mapped out in the script, according to Baumgarten. “But I can sometimes find ways to tighten things up even further without losing anything important. Aaron is very specific as to how he wants things to happen, and I can sometimes accelerate them through the editing.” TIMING IS EVERYTHING The editor says he is especially pleased with his role in creating one small touch in the film. “I love the transitional title cards that indicate what day of the week it is. I found some wide shots of the set with nobody on the stage at different moments, turned those into black and white and put the titles over those. It tied thematically into the fact that, for Lucy, that set and that stage were really her home, the patch of ground where she felt most comfortable.” Editor Alan Baumgarten on Finding the Rhythm of Being the Ricardos
According to Alan Baumgarten, working on one of writer and director Aaron Sorkin’s whip-smart, vibrant scripts is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a satisfying and challenging opportunity to dig in and help shape a great story. And he’s done it three times! While they were finishing up 2020 ’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 , Sorkin offered Baumgarten the job of editing Being the Ricardos . His response, even without reading the script, was an immediate and enthusiastic “Yes!” “All I really knew was that it was going to be a drama about the lives of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz,” he recalls. Having also edited Sorkin’s Molly’s Game , Baumgarten believes he has a sense of what the director is looking for in any scene. “I know what he likes in terms of performance, timing and pacing, which are the most important things for an editor to get right in a film,” he explains. “Aaron’s work typically features fast-paced dialogue and dynamic rhythms, so we also have to find moments to let the film breathe. There’s always a lot going on.” The overlapping conversations and “walk-and-talk” scenes that are one of Sorkin’s trademarks are largely
ED I TOR ALAN BAUMGARTEN worked with Sorkin to find moments to slow down and bring out the emotion of certain scenes.
GIVE GARMENTS THE ROYALE TREATMENT!
Running short on ideas? Want that funny feeling you get when you smell a fresh load of fluffy laundry just begging to be folded? Just pour on the gorgeous brilliance of Royale Rinse’s magical cleansing power , turn on two “I Love Lucy” episodes and get ready to fold your clean clothes with a huge smile on your face. That’s right, LucilleBall comes upwithher best gags, goofs, and spoofs when she’s folding a fresh load laundered by Royale Rinse. Isn’t that just the funniest thing?
TALK I NG THE TALK . Sorkin’s signature fast-paced and overlapping dialogue is accentuated through editing.
L e Laundry Like Lucy!
GETT I NG THE PAC I NG of a “brilliant, funny show that was in many ways ahead of its time” was the most important thing to capture, says Baumgarten.
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