Harding Biopic In the Works
- Thread starter Icey
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- Jul 9, 2014
You know, before Tonya turned into a psycho, I had a ton of respect for her. When I saw her live in Oakland 1991, She was fast as lightening, with BIG jumps and a cool attitude. That being said, I don't get the point of rehashing this story. They have already made a Movie, a Play, and even a face to face interview between Tonya and Nancy. There isn't a person in the skating community that doesn't know about Tonya. From her trailer park beginnings, her hard working trucker Father and, her overbearing Mother.
She skated in a Mall and ruined her life by Marrying the worst man available in Portland Oregon. How he was able to convince Tonya that her only chance of winning would be to get rid of Nancy, I'll never know. However, what's done is done and I wouldn't pay a dime to see this film.
She skated in a Mall and ruined her life by Marrying the worst man available in Portland Oregon. How he was able to convince Tonya that her only chance of winning would be to get rid of Nancy, I'll never know. However, what's done is done and I wouldn't pay a dime to see this film.
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- May 20, 2015
You forgot about the epic stuff Tonya said throughout her interview in the 30 for 30 that ESPN did a couple of years ago. It was obvious that even 20 years later, Tonya (who has to be in her mid-forties by now) still doesn't get basic stuff about why things happened the way that they did.
Let's assume that Tonya is telling the truth and she didn't know anything about the Kerrigan attack beforehand. She was still 100000000000000% responsible for having Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckhardt in her life. And if she hadn't chosen to have these people in her life, Nancy wouldn't have gotten attacked. It was obvious in the 30 for 30 that Tonya still didn't get this.
What on earth was the deal with her going back to Diane Rawlinson? Was that after 1991 Nationals/Worlds? Wasn't Dody Teachman really good for her? Has Rawlinson ever even coached a skater at Senior Nationals after 1994?
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- Oct 23, 2011
If you see how Tonya wrote it was clear she was badly educated and not bright. She was a good skater who could have been great had she stopped smoking and trained. There is nothing new to learn. Unless there is a lot of skating in this movie there's no reason to watch it. If Tonya really did not know beforehand it is a really tragic story. But she survived and it did seem she felt anger towards so many people. Dissing Nancy on her silver medal disappointment was very telling.
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No matter who was coaching Tonya, it will always surprise me that none of them were able to get Tonya to believe in herself. She had beaten Nancy before and after the way Nancy skated at Worlds in 1993, I can't believe any skater, especially Tonya, would have been worried about beating Nancy with her history of letting nerves get the best of her.
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- Jun 11, 2012
I, for one, am pretty over Tanya. Not interested in the re-hashing of her life story and have absolutely NO interest in a movie or a tv show about it. It was a long time ago and she obviously didn't learn from her mistakes. I think she was a great talent with no discipline or sense of self-worth and apparently the people that tried to help her were unsuccessful. I've never believed her total innocense in the whole Kerrigan attack. There are a million stories out there that could be interesting - IMO this isn't one of them.:disagree:
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- Jul 9, 2014
Exactly! In fact, I think I'd rather see a biopic about Nicole Bobek. I would be very interested in knowing how she got sucked into a drugs and went so far as to become a dealer. I'd also like to see how she was able to get her life back together. I think Nicole's story could be a cautionary and very interesting story that young skaters could actually learn from.
I started singing professionally when I was quite young and there were always temptations. However, I was so focused on my career that I was never swayed by cheating or illegal substances. I can't believe that Tonya could look at herself in the mirror, knowing that she won by cheating. Whatever.......I won't be watching. :no:
I started singing professionally when I was quite young and there were always temptations. However, I was so focused on my career that I was never swayed by cheating or illegal substances. I can't believe that Tonya could look at herself in the mirror, knowing that she won by cheating. Whatever.......I won't be watching. :no:
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I'll probably still watch it, even though it's essentially beating a dead horse. In fact, the horse has been dead for so long, all that remain are bones, disintegrated bones, turning into dust and blowing away...
Wow, that idiom is out of control.
Wow, that idiom is out of control.
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- Mar 23, 2014
A lot of people think all of the OJ Simpson coming out is redundant or beating a dead horse, but honestly I'm sitting here watching the new 7 hour ESPN documentary right now and it's simply amazing to learn about his life from a cultural standpoint, hear these in-depth analyses, different viewpoints, etc. It's less about the crime (which would be a rehash) and more about the context/circumstances that created him and set the horrible event into motion.
The Nancy/Tonya 30 for 30 kind of did that, but I could understand there being more story to tell. There's a huge market right now (in the US, anyway) for true crime dramas/docudramas/documentaries/any of that.
I'll pay money to see this. If the skating gods are good maybe one day FX's American Crime Story will do it too. Or their new upcoming show "Feud." (Season one will be all about the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Can Nancy/Tonya be season 2? TBH it'd take a tv miniseries to give this story all the drama and depth and detail it should have to build up to the finale where Tonya has lace issues, messes up her LP, Nancy has her epic winning moment only to have it "stolen" by the teenage orphan. <333333)
The Nancy/Tonya 30 for 30 kind of did that, but I could understand there being more story to tell. There's a huge market right now (in the US, anyway) for true crime dramas/docudramas/documentaries/any of that.
I'll pay money to see this. If the skating gods are good maybe one day FX's American Crime Story will do it too. Or their new upcoming show "Feud." (Season one will be all about the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Can Nancy/Tonya be season 2? TBH it'd take a tv miniseries to give this story all the drama and depth and detail it should have to build up to the finale where Tonya has lace issues, messes up her LP, Nancy has her epic winning moment only to have it "stolen" by the teenage orphan. <333333)
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- Dec 21, 2014
I really don't see the point of it all. It's a sad story that has been pointed out enough times. Tonya was a very talented skater from an abusive background who couldn't believe in her own skill. if she had trained hard and stayed focused she could have been a force. But she made bad decisions instead. Sometimes you can't make people believe in themselves. I live in Portland and both her coaches still teach here, they are both very kind people. There are also a lot of people in the skating community who met her or knew her at some point. I doubt any of them are happy to see this sad story dragged through the mud again. It's kind of difficult to find pointing at how someone ruined their life entertaining.
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- Mar 23, 2014
I just want to point out that assuming people watch these sorts of things for shallow entertainment is pretty off base for a lot of people, IMO. I'm personally obsessed with biographies/documentaries/biopics/docudramas etc because they are fascinating, you can learn from them, and are oftentimes brought to see events and individuals from an entirely new perspective. Like it or not, the Tonya/Nancy saga of 1994 was a historical moment in American media culture and even in a fictionalized portrayal we can learn a lot about class and gender in the historical moment.
ETA: I'm personally obsessed with all things OJ Simpson. The FX drama and the new ESPN documentary. Why? Because I find entertainment in rehashing violent murders? No. Because I've learned so much about race relations, gender, and celebrity/media culture from watching them. Taking a new look at old events yields new understandings and doesn't have to be redundant or trashy or exploitative.
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- Dec 21, 2014
I don't think I would have an issue with a documentary or biography. I thought the 30 for 30 documentary was well done. Unfortunately I don't think the Hollywood treatment will be quite as realistic- a movies job is to be entertaining. A documentary where the purpose is to look at all the things you mentioned is one thing. This seems like something different.
I didn't mean to offend, I get where you are coming from and totally respect that. This movie just seems like kicking something that's already down.
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- Jul 9, 2014
Seren, I completely agree. There's no point rehashing this old story. Especially if they don't have Tonya and Nancy's approval to get an accurate story from both sides. We don't need another "Unauthorized" biography about this decades old story. You know who I'd love to see get their own Biopic. Maribel Vinson Owen. She was a legend who raised and coached 2 National Champions before she and her daughters were killed in the Crash along with the rest of the US Team. I would also be interested to see how their Father was able to go on with his life after such a tragic event.
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- Mar 3, 2014
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Mrrice, I agree that I would rather see Mariben Vinson Owen and her daughters, or, FWIW, the entire tragedy dramatized. It may already have been, for all I know.
FWIW, Guy Owen, Canadian figure skater and Maribel's husband, died some ten years before the crash. My understanding is that he was an alcoholic? and died young. I have not looked it up recently, so I may be wrong. In the end, that may have been a blessing.
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Now that's a name I haven't heard in a long time!
I loved Margot when she was in Neighbours, and still wish she would come back. Donna was a great character and, although they have had a string of similar characters since she left, none of them have been as good as her (or as likable!)
I see from that story that she is going to be in a couple of films this year. Good! She is far too good an actress to be stuck doing computer game ads!
My only concern is that Tonya has a very distinctive voice, and I am not sure whether an Aussie would be able to replicate it well enough to be convincing as her.
When you are making programmes about real people who are in the public eye, you have to have somebody that not just looks like them, but sounds like them as well. If just one of these is not right, it can spoil the whole effect.
I'll probably still watch it, even though it's essentially beating a dead horse. In fact, the horse has been dead for so long, all that remain are bones, disintegrated bones, turning into dust and blowing away...
Wow, that idiom is out of control.
Seriously, though, whilst a lot of you are complaining that a film would be flogging a dead horse, just remember that although the story may well have been flogged to death in North America, that is not the case elsewhere. For example, the only thing I have ever seen about the Nancy / Tonya story is the "30 For 30" episode, and that was only a few months ago.
So, I for one would love to see a film about it. To get another perspective on what happened.
And Margot being in it would be the icing on the cake!
CaroLiza_fan
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- Jul 9, 2014
Mrrice, I agree that I would rather see Mariben Vinson Owen and her daughters, or, FWIW, the entire tragedy dramatized. It may already have been, for all I know.
FWIW, Guy Owen, Canadian figure skater and Maribel's husband, died some ten years before the crash. My understanding is that he was an alcoholic? and died young. I have not looked it up recently, so I may be wrong. In the end, that may have been a blessing.
Thank you for the information about Maribel's husband. Knowing that Maribel was able to continue on after her dealing with her husband's death and what must have been an uneasy life at times, makes her story even more interesting.
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- Mar 3, 2012
I know what you're saying, but it is a story that's never going to go away. Too much drama.
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- Mar 23, 2014
Mrrice, I agree that I would rather see Mariben Vinson Owen and her daughters, or, FWIW, the entire tragedy dramatized. It may already have been, for all I know.
FWIW, Guy Owen, Canadian figure skater and Maribel's husband, died some ten years before the crash. My understanding is that he was an alcoholic? and died young. I have not looked it up recently, so I may be wrong. In the end, that may have been a blessing.
Rather than seeing the story of the Owens, I'd personally love to see a documentary or drama about the aftermath of the tragedy, i.e., the rebuilding of American figure skating. You've got strong, interesting personalities in figures like John Nicks and Carlo Fassi recruited to rebuild skating, Maribel Vinson Owen's protege Frank Carroll (Carroll v Fassi in 1980!)
Apparently there was a movie made entitled RISE about the tragedy? According to this wikipedia page, anyway. Wonder if it's available anywhere.
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- May 4, 2015
I'd be interested in seeing both: the story of the Owens and a documentary about the rebuilding of the US figure skating.
Reg. Tonya Harding, the only thing I'd be interested to know about her is what she's doing now. Has she finally managed to turn her life around, now that she's a mother of a four-year-old boy (with her third husband)?
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