Back in the day, my mother and sister used to subject me to countless hours of Women’s Figure Skating, whenever the Winter Olympics would roll around. I used to writhe on the floor in agony, doing my best to block out the symphonic music and droll of the commentators. In time, I came to appreciate the absurd amount of skill that comes with gracefully gliding, spinning, and dancing along the ice. However, I still hold a grudge due to the fact that my family recorded a portion of the skaing by taping over my Headbanger’s Ball marathon, that one time. For real, it was the one where they premiered Tool’s “Stinkfist” video! Do you have any idea how long it was until I was able to catch that again? The damn tape clearly said “Do Not Tape Over” on the sticker, man!
Anyway, we’ve got a little bit of casting news for you, as it’s been announced that Caitlin Carver will take on the role of Nancy Kerrigan in Craig Gillespie’s figure skating drama I, TONYA. Carver will play opposite Margot Robbie, who was recently confirmed to hit the ice as the famous athlete, Tonya Harding. The film will of course tell the unfortunate story of Kerrigan and Harding’s bitter rivalry, and the assault that nearly cost Kerrigan her participation in the competition that year. For those of you too young to remember, Harding attacked Kerrigan with a club to the knee, during the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in Detroit. As an attack meant to take her out of the running entirely, Harding only sustained a bit of bruising and was still able to participate in the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics.
In addition to joining Margot Robbie on the rink, the film also stars Sebastian Stan, Allison Janney, Julianne Nicholson, and Paul Walter Hauser. Furthermore, McKenna Grace has also been cast as a young Tonya Harding with Bojana Novakovic stepping into the role of Harding's second coach, Doddie Teachman. Miramax will distribute the film which is set to follow a script written by Steven Rogers. Clubhouse Pictures’ Bryan Unkeless, LuckyChap’s Robbie and Tom Ackerley.
Man, it’s good thing I’m moving to Canada in March or else I might have to take my Mom and my sister to see this one, just for old times’ sake. I kid, I kid! Who knows, this could turn out to be quite the film. I’m actually surprised it’s taken Hollywood this long to pull this story out of the closet, dust it off, and put it up on the big screen. Regardless of my feelings toward being subjected to countless hours of figure skating, Margot Robbie, Sebastian Stan, and Caitlin Carver certainly are a nice draw.
I, TONYA is expected to elegantly skate its way into theaters some time in 2018.