Potential new figure skating movie

lyndichee · Nov 17, 2016

psusanne said:
Why is everyone so negative about this? Sure, I myself like figure skating documentaries better than figure skating movies, but I have nothing against a good thriller set in the World of FS. And it doesn't have to be overly realistic, thrillers rarely are.
Such a movie could make FS more popular and I guess that's something we all want. And more popular would mean more potential movies/documentaries.

I think people are being so negative because it is so farfetched and sounds ridiculous. This wouldn't make the sport itself more popular, in fact adding some made up plot about espionage and murder takes away from figure skating. The sport would be more of a background piece rather than something central to the storyline.

Thinking about fallout from the Cold War and conspiracy theories, why couldn't he just leverage off something like Katarina Witt? She had such an amazing career that was plagued by East/West German relations, with a lot of coaxing from the government to not defect and the "Battle of the Carmens". She even acted and posed for Playboy. I think that would be way more interesting than this sort of fiction.

solani · Nov 17, 2016

lyndichee said:
I think people are being so negative because it is so farfetched and sounds ridiculous. This wouldn't make the sport itself more popular, in fact adding some made up plot about espionage and murder takes away from figure skating. The sport would be more of a background piece rather than something central to the storyline.

Thinking about fallout from the Cold War and conspiracy theories, why couldn't he just leverage off something like Katarina Witt? She had such an amazing career that was plagued by East/West German relations, with a lot of coaxing from the government to not defect and the "Battle of the Carmens". She even acted and posed for Playboy. I think that would be way more interesting than this sort of fiction.

I think most of the figure skating fans (like myself) want to see good documentaries. I don't want to see a mediocre figure skater / actor playing the role of Katarina Witt, I want to see her skate. If there's unreleased video material that can be used in the documentary - all the better!
In a fictional movie FS as a background piece is not bad because how many people would be willing to watch a FS movie only in the cinema? FS fans would watch it, but casual viewers would be more reluctant. Movie makers don't want to take any risks.
Regarding Witt - I want to watch the ESPN documentary "The Diplomat" for quite a while. I cannot buy it in Europe, cannot watch it online. I'm really pissed when I think about it, I really want to see it.

andromache · Nov 17, 2016

MaiKatze said:
My ideal: J-Drama with Miyu Honda as an aspiring figure skater making it big in the world. She wouldn't need a double and could do the skating as well as the acting. Might still be a bit early but at an older age I can see it happening. And Japan loves their sports drama.

This post reminds me that there is a k-drama out there called "Triple" about figure skating. Its realism wasn't terrible, IIRC, but I never finished it because I didn't find the plot/characters compelling. Others might enjoy it though.

VIETgrlTerifa · Nov 17, 2016

Mango said:
It would be hard to focus on just the lead up and not the final outcome. And I think you are overestimating the interest people would have in such a story if it was indeed a mini series. If the story ended with the 2002 Olympics then there would only be a mention of the 2003 season as the story wraps up - meaning the focus on the 2003 Worlds would be very little. In fact, more importance would be given to the introduction of IJS, how this event marked a turning point in the history of the ISU.

The book was a real personal look at all three pairs team and focuses on how the judges mark and what the second mark actually means and all the different but valid opinions. It ended on S/Z at 2003 Worlds which provided a nice and satisfying ending for one of the teams that book devoted so much time to. You may like it or you may not. I'm not actually pitching the show to a network or Netflix or Hulu or anything, so there's no need for me to estimate or overestimate the interest people would have, just sharing what I would think would be a great story that actually goes in-depth into culture, character, history, and figure skating and treating the sport with real respect and will give new audiences an education about the sport itself. I mean if you want to go into estimating what interest people may have or not have in the project, then, to me, anyway, it's a lot more interesting than a run-of-a-mill biopic that isn't that interesting and that would never air or premiere in the U.S. and if it somehow did, it would air only air on Lifetime with their shoddy production and writing teams.

lyndichee · Nov 17, 2016

psusanne said:
I think most of the figure skating fans (like myself) want to see good documentaries. I don't want to see a mediocre figure skater / actor playing the role of Katarina Witt, I want to see her skate. If there's unreleased video material that can be used in the documentary - all the better!
In a fictional movie FS as a background piece is not bad because how many people would be willing to watch a FS movie only in the cinema? FS fans would watch it, but casual viewers would be more reluctant. Movie makers don't want to take any risks.
Regarding Witt - I want to watch the ESPN documentary "The Diplomat" for quite a while. I cannot buy it in Europe, cannot watch it online. I'm really pissed when I think about it, I really want to see it.

I think we all want to see good documentaries as well but I am saying that this would be a much more realistic storyline to leverage off of as opposed to an unknown figure skater who gets picked up by some mysterious sponsor. That is not how it works in figure skating at all and that premise to launch a movie seems very manufactured and needlessly dramatic.

I think figure skating would be completely on the background rather than foreground if he is going with this storyline. Margot Robbie is doing the Tonya Harding movie and while the rivalry would take precedent over the skating, the story would spin off from the sport and how competitive it is. Murder and the Cold War aren't really central around figure skating so that is the difference that I see.

I should watch that documentary as well. If I find something I'll send it your way

VIETgrlTerifa · Nov 17, 2016

I remember when Lifetime or whatever network kept airing that NBC made-for-tv movie about Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan from the 1990s. I was really impressed with the attention to accuracy and detail and how many skating facts they put into that story (name dropping Midori Ito as the first woman to land the Triple Axel and how Tonya was trying to be the second; name dropping Yuka Sato, Lu Chen, and Surya Bonaly when Jeff was yelling and beating Tonya for placing 4th at NHK Trophy before 1994 Nationals; costume representation; showing that there were previous world championships; etc.) because my standards for figure skating related movies are so low.

solani · Nov 17, 2016

lyndichee said:
I should watch that documentary as well. If I find something I'll send it your way

That would be great. I hope that you're going to have more luck than I did. The thing is - FS documentaries don't seem to be all that popular ... it's sad.

Plisskin · Nov 17, 2016

I'd love it instead if a cable network like HBO, Starz, AMC, etc made a drama about figure skating. Kinda like Yuri on Ice but more realistic. Besides the competitive nature of figure skating, skaters have lives and all sorts of drama, romance and interesting things internally and externally that goes on behind the scenes. There's so many skaters lives and their careers, past and present, that they could take inspiration from that would make for a good show.

KatGrace1925 · Nov 17, 2016

karne said:
Even then I would doubt it. They'd probably throw in some stupid made-up thing because they couldn't help themselves.

Granted, Max as a secret spy would be pretty cool. :agree:

There's just so much drama invovled in skating already, a good filmamker wouldn't need to add anything crazy...

KatGrace1925 · Nov 17, 2016

andromache said:
There needs to be a teen drama tv show based on Eteri's group. I would pay money for a teen drama showing the highs and lows of being a teenage superstar surrounded by future teenage superstars, complete with snark, rivalries/friendships, despair and heartbreak, and various romantic subplots with various available teenage boys. They can even throw in an obligatory cliche eating disorder subplot. Have you guys watched Make it or Break It about gymnastics? I want that but with figure skating. Lots of genuine respect for the sport and serious sports-related struggled coupled with regular human stuff.

Or a movie chronicling the rivalry of Yagudin versus Plushenko, though I don't think there's a natural climax where the movie would then end, since Plushenko's career went on for years after Alexei's retirement.

Underdog stories make the best sports films. Shen and Zhao's rise to greatness? Or Mao Asada's career up through the 2014 Olympics - child prodigy, through rivalry, through various struggles, through that nightmare SP, ending with a triumphant though medal-less and and bittersweet LP. Oooooooh Rudy Galindo would make a great underdog story.

As I was reading your description I was thinking like Make it or Break it for skating. Someone would have to suffer a "career ending" injury and come back and reinvent themselves as well.

KatGrace1925 · Nov 17, 2016

Mango said:
But I don't think people would be happy with that ending. You pick sides in a situation like that, so having two winners is not satisfactory to fans of either side. There's people who, to this day, don't accept Jamie and David's gold medal.

I second the request for a Mao biopic, but would ask that it ends with her triumph at 2014 Worlds. Setting the SP world record and winning in front of a home crowd...that's the stuff of sports movies.

I third that request. Her olympic performance was not what I expected but the worlds was incredible! That would be such a good movie and her life has plenty of drama to it so nothing needs to be manufactured.

reneerose · Nov 18, 2016

I would appreciate a realisticallly based skating movie that isn't overly soapy, a Mao or Javi biopic would be great! Since we've already had the maudlin, soapy, and romantic comedy done already: Ice Castles and The Cutting Edge come to mind! :laugh:

karne · Nov 18, 2016

psusanne said:
Why is everyone so negative about this? Sure, I myself like figure skating documentaries better than figure skating movies, but I have nothing against a good thriller set in the World of FS. And it doesn't have to be overly realistic, thrillers rarely are.
Such a movie could make FS more popular and I guess that's something we all want. And more popular would mean more potential movies/documentaries.

For me, it's the hypocrisy of the maker. He complains that all the movies out there currently are disrespectful...so what does he do? Puts figure skating as a backdrop to some stupid thriller plot. Can't have it both ways.

Plus, for me, this sport has enough. It doesn't need the ridiculous embellishments Hollywood gives it.

solani · Nov 18, 2016

karne said:
For me, it's the hypocrisy of the maker. He complains that all the movies out there currently are disrespectful...so what does he do? Puts figure skating as a backdrop to some stupid thriller plot. Can't have it both ways.

Plus, for me, this sport has enough. It doesn't need the ridiculous embellishments Hollywood gives it.

He has a figure skating background, so that should be in his favour.
I have a rule when it comes to movies - I don't judge them before I've actually seen them.

I might not watch a movie if the critics are really negative about it, but that's another story. But I would definitely watch this movie.

rvi5 · Nov 20, 2016

The most realistic skating scenes in a dramatic/comedy movie I have seen so far is "Ice Girls". The co-director/co-producer/actress in the movie, had been involved in figure skating in her youth. Some of the main characters were/are actual figure skaters. However like all drama based movies, it is more about people and relationships than about sport. If you want a movie focused on sports, it will likely need to be a documentary.

There is a new Christmas movie out called "A snow capped Christmas"...

"An injured figure skater is sent to the mountains to recover from an injury. Once there, she meets an ex-hockey player and his young daughter and begins to realise that something is missing from her life." ...

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5574012/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Like all drama/romance based movies, it is about people and relationships, not the sport. This movie reverts to the old production methods ... a small amount of poor quality figure skating scenes. Competition with lights out, spot lights, little decorative lights on the ice against the perimiter of the boards, and a smoke/mist machine generating a fog over the ice. The skater character wins the gold medal with a 'perfect triple axel' according to the competition announcer. However, in reality the stunt double actually performed a single axel from a backward approach. :shrug:

Oh well, at least it has a figure skating backdrop theme. It helps to keep figure skating in the public eye in some small way. Better than nothing at all.

Barb · Nov 20, 2016

I wonder why they don´t sing on a good figure skater. I love the original ice castles, and I was disappointed about the remake and the new actress. Why not Sasha Cohen? she wanted to be actress, or Tara Lipinski, Alissa C., or Yuna to some movie at Korea? maybe they don´t want? The actress was terrible at acting and not specially pretty, I don´t understand why they chose her.

It would be great to have a movie with real and good figure skaters, imagine Meryl :love:

., I remember Elena R. wanted to be actress too. They can´t to act worse than all the ridiculous ¨ actors¨ and ¨ actresses¨ of all the movies that I remember.

noidont · Nov 20, 2016

This movie would be lucky to make it to the director's own youtube page.

NanaPat · Nov 20, 2016

rvi5 said:
The most realistic skating scenes in a dramatic/comedy movie I have seen so far is "Ice Girls". The co-director/co-producer/actress in the movie, had been involved in figure skating in her youth. Some of the main characters were/are actual figure skaters. However like all drama based movies, it is more about people and relationships than about sport. If you want a movie focused on sports, it will likely need to be a documentary.

Ice girls featured Elvis Stojko in a major acting role, and he was actually pretty good by made-for-TV movie standards. And Natasha Henstridge does a perfect over-the-top evil skating mother. The main plot(s): the skating rivalry and mother's romance, were OK if a bit cliched. But I could have done without the teen-romance subplot, which added absolutely nothing to the movie.

ice coverage · Nov 24, 2016

If anyone cares ... another U.S. feature film (titled simply "Ice") will be shooting in Dec in Colorado::

Figure skating movie to be filmed in Grand County

... “Ice” is about two figure skaters that are best friends and rivals, and ultimately choose their friendship over their Olympic figure skating dreams. Bullock said the plot is based on her own personal experiences from figure skating and represents personalities that she has experienced in her 20 years as a figure skater....
http://www.skyhidailynews.com/news/entertainment/figure-skating-movie-to-be-filmed-in-grand-county/ (Nov 9)

As described on Kristi's foundation's Facebook page:

... [filmmaker] Maddison [Bullock] is donating her time and resources to make an independent skating film that helps skaters everywhere remember that although skating may largely be an individual sport, they are never alone. ...
https://twitter.com/IceTheMovie/status/797304350657814528
https://www.facebook.com/AlwaysDrea...146506.165728668617/10154661983883618/?type=3 (Nov 11)

[BTW, Elise Freezer, juvenile lady who just won Pacific Coast Sectionals, will be a featured skater in the movie.
(Her family sponsored the first year of the Aerial Figure Skating Challenge.)

https://twitter.com/IceTheMovie/status/799395532024082432 (Nov 17)]

Jennifer Lyon · Nov 26, 2016

If any filmmakers out there want to buy the rights to my figure skating novel, Red Flags, I'd be happy to discuss the matter.

Potential new figure skating movie

lyndichee

solani

andromache

VIETgrlTerifa

lyndichee

VIETgrlTerifa

solani

Plisskin

KatGrace1925

KatGrace1925

KatGrace1925

reneerose

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode

solani

rvi5

Barb

noidont

NanaPat

ice coverage

avatar credit: @miyan5605

Jennifer Lyon

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