Oona Chaplin to Host CBC/BBC Podcast Exploring J. Edgar Hoover’s Obsession with Her Grandfather Charlie Chaplin

Oona Chaplin will be helping explore J. Edgar Hoover

Canada’s CBC and the UK’s BBC are jointly working on a podcast in which the 35-year-old Spanish-British actress and former Game of Thrones star explores Hoover’s campaign to root out Communism in Hollywood and his obsession with her grandfather, silent movie star Charlie Chaplin.

Oona ChaplinThe project, from CBC Podcasts and BBC World Service, is an extension to a collaboration commitment from 2019 in which the two national broadcasters pledged to enhance their services and programs by working together.

Chaplin’s BBC Audio Wales-produced Hollywood Outcasts will see Chaplin, known for roles in Game of Thrones and Taboo, looking at how Hoover’s determination to stop perceived Hollywood Communism centered around The Tramp star Charlie Chaplin and guide listeners through the notorious House Un-American Activities Committee hearings and the ‘Hollywood blacklist.’

Charlie ChaplinThe podcast will be made available on BBC Sounds, CBC Listen and most other podcast platforms. It’s scheduled for release this year and next.

Amazon Studios Releases Extended Trailer for Javier Bardem’s Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Film “Being the Ricardos”

Javier Bardem is embracing his moment of being a Ricardo

Amazon Studios has released the first extended look at the 52-year-old Spanish Oscar-winning actor’s Desi Arnaz and Nicole Kidman’s Lucille Ball in the new trailer for Being the Ricardos.

Javier Bardem, Being the Ricardos

The project is writer-director Aaron Sorkin’s peek behind the scenes of television’s pioneering sitcom I Love Lucy.

In the trailer, Ball and Arnaz are depicted at one of the couple’s many pivotal moments: This time, it’s the House Un-American Activities Committee’s investigation into Ball’s early ties to the Communist Party.

“We’ve been through worse than this,” Bardem’s Arnaz assures his wife. “We have?,” replies Kidman’s Ball in a throaty voice and with the perfect comic timing that would make Lucy a legend.

The trailer also unveils J.K. Simmons as William Frawley and Nina Arianda as Vivian Vance, and features a tense scene on the Lucy set as Ball makes her first appearance following news of the FBI investigation.

In addition to Kidman, Bardem, Simmons and Arianda, Being the Ricardos features Jake Lacy, Tony Hale and Alia Shawkat.

Amazon Studio’s Being the Ricardos opens in theaters on December 10, and premieres on Amazon Prime Video on December 21.