Lucie Arnaz Returns to the Lot Her Parents Built—This Time to Help a Fan Finish His Film
Lucie Arnaz Returns to the Lot Her Parents Built—This Time to Help a Fan Finish His Film originally appeared on L.A. Mag.
Raji Ahsan proves it's always great to meet your heroes. Perhaps your childhood obsession was Barbie or board games, but for young Ahsan growing up in Orange County in the 90s, it was Desilu Studios, the long-gone TV production company founded by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The filmmaker is partnering with Lucy and Desi's daughter Lucie Arnaz for 'Lucie on the Lot' a fundraising event to complete his new film Dr. Sam at the old family studio on June 5.
After completing their iconic series, I Love Lucy, Desilu produced shows like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible and Mannix from the old RKO Studios (now Paramount) at the corner of Melrose and Gower in Hollywood. Lucy sold her shares in the company to Paramount decades before Raji was born.
'I'm a Desilu nut,' Ahsan says. 'Right after 9/11 they stopped giving studio tours. When I was 12 I had a school assignment to write a persuasive essay and my teacher said you should mail it to the studio so I did…and I put in my tiny little headshot.' Two weeks later he dialed up the studio and a friendly page told him he was moved by the letter and offered a private tour. 'My mom lived in a shelter and she cleaned houses to keep us fed,' Ahsan remembers. 'When she was home, we'd watch I Love Lucy. It was my comfort.'
Ahsan grew up to become an actor and a waiter – the classic Hollywood combo. Through mutual friends, he met Emmy-winning actress Lucie Arnaz and a friendship was born. 'He had a podcast and asked me to be a guest,' says Arnaz. 'He's really smart and funny and full of ideas. I instinctively took him under my wing and wanted to help him. He's a powerhouse. You've gotta be like that to get anything done in this world.'
Ahsan wrote the short film Dr. Sam about a struggling actor, musician and waiter who masquerades as a therapist and offered a part to his hero Arnaz. 'He said he'd like me to play his mom,' she says. 'I so do not look Egyptian, so in the movie he's adopted.'
Lucie and her brother Desi Jr. spent part of their childhood exploring the historic Hollywood lot that today is part of Paramount. 'We would be let loose in some wonderful big empty stages,' Armaz remembers. 'It was so fun to go through the prop room at RKO and play with a life size King Kong and all the wonderful costumes and amazing props from all the films they had done. It was a kid's paradise.'
Today, Arnaz lives in Palm Springs, where she writes and produces new shows and oversees the merchandise end of the family business with her daughter. Her brother Desi is retired, and jokingly calls himself a 'self-imposed recluse.' Arnaz will be performing standards live in concert at the Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on June 27-28 and opening the new season of the Purple Room in Palm Springs August 29 and 30.
The 'Lucie on the Lot' event on June 5 will screen Arnaz's award-winning film Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie on the big screen at the Paramount Theater. There will be a celebration of the 75th anniversary of Desilu, photo ops in front of the famous Bronson gate you remember from Sunset Boulevard and a chance to chat up the filmmakers. Proceeds will be split between finishing up Ahsan's film and the Long Beach shelter his mom landed in when the family immigrated to L.A.
'I wanted to live on the lot,' Ahsan says. 'The fact that Lucie is coming to this place I wrote a letter to when I was 12 is full circle.'
This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on May 30, 2025, where it first appeared.
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Yahoo
38 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘Lilo & Stitch' Kicks Up $63M Second Weekend, ‘Mission Impossible 8' $27M+, ‘Karate Kid: Legends' At $21M
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Chart is updating with Sunday figures indicated with bold titles and including Saturday and Sunday number. & Stitch (Dis) 4,410 theaters, Fri $17M (-70%) 3-day $60M-$64M (-56% to -59%), Total $277M-$281M/Wk 2 2. Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning (Par) 3,861 (+4) Fri $7.5M (-70%), 3-day $26.7M (-58%), Total $122M/Wk 2 3. Karate Kid: Legends (Sony) 3,809 theaters, Fri $7.5M, 3-day $21M-$23M/Wk 1 4. Final Destination: Bloodlines (NL) 3,134 (-389) Fri $3.1M (-43%), 3-day $11M (-43%), Total $111.9M/Wk 3 5. (A24) 2,449 theaters, Fri $3.1M Sat $2.2M Sun $1.67M 3-day $7.08M/Wk 1 6.) Sinners (WB) 2,138 (-494) theaters Fri $1.55M (-35%) 3-day $5.1M (-40%), Total $267M/Wk 7 7.) Thunderbolts (Dis) 2,520 (-660) theaters Fri $1.3M (-48%) 3-day $4.7M (-51%), Total $181.7M/Wk 5 8.) Friendship (A24) 1,293 (+238) theaters, Fri $780K (-56%), 3-day $2.5M (-44%), Total $12.3M/Wk 4 9.) (Angel) 1995 (-210) theaters, Fri $642K Sat $876,5K Sun $620K 3-day $2.14M (-60%), Total $10.75M/Wk 2 10.) 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Movie is 77% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. No audience score yet. Asteroid City, Focus Features' previous Cannes Film Festival premiere and theatrical release with Wes Anderson, had a RT critic score of 76% certified fresh and audience score of 66%. SATURDAY AM: It's a solid weekend following the Memorial Day holiday with all titles driving around $144M worth of business, +117% from the post-holiday doldrums a year ago. Let's rejoice and take it. No, it's not the biggest for the post 4-day holiday during post pandemic times — that belongs to 2023 when Sony's all-pleasing fanboy animated movie, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse led all titles to a $205M+ marketplace. However, out of 22 weekends in 2025, only ten of 'em have grossed north of $100M-plus. Let's be pleased. I'm sure those novelty popcorn buckets at the circuits are still flying off counters. Disney's Lilo & Stitch is still on track for a $60M-$64M second weekend, Paramount's Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning is showing that Imax makes a difference in weekend 2 with a -58% hold and $26.7M, and Sony's …the studio is forecasting $21M-$23M opening off a $7.5M Friday. Rivals see it lower in the high teens, however, as we said yesterday, it boils down to Saturday business and whether that tips more families into both Karate Kid, and Lilo & Stitch toward the higher end of its range. There is a bit of overlap between the two films demo wise, even though Lilo skews more female at 62% and Karate Kid: Legends more male at 59%. Their men under 25 demos are close (Legends is 22% to Lilo's 18%) and their women over 25 as well (Legends is 30% and Lilo 34%). Yes, of course, substantially more moms are taking kids to see Lilo. Net production cost on Karate Kid: Legends was $45M before P&A. It will be interesting to see how big overseas is. 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Most influential forms of advertisement for Bring Her Back was social media at 21% per those polled by PostTrak which isn't surprising as it's an A24 movie, and that's where they focus most of their P&A spend. Those polled also said buzz from friends/family was influential (15%) as well as the in-theater trailer (14%). Social media universe across TikTok, Instagram, etc. was 50M per RelishMix, which is ahead of Hereditary (44M) before opening and just under NEON's Cuckoo (53M, $3M opening). Positive word of mouth that RelishMix spotted included fans of the Philippou's Talk to Me, as well as excitement over their trailer, some horror fans remarking that the movie looks like a throwback to 1989's Pet Sematary. RELATED: A24 financed the movie for around $20M I hear, with foreign rights sold going to Sony for around $13M, I understand. Also, as expected, Focus Features' Wes Anderson movie, The Phoenician Scheme, is heading toward the best theater average of 2025 year to date with $95K from six NYC and LA theaters. Not as high as the director's Asteroid City two years ago ($142,2K), but robust enough for the specialty sector post pandemic which is desperate for dollars. 3-day looks like $570K in 12th place. The Angelika in NY led all theaters with $78K yesterday where they had a premium $62 ticket that included an 'Immersive Experience' and popcorn. AMC Lincoln Square did $63K, LA's AMC Century City posted $38K, AMC The Grove a similar take, AMC Burbank $31.3K and Alamo Brooklyn was around $23K. Muy bien. RELATED: Saturday numbers: & Stitch (Dis) 4,410 theaters, Fri $17M (-70%) 3-day $60M-$64M (-56% to -59%), Total $277M-$281M/Wk 2 2. Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning (Par) 3,861 (+4) Fri $7.5M (-70%), 3-day $26.7M (-58%), Total $122M/Wk 2 3. 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That hold is similar to that of the second weekend of Little Mermaid, which was also a Memorial Day theatrical release. Today looks like $17M for Lilo's second Friday, -70%. Running total for the Dean Fleischer Camp directed movie by Sunday is $277M. However, Sony's is looking lighter than forecasts with a $20M opening after a $7M-$8M Friday that includes previews in 3,809 theaters. That would put the Ralph Macchio and Jackie Chan team-up in third place behind Paramount's second weekend of Mission: Impossible – Final Reckoning, with a $7.7M second Friday and $27.3M second weekend, -57% at 3,861. That's better than Dead Reckoning's second weekend decline of -65% sans Imax screens. Running total for the Christopher McQuarrie directed, Tom Cruise title by Sunday looks like $122.6M. The anticipation is that Saturday will work in both Lilo and Karate Kid: Legends' favor. 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2 hours ago
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2 hours ago
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'I mean, if you think about it, 'is Harry dead?'' writer and executive producer Jez Butterworth exclusively told The Post. 'No. We're not gonna – We love Harry. We love Tom.' 12 Emily Barber as Alice, Joanne Froggatt as Jan Da Souza and Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ Butterworth, who also co-wrote the 2014 Tom Cruise movie 'Edge of Tomorrow,' added, 'I felt strongly that throughout the whole tale, the ball that he kept dropping was his home life,' referring how Harry and his wife were having friction, due to her unhappiness with his job. 'It felt satisfyingly dramatic that having walked through fire for 10 episodes, what happens at the end is the one thing he's not expecting.' The show follows the Harrigans, a London crime family led by patriarch Conrad (Brosnan). His wife Mave (Mirren) frequently schemes behind his back. She hates his illegitimate daughter, Seraphina (Mandeep Dhillon), and fawns over his sociopathic grandson, Eddie (Anson Boon). Over the course of the season, one of their sons, Brendan (Daniel Betts), got brutally killed by an enemy, while their other son, Kevin (Paddy Considine), came into his own. 12 Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza and Pierce Brosnan as Conrad Harrigan in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ 12 Keith Cox, President, Development and Production, Paramount Network & TV Land, David Glasser, Dame Helen Mirren, Guy Ritchie, Tom Hardy, Pierce Brosnan and Chris McCarthy, President and CEO, MTV Entertainment Group attend the Global Premiere of 'MobLand' at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on March 27, 2025 in London, England. Getty Images for Paramount Plus Harry is their fixer who cleans up their messes, at the expense of his home life. Since Harry and Jan have been married for over a decade, one might think she'd be used to his line of work. 'I think in all relationships, the things that we like at first gradually drive you crazy…[Harry] is too freewheelling,' Butterworth, a Tony-winning playwright who also co-wrote the 2015 James Bond film 'Spectre,' explained. 'I think what you're seeing here [between Harry and Jan] is just the attritional cost of dealing with this level of unpredictability, anxiety and stress.' 12 Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza, Mandeep Dhillon as Seraphina Harrigan and Pierce Brosnan as Conrad Harrigan in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ 12 Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan and Anson Boon as Eddie Harriganin 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ Paramount has not announced a Season 2 yet. But if Season 2 happens, Butterworth hopes that the 'chaotic' dynamic of the family will continue. 'They resemble most families, which is to say, they're chaos. I can't be working out in my family who's the craziest! That's going to continue.' 12 Paddy Considine as Kevin Harrigan in 'MobLand.' Jason Bell/Paramount+ 12 Helen Mirren as Maeve Harrigan in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ He added that if the show continues, it will also keep its focus on the 'beating heart,' of the story, which is the 'Jeeves and Wooster relationship that Harry has with this family,' he said, referring to the '90s British sitcom about a wealthy man and his valet who gets him out of mishaps. Conrad hasn't exactly run a tight ship. His family is full of double crossing, impulsive actions, and scheming. 'I liked the idea of coming in at a point where perhaps their great days are behind them, and for that to be the test that Conrad is presented with, and that he has to meet the challenge of,' said Butterworth, who also wrote the screenplay for the Matt Damon and Christian Bale sports drama 'Ford v Ferrari.' 12 Paddy Considine as Kevin Harrigan and Tom Hardy as Harry Da Souza in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ 'We've been watching somebody who is perhaps questioning if they are at the end of their reign. Are they going to be able to rise to that and overcome that? I think that's a fascinating narrative.' The Season 1 finale also killed off the Harrigan's adversary, Ritchie (Geoff Bell). At times, he was sympathetic. 'I loved the fact — and a lot of it's down to the actor — that he has a melancholy quality that really makes you feel sorry for somebody who is a monster,' said Butterworth. 12 Geoff Bell as Richie Stevenson in 'MobLand.' Luke Varley/Paramount+ '[Ritchie] was not a monster. He had a monster in him. Whereas, I think Conrad is a monster with a human being [in him] that's trying to be heard. It's a slightly different balance.' 'It was a sad day when I felt that Richie's time had run out,' he continued. 'But I also wanted to squeeze all of the juice out of that particular storyline, and leave us in a position where we could vault from it and move on.' As for the future of 'MobLand' if renewed, he told The Post: 'I'd like this to run for as long as it fascinates and delights and stimulates an audience. If it's doing that, then long may it continue.'
