen, small screen, or play or musical. Lucy's one a kind and these type productions prove this again and again.

 

Re Maurice Bernard, I think he had something of a resemblence to Desi trouble is the age difference between him and Frances was far more obvious (and I suspect bigger in life) than Lucy and Desi. (And just presuming but I suspect Lucie's main furor over this tv movie was it's stance at making Desi the bad guy in their relationship even if this is also how most biographers characterize the marriage's disintregration.) Never saw the later movie, was working nights in that period and I'm sure didn't even tape it. There's so much of 2000-2010 television I'm not familiar with at all.

I recorded BOTH and watch them occasionally, both actresses were great. But I sincerely HOPE the next one is either a BIG SCREEN project that is done by a great producer/director and the writing superior to this fluff, or seeing as she was the First Lady of Television, then a miniseries would not be a bad idea, examining absolutely every aspect of her long career. Or better still, a PBS documentary, Forever Lucy was great but much was never looked at in her fascinating life. And of course you are right about Lucie's dismay over the first one, she didn't get a cut and her blessed daddy not recognized as THE greatest star of all time.

[Luvsbway]

Interview was from AV Club, sept 13, 2012.

[leenorman]

Interview was from AV Club, sept 13, 2012.

 

Thank you so much....you ARE the best! Love, JK

[Mot Morenzi]

http://celluloidstage.blogspot.com/2013/07/lucy-desi-conception-and-legacy-of.html

 

Here's my new piece on Before the Laughter.

[vivfantoo*]

Excellent piece, Lotus Bud! Very well written & researched. The casting stories were especially interesting to me; I like learning about behind the scenes tidbits like that. Thanks so much for sharing this -- I enjoyed reading it . (PS --I'm off to look up the word apotheosis ... ) Editing to add: From dictionarydotcom: Apotheosis:

1.

the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.

 

2.

the ideal example; epitome; quintessence: This poem is the apotheosis of lyric expression.

[Mot Morenzi]

Excellent piece, Lotus Bud! Very well written & researched. The casting stories were especially interesting to me; I like learning about behind the scenes tidbits like that. Thanks so much for sharing this -- I enjoyed reading it . (PS --I'm off to look up the word apotheosis ... ) Editing to add: From dictionarydotcom: Apotheosis:

1.

the elevation or exaltation of a person to the rank of a god.

 

2.

the ideal example; epitome; quintessence: This poem is the apotheosis of lyric expression.

 

Thanks so much

[Annaleigh]

Lucy, 2003 should be praised after that Before the Laughter mess. I should watch both of these again real soon. So I can mentally correct everything that isn't a fact.

[Annaleigh]

Let's write our own script on Lucy's life 1960 and on. Then let's get an actual somewhat great cast! Might as well get Suzanne LaRusch, the greatest Lucy impersonator to live!

[C L A U D E]

Let's write our own script on Lucy's life 1960 and on. Then let's get an actual somewhat great cast! Might as well get Suzanne LaRusch, the greatest Lucy impersonator to live!

But the movie screen version has to star Meryl Streep, hey she could play gary even, she's THAT great!

[Luvsbway]

What an amazing piece. Great research and so much detail.

 

I don’t necessarily agree with Thompson’s idea that you had to get unknowns. Many an Oscar level bio-pic has been done with well-known actors and (if done right) it never felt like I was watching the actor. The most recent ones I can recall was Julianne Moore as Sarah Palen as a really good portrayal that I thought was the woman, compared to Lohan as Liz who didn’t even try. I felt I was watching the life of Lohan if she was alive in the 60s/70s’. I think that maybe in this movie’s case it was because it was someone that we had such a day to day beloved connection with as the persona was bigger than the person. We thought we really knew this woman as we grew up watching her. She was on our level, a friend of the family. I’m not surprised they had a large casting call and do think it was right they went with professionals. I wonder though if the call wasn’t just to create buzz for the movie. Very common thing to do even today. It’s nice to know that Fisher had an interest in Lucy long before this movie came along. Not to diminish York for doing the research but it seems like Fisher had the passion.

 

Your information about the involvement of the kids is amazing. I did not know any of this. Oh boy, let the flood gates open on this. First the idea on a movie about her dad only. Yes he has a fascinating story but to just do him alone is not going to bring ratings. Lucy is the draw and always will be but you can not justly do her story without telling it as a couple. I find it fascinating that Lucie was shopping this around when her mom was still alive. I wonder how much Lucy knew about this. Lucie’s quote about what made them tick is clearly what she got from this whole debacle. She stated in an interview that she didn’t know all these home movies of the early days existed until after her mom died. I think it was the catalyst of this movie really pissing her off that set her on the journey to answer her questions. I do believe that she, for the most part, was doing this as something personal but thought why not tell this story correctly on TV, probably after she realized what she had. The recent live QandA posted here really gets into her personal feelings on her doc and that she really didn’t think anyone would want to know this side of her parents because it wasn’t all pretty.

 

Truthful and researched I call BS on. How hard is it to get dates correct of when people were alive, the basics of the ILL creation. This stuff was easily in books and articles in 1990. As for interviewing people who knew them. What? The same people who tell the Lucy was a bitch on set stories that keep getting believed. Tom Gilbert in an interview with Stu said that Lucie opened up a lot of doors to him to interview friends and family for his book and did so with a lot of trust. Lucie even says in the Home Movies that so many of these people were never asked about her parents. There were some really sensationalized things that were done for pure drama. I’ll take drama to a point, but don’t make up things that didn’t happen. I agree with the stereotypes critic from EW. That’s what you get from these sensationalized scenes. I haven’t seen it in a long time but I remember more fighting than love. One would wonder why these 2 people even stayed married. That’s what the Home Movies did, is show the love and why they stayed together.

 

Once again thanks so much for writing this. Makes me almost regret not keeping this one around. It pissed me off so much I didn’t.

 

[Brock]

But the movie screen version has to star Meryl Streep, hey she could play gary even, she's THAT great!

 

Should she play Willie Mae Barker as well?

[C L A U D E]

Should she play Willie Mae Barker as well?

If anybody could, she who played a Rabbi in Angels in America and you didn't even know it wasn't a man until the credits.

[C L A U D E]

 

 

Your information about the involvement of the kids is amazing. I did not know any of this. Oh boy, let the flood gates open on this. First the idea on a movie about her dad only. Yes he has a fascinating story but to just do him alone is not going to bring ratings. Lucy is the draw and always will be but you can not justly do her story without telling it as a couple. I find it fascinating that Lucie was shopping this around when her mom was still alive. I wonder how much Lucy knew about this. Lucie’s quote about what made them tick is clearly what she got from this whole debacle. She stated in an interview that she didn’t know all these home movies of the early days existed until after her mom died. I think it was the catalyst of this movie really pissing her off that set her on the journey to answer her questions. I do believe that she, for the most part, was doing this as something personal but thought why not tell this story correctly on TV, probably after she realized what she had. The recent live QandA posted here really gets into her personal feelings on her doc and that she really didn’t think anyone would want to know this side of her parents because it wasn’t all pretty.

 

Truthful and researched I call BS on. How hard is it to get dates correct of when people were alive, the basics of the ILL creation. This stuff was easily in books and articles in 1990. As for interviewing people who knew them. What? The same people who tell the Lucy was a bitch on set stories that keep getting believed. Tom Gilbert in an interview with Stu said that Lucie opened up a lot of doors to him to interview friends and family for his book and did so with a lot of trust. Lucie even says in the Home Movies that so many of these people were never asked about her parents. There were some really sensationalized things that were done for pure drama. I’ll take drama to a point, but don’t make up things that didn’t happen. I agree with the stereotypes critic from EW. That’s what you get from these sensationalized scenes. I haven’t seen it in a long time but I remember more fighting than love. One would wonder why these 2 people even stayed married. That’s what the Home Movies did, is show the love and why they stayed together.

 

Once again thanks so much for writing this. Makes me almost regret not keeping this one around. It pissed me off so much I didn’t.

That's the problem with the Museum also, Lucie would like it to be only about her dad, the only Saint in that duo. Just kidding now, put away those knives.