Amy Poehler will focus on fellow female comedy legend in her first documentary feature. According to Deadline, the “Parks and Rec” and “SNL” alumna will direct a documentary about Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, and their “the remarkable personal and professional partnership” for Imagine Documentaries and White Horse Pictures. The project, working titled “Lucy & Desi,” will be “the biggest documentary to be fully financed by Imagine Documentaries.”
The doc “will tell the story of the groundbreaking comedian who changed the landscape, and possibilities for what funny, ambitious women might achieve in Hollywood,” the source teases.
Poehler is also producing the project via her company, Paper Kite. “Lucy & Desi” is being made with the full support of Ball and Arnaz’s estate and family. Research for the doc is in progress, and the estate has provided archival film stills and writings outlining “Lucy’s trailblazing journey as performer and a smart businesswoman.”
“I am so excited to work with Imagine Docs to help present the incredible life and work of the brave and hilarious Lucille Ball, and her husband Desi,” Poehler said.
Financial and emotional strain plagued Ball’s upbringing, but that didn’t stop her from pursuing her dream of working in show biz. She and Arnaz met on the set of the musical “Too Many Girls” and the couple formed Desilu Productions in 1950. The following year, they used their own money to produce and film the pilot for “I Love Lucy,” the iconic CBS sitcom in which they both starred. Desilu developed other Ball vehicles including “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” and “The Lucy Show,” and renowned series “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” and “That Girl.” Ball used her and Desilu’s power to support Gene Roddenberry’s vision for “Star Trek,” which Deadline credits as “the only reason [the show] got on the air and stayed there.”
At its peak, two-thirds of America tuned in to “I Love Lucy” on Monday nights. “The show was not only known for its broadened view of what comedy could be, but also for tackling subjects many deemed too risqué for broadcast – the most prominent being the marriage of a multi-ethnic couple, and Ball’s real life pregnancy,” the source details. When Ball was expecting her second child, the pregnancy was written into the show, and Lucy became TV’s first pregnant character — but, famously, the word “pregnant” itself was were never uttered. The episode in which Lucy gave birth netted 44 million viewers, “15 million more than President Eisenhower’s inaugural speech from earlier in the day.”
“As television’s long-reigning ‘First Family’, Lucy and Desi blazed a revolutionary trail through the cultural landscape that laid the groundwork for so much of the entertainment industry as we now know it. They created so many television firsts – not only in their portrayal of a multi-ethnic marriage or Lucy’s on-air pregnancy but as the first woman to head a studio and the creators of television syndication,” said Justin Wilkes, president of Imagine Documentaries. “It’s such an incredibly rich, inspiring, and entertaining story and we’re honored to bring it to the screen.”
Cate Blanchett is attached to portray Ball in “Lucy and Desi,” a biopic which is currently in pre-production.
Poehler won an Emmy for hosting “Saturday Night Live,” and has received 21 other nominations for writing, producing, and acting in projects including “SNL,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Russian Doll,” and “Making It.” She received a Golden Globe for her lead performance in “Parks and Rec.”
Last year’s “Wine Country” marked Poehler’s feature directorial debut. She has also helmed episodes of “Parks and Rec” and “Broad City” as well as “Moxie,” an upcoming Netflix film about a teen girl who starts a feminist revolution at her high school. “Duncanville,” “Three Busy Debras,” and an untitled collaboration with Tracy Oliver are among Poehler’s other writing and producing gigs. She reunited with the “Parks and Rec” gang for a social distancing special this spring.
