March 27, 2025 • 45 mins
Tonya Harding's story highlights the struggles of being an underdog in a highly elitist sport like figure skating, where social status can overshadow talent. The media portrayal of Harding changed public perception, making her the undisputed villain of the narrative.
But there's always two sides to every story. Or three. And there may be truth, or there may just be someone's truth.
I, Tonya sheds light on the cycle of abuse and the complexities of Tonya’s relationships with her mother and ex-husband. The infamous "incident" with Nancy Kerrigan transformed figure skating, bringing unprecedented attention and scrutiny to the sport.
While Tonya Harding made mistakes, and was severely punished for them, her journey reflects the harsh realities faced by many women in sports and society at large.
In the end, it's all about understanding the human behind the headlines and recognizing that everyone has their own truth, even if it's messy.
I would love to hear your thoughts on I, Tonya !
Verbal Diorama is now an award-winning podcast! I won the Best Movie Podcast in the inaugural Ear Worthy Independent Podcast Awards recently. I am beyond thrilled, and hugely grateful to the Ear Worthy team. It means so much to me to be recognised by a fellow indie outlet, and congratulations to all the other winners!
CONTACT....
- Twitter @verbaldiorama
- Instagram @verbaldiorama
- Facebook @verbaldiorama
- Letterboxd @verbaldiorama
- Email verbaldiorama [at] gmail [dot] com
- Website verbaldiorama.com
SUPPORT VERBAL DIORAMA....
Give this podcast a five-star Rate & Review
ABOUT VERBAL DIORAMA
Verbal Diorama is hosted, produced, edited, researched, recorded and marketed by me, Em | This podcast is hosted by Captivate, try it yourself for free.
Theme Music: Verbal Diorama Theme Song. Music by Chloe Enticott - Compositions by Chloe. Lyrics by Chloe Enticott (and me!) Production by Ellis Powell-Bevan of Ewenique Studio
Patrons: Claudia, Simon, Laurel, Derek, Cat, Andy, Mike, Luke, Michael, Scott, Brendan, Lisa, Sam, Jack, Dave, Stuart, Nicholas, Zo, Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny, Aly, Stu, Brett, Philip M, Michele, Xenos, Sean, Ryno, Philip K, Adam, Elaine, Kyle and Aaron.
This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:
Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy
OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(01:18):
Hi everyone. I'm Em andwelcome to verbal diorama, episode
293, I, Tonya. This is thepodcast that's all about the history
and legacy of movies you know,and movies you don't. That is both
a garden and a flower. VerbalDiorama is the garden and I'm a flower.
Welcome to Verbal Diorama.Whether you are a regular returning
listener or a brand newlistener to this podcast, thank you
(01:42):
for being here. Thank you forchoosing to listen to this podcast.
As always, I am so delightedto have you here for the history
and legacy of I, Tonya. And ifyou are a regular returning listener,
thank you so much for comingback to this podcast. And thank you
for your continued support ofthis podcast. This podcast has been
going for six years now andover 290 episodes. It really genuinely
(02:05):
does mean so much that youcontinue to come back and continue
to listen to this podcast. Andif you are a brand new listener,
well, you've got a lot ofcatching up to do. That's all I can
say. I'm not saying you haveto listen to every single episode,
but there's a lot of amazingepisodes out there that are ready
in your podcast app for you tolisten to right now. So this month
on Verbal Diorama, it isWomen's History Month. Well, it's
(02:28):
Women's History Month justgenerally, but also on this podcast.
And I wanted to do episodes tocelebrate women in movies from all
walks of life, from warriorsto queens to single mothers and to
women in sport. Last week wehad a single mother fighting for
justice for an entire town.And this week, one of the most famous,
(02:50):
disgraced sports people of alltime, but also someone who inexplicably
changed the future of hersport forever bringing notoriety
and fame to a sport that wasnever appreciated quite so much until
the incident. Women's HistoryMonth is obviously a month for us
all to remember the stories ofwomen who came before us, who inspire
(03:12):
us and shape the world forwomen and girls today. And as a woman
in film podcasting, which isgenerally very male dominated as
far as hosts go, I always feellike a bit of an anomaly in the film
podcasting sphere. But I'malso inspired by other women. Women
from all walks of life, fromall cultures or religions or professions.
(03:34):
And so that's why I reallywanted to focus on women in film.
And not only women in Film forthis month, but true Stories of women
put to film. I, Tonya is thefinal episode of this month. And
genuinely, I hope you'reenjoying hearing these stories as
much as I'm enjoyingresearching and telling these stories.
(03:55):
Now, if you've listened to myprevious episodes on the Woman King
and Elizabeth, historicalaccuracy tends to differ when we
talk about different biopicsor historical dramas, but we've at
least had reliable narratorsin I, Tonya. The whole point is that
everyone is unreliable. Butwhile the media in real life portrayed
(04:17):
Tonya Harding as standoffish,gruff, and a girl from the wrong
side of the tracks, this moviegoes some way to humanize Tonya Harding,
to show that talent supersedessocial status and class. But in the
world of competitive figureskating, you need all of them to
succeed. Here's the trailerfor I, Tonya.
(06:56):
Growing up in an abusive andpoor family in Portland, Oregon,
competitive figure skaterTonya Harding was never fully accepted
in the figure skatingcommunity for not inherently being
the image, grace, breeding andprivilege that the community wanted
to portray. Despite beingnaturally gifted in the sport athletically,
Harding became nationalchampion, a World Championship medalist
(07:19):
and an Olympian, and the firstAmerican woman to complete the Triple
Axel in competition. Butdespite all this success, she is
arguably best known for herassociation to the incident 6 January
1994 attack on her competitorNancy Kerrigan, who, unlike Tonya,
was everything that the figureskating community wanted in their
(07:41):
representatives. Let's asalways run through the cast of this
movie. We have Margot Robbieas Tonya Harding, Sebastian Stan
as Jeff Gillooly, AlisonJanney as LaVonna Harding, Julianne
Nicholson as Diane Rawlingson,Caitlin Carver as Nancy Kerrigan,
Bijana Novakovic as DodieTeachman, Paul, Walter Hauser as
(08:05):
Shawn Eckhart, Bobby Cannavaleas Martin Maddox and McKenna Grace
as young Tonya I Tonya waswritten by Stephen Rogers and was
directed by Craig Gillespie.Figure skating was the first winter
sport to be included in theOlympic Games, with its introduction
occurring at the 1908 Olympicsin London until 1920. It then became
(08:30):
part of the first WinterOlympic Games in 1924. The International
Skating Union, or ISU,regulate international figure skating
judging and competitions,including the Winter Olympics, the
World Championships, the WorldJunior Championships, the European
Championships, Four ContinentsChampionships, the Grand Prix Series,
(08:50):
both senior and junior, andthe ISU Challenger Series. It's not
a cheap sport to participatein. Expenses for women in the sport
at U.S. championship level inthe late 1980s were nearly $50,000
a year. For a young child juststarting out with coaching, you'd
expect to pay around 7 to$8,000 a year. Nor is winning lucrative.
(09:14):
At the 2011 WorldChampionships, both male and female
skaters who won would earnabout $45,000. Many have to have
other jobs on the side, and soit makes the story of Tonya Harding
even more remarkable. BecauseHarding came From a poor working
class background, neither ofwhich were represented in ice skating
(09:36):
because it was such anexpensive sport to get into. Tonya
Harding was figure skating'srebel. In a sport where women were
supposed to be slim, daintyand graceful. Harding was graceful
on the ice, but she was alsofierce, athletic, brash and not afraid
to call out the sport or itsbody for its double standards and
(09:57):
its classism. But on the ice,Harding was a talent, unafraid to
push herself and change thestandards associated with the sport.
She was also huge tabloidfodder, and often her tumultuous
relationship with her mother,her husband and the media superseded
her talent and athleticism.Harding quickly became a household
(10:17):
name. In 1991, she was thefirst American woman to pull off
the notoriously difficulttriple axel. And she was also involved
in the biggest and possiblyonly scandal to hit US figure skating
in 1994, the unprovoked Attackon Nancy Kerrigan. The aftermath
of the attack was recorded,meaning news outlets had footage
(10:39):
of a screaming Nancy Kerriganmoments after being assaulted. This
undoubtedly led to theincident being reported on more than
it would have otherwise been,and the crazy particulars surrounding
Harding's ex husband, JeffGillooly, his friend Shawn Eckhart,
and the two goons hired toassault Kerrigan, Shane Stant and
Derek Smith. It became a mediacircus, with Harding at the center
(11:03):
of the ring. It also coincidedwith the inception of the 24 hour
news cycle and the media fedthe public its own narrative, with
Harding as the villain andKerrigan the damsel in distress.
But it doesn't feel like thenatural fit for a movie. The script
for I, Tonya was one ofHollywood's favorite unproduced screenplays,
(11:24):
landing on both the Hit Listand blacklist in 2016. Screenwriter
Stephen Rogers was best knownfor romantic comedies like Hope Flats
and Kate and Leopold, and hewas looking to reinvent himself.
He became fascinated withHarding's perspective of the 1994
Nancy Kerrigan attack afterwatching Nanette Bernstein's ESPN
(11:45):
documentary the Price of Gold,specifically the way Harding was
vilified by the press. Rogersflew up to Oregon from Los Angeles
to meet Tonya Harding, hopingshe would let him purchase her life
rights for a screenplay.Harding understandably has issues
trusting strangers, or indeedhuman beings in general, but they
got on. She told him her sideof the story and asked him if she
(12:08):
would have any control overthe script he was writing. Rogers
truthfully said no, but maybehaving her side of the story out
in the world was worth it.Rogers would end up pinky Promising
that if she signed away herlife rights, he would do his best
by her. Rogers wrote thescript on spec so that he could maintain
some control over the projectand produce it himself outside the
(12:31):
studio system. Over the threeyear process of bringing this story
to the screen, Rogers says thetrickiest aspect was securing Harding
and Gillooly's life rights. Hereached out to Jeff Giannully, then
going by Jeff Stone, whoallegedly still feels guilty for
orchestrating the string ofevents that resulted in the US Figure
Skating association banningHarding for life. Gillooly had pleaded
(12:55):
guilty to racketeering in theaftermath and was sentenced to two
years in prison. And he didn'twant any money for his rights. Once
Rogers had secured the liferights from both individuals, the
screenwriter flew back toOregon and interviewed Harding and
Gillooly more intensely. Andtheir stories were wildly different
to each other's. Rogers knewthat this was the trick up his sleeve,
(13:16):
the differing perspectives oftwo people and the contradictory
stories. This was going to beno conventional biopic, but a narrative
that was unreliable, withcharacters breaking the fourth wall
to explain what was going on.And it would also include Harding's
mother, LaVonna, interruptingto criticise the screenplay. By not
including her story enough,Rogers would say there was only one
(13:38):
subject on which Harding andGillooly agreed. That LaVonna Harding
was verbally and emotionallyabusive to Tonya. LaVonna Harding
wasn't approached forinterview, but Rodgers knew immediately
who he wanted for the role.His friend, Alison Janney. Rogers
insisted on Janney playing thepart, so much so that when he sold
the script, that was acondition at the sale that Alison
(14:00):
Janney must play Lavon Hardy.Rogers sent the script out to as
many independent productioncompanies as possible. One of them
was the newly formed LuckyChap Entertainment, launched in 2014
by Margot Robbie, her thenboyfriend, now husband, Tom Ackerley,
and friends Josie McNamara andSophia Kerr. Oh, Tonya would be the
(14:21):
first major motion picturerelease for the company. But at the
time they got the script,neither Robbie nor Akerley knew who
Tonya Harding was. Robbiethought the story was fictional.
It wasn't until she went downa Wikipedia rabbit hole that that
she realized this was based ona crazy true story. Robbie didn't
just want to produce the movieeither. She wanted to star as Tonya
(14:43):
Harding. She'd starredopposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the
Wolf of Wall street and inSuicide Squad as Harley Quinn. And
Robbie wanted to do somethingdifferent. But it would need a physical
transformation as well as thesame drive that led Harding to do
that infamous Triple Axel.Robbie was immediately drawn to Tonya
Harding. Upon learning it wasbased on real events, she became
(15:05):
even more intrigued and saw itas an opportunity to portray a multidimensional
female character. And forLucky Chap Entertainment I Tonya
represented exactly the kindof project they wanted to champion,
female driven stories withcomplex characters that might not
otherwise get made inHollywood. As a relatively new production
company, they saw value in theunique script that larger studios
(15:29):
might have considered toorisky. Robbie took on dual roles
as both star and producer,helping to secure financing for the
modestly budgeted film.Director Craig Gillespie, known for
Lars and the Real Girl, cameon board and the team assembled the
rest of the cast includingSebastian Stan and the must casting
of Alice and Janney. ForSebastian Stan, his casting as Jeff
(15:50):
Gillooly was miles from hismost well known role of Bucky Barnes
in Captain America. Youwouldn't necessarily equate the Winter
Soldier stoicism with JeffGillooly's violent temper and mustache,
but that's acting. Costumedesigner Jennifer Johnson had a wealth
of video and photographicreference to Harding's skating costumes,
(16:10):
but she also wanted to becareful to not stray into caricature.
Early 90s fashion wasscrunchies, perms, garish colours,
many of which came back intofashion recently. But for the skating
costumes, Johnson wanted topay homage to the originals from
the handmade costumes from thestart of her career through to the
professionally designedoutfits at Lillehammer. Matching
(16:32):
the outfit to the skatingfixture was no mean feat though,
and required hours spentcombing through grainy home videos
on YouTube. These videos wereoften incorrectly labeled and additionally
skaters would often repeatcostumes. Over the year, Johnson
and her team intentionallycreated outfits that were poorly
fitting and made with cheapand comfortable fabrics, reflecting
(16:54):
on Harding's status as anoutlier in the sport and definitely
not one of those nice middleclass girls like Nancy Kerrigan,
who is seen in the purevirginal white lace costume she was
attacked in. Harding'sbejeweled turquoise costume she wears
for the Triple Axel was one ofthe few styles with which Johnson
used a little creativelicense, adding a silver underlay
(17:16):
to the knees of her skirt. Itwas intentionally made with single
stretch jumbo spandex, whichis really thick and awkward. It was
so real to life that TonyaHarding approached Johnson at the
movie's afterparty andcommented how authentic the costume
looked. Now, of course, ifMargot Robbie was going to be playing
Tonya Harding, Margot Robbieneeded to know how to skate and luckily
(17:39):
she had experience in icehockey, so knew the basics of skating
on ice, but she still spentthree to four months in training
and weeks specifically withchoreographer Sara Kawahara on the
ice. By the time principalphotography started In Atlanta in
January 2017, Robbie was ableto shoot entire sequences of Hardy's
routines along withprofessional doubles. The Triple
(18:02):
Axel, though, was somethingelse. Only 25 women have ever been
able to pull off a tripleAxel. Only five of those in Olympic
programs, and any of them whowere still able to do so were likely
in training for the nextOlympics and wouldn't be able to
risk performing it for themovie. The first woman to successfully
do a Triple Axel was MidoriIto. She was the first woman to do
(18:25):
it at regional competition inJapan in 1988, then again internationally
at the 1988 NHK Trophy, andthe first woman to do it at the Olympics
in 1992. To achieve it for themovie, the production hired skating
doubles Heidi Munger and AnnaMalkova. Robbie did as much of her
own skating as possible, withthe routines in the movie almost
(18:45):
shot for shot remakes ofHarding's actual routines. Robbie
suffered from a herniated discin her neck, which occurs when all
or part of the disc is forcedthrough a weakened part of the spine.
It causes extreme pain whenmoving the neck, which can also be
felt through the shoulderblades and arms. Robbie couldn't
afford to leave the project,so just got shot up with painkillers
(19:07):
and had routine MRIs to ensureit was safe for her to continue filming
skating scenes. The complexjumps were replicated by Robbie on
a blue screen so they had theangle of her face. They then digitally
map her face over Markova's orMungers. For other shots like the
Triple Axel, they created adigital face from scratch in conjunction
(19:27):
with French company Isco andVFX Studio 8 VFX for the triple Axel,
Robbie starts scouting forreal and then a body double takes
over, but with Robbie's facesuperimposed over. The Triple Axel
is also shown in the movie inextreme slow motion, giving viewers
plenty of time to study thejump and show off how impressive
(19:48):
a jump it actually is. Theyended up blending three or four takes
to get the best version. Theyalso set up six witness cameras around
the ice rink so they couldpinpoint the movements of the skating
double Rebuilt all thestadiums in cg and because the budget
wasn't there to fill stadiumswith extras, they also repopulated
stadiums with CG people sothey could match exact backgrounds
(20:11):
from shot to shot. AVFXproduced 215 visual effects shots
in just six months. Like mostlow budget movies, I Tonya had a
quick turnaround. It had a 31day shoot with everyone pitching
in to help. There were oftenfilming days where Margot Robbie
and Sebastian Stan wereplaying teenagers in the morning,
20 somethings in the afternoonand 40 somethings in the evenings.
(20:35):
There was one day where theyhad 20 setups in a single day. I
Tonya wrapped filming inspring 2017 with plans for an autumn
2017 release with hopes ofmaking it into Oscar season. This
meant the crew had just weeksto complete post production before
the film's premiere at theToronto Film Festival. Editor Tatiana
(20:56):
S. Regal had the unenviablejob of balancing the tone in the
edit. This is a movie that hasto balance the comedy of the situation
as well as the violence ofdomestic abuse and showing characters
in a sympathetic light. So ifthe movie has unreliable narrators
on purpose, what is accurateto what we know and what is just
(21:17):
made up and what will we neverknow? Whether it's true or not, it's
basically a truth universallyacknowledged that Lavonna Harding
was often verbally andphysically abusive to Tonya, and
this was witnessed severaltimes over the years. While no one
witnessed a young TonyaHarding peeing herself on the ice,
it was well known that Nirvanawould refuse her request to get off
(21:39):
the ice after having scrimpedand saved to pay for her lessons.
Levonna was also witnessedhitting Tonya with a hairbrush by
other child skaters. The factthat Nirvana was paying for Tonya's
lessons was always mentionedand Tonya really did have to go to
school in her skating costumefor class photos so that she also
had skating photos. Tonya'sfather didn't leave the family first,
(22:02):
Nirvana did. Tonya lived withher father for 18 months until he
got a new job in Idaho. Tonyathen moved back in with her mother,
who was by then married to hersixth husband, James Golden. Tonya's
half brother Chris Davidson,AKA Creepy Chris, really did try
to sexually assault Tonya whenshe was 15. She ended up running
(22:22):
to a neighbor's house to callthe police. Davidson was arrested
and spent several years injail for the attempted assault. He
was then killed in a hit andrun after his release from prison.
Levonna never believed Tonya'saccount of what happened. It's worth
noting that mother anddaughter haven't spoken since 2002.
A death threat really wascalled in against Tonya Harding before
(22:45):
a regional competition in thePacific Northwest. Whether it was
at CART or not is unknown, butit probably wasn't him. While Harding
never told the judge to suckher appendage, shall we say, when
she read it in the script,Harding wished she had said it. She
did regularly call out thejudge's classism and bias, though,
including those who criticisedher homemade outfits and told her
(23:08):
she didn't fit the allAmerican image of a stable home life
and that was going to affecther chances to get on the Olympic
team. Harding reconciled withJeff Gillooly after their 1993 divorce
purely to show the stabilityto get better marks and to get picked
for the Olympics. And in oneof the more bizarre turns, Shawn
(23:29):
Eckhart really did believe hewas a counter terrorist expert, often
bragging about his dangerousexploits. He really did interview
with Diane Sawyer in 1994,claiming that his education and training
was in counter espionage andcounterterrorism and that he'd been
quoted by a travel magazine asan expert in terrorism. Eckhart really
(23:50):
did brag publicly about hisinvolvement in Nancy Kerrigan's attack.
Eckhart's father also braggedabout his son's involvement. Various
people went to the FBI withinformation about Eckhart's confessions,
including his close friendGene Saunders, who was wiretapped
by the FBI to gatherinformation from Eckhart. Eckhart
was questioned the next dayand confessed to his involvement
(24:13):
in Nancy Cogan's attack. Thegoons that were hired, Shane Stant
and Derek Smith, were nephewand uncle. Stant really did move
his car every 30 minutes toavoid suspicion in the car park of
the Tony Kent Arena. The moviesuggests he did every 15 minutes,
but still avoiding suspicionthere like an absolute pro. Stant
(24:35):
also really did headbutt aglass door to escape the Cobo center
in Detroit after the attack onKerrigan. He also tackled an innocent
bystander to the ground as heran to Smith in the getaway car.
After the incident and theresulting media circus, Tonya Harding
tried to stay out of the glareof the cameras. So to get pictures,
the media would try to get hercar towed or set off the alarm just
(24:59):
so she would have to leave herhome and face them. But the final
truth of the matter is thatTonya Harding pled guilty to conspiring
to hinder the prosecution andNancy kerrigan's attackers. In March
1994, she received a $160,000fine, three years probation and 500
hours of community service.She was forced to resign from the
(25:20):
United States Figure Skatingassociation and withdraw from the
1994 World Figure SkatingChampionships. Harding was banned
from participating in anyevents sanctioned by the USFSA, including
as a coach. In her 2008autobiography, the Tonya Tapes, she
claimed she wanted to tell theFBI what she knew of her ex husband's
(25:41):
involvement in the attack, butthat he had threatened to kill her
at gunpoint after beingsexually assaulted by him and two
other men. Jeff Gillooly hasalways denied this claim. It is time
to segue into the obligatoryKeanu reference of the episode. And
if you don't know what thatis, it's where I try and link every
movie that I feature withKeanu Reeves for no reason other
(26:03):
than he is the best of men.And sometimes it's really easy to
link Keanu to movies,especially when he starred with someone
or there's like a tenuous linkto a movie that he was into this
one. But I actually found areally interesting connection between
this movie and Keanu Reeves inthat I mentioned that Margot Robbie
(26:23):
experienced a herniated discin her neck which was incredibly
painful for her and she justkind of baffled through it. And it's
interesting as well becauseKeanu Reeves had a neck injury on
the Matrix and he trained witha neck brace and he didn't want anyone
to know that he couldn't dothe film. And in the end, if you
think about it, both actorsgot their dues because Margot Robbie
(26:45):
got multiple awardsnominations for I, Tonya and Keanu
Reeves ended up starring inone of the most important and influential
sci fi movies of all time. AndI know I keep mentioning it, but
when Harding got the tripleaxel at the 1991 U.S. figure Skating
Championships, she skated tothe 1989 Batman theme. And Tonya
(27:06):
Harding was really ahead ofher time using pop, rock and metal
songs for skating. It'ssomething that's fairly commonplace
now, but it was unheard ofback then due to the very traditionalist
nature of the sport and peopletending to prefer classical music
to skate to. Some of the songsfeatured in Ortonia had been used
in Harding's real liferoutines like ZZ Top Sleeping Bag.
(27:30):
Music supervisor Susan Jacobsselected tracks from the 1970s like
Fleetwood Max the Chain orSupertramp's Goodbye Stranger. Feeling
that classic rock songs fillthe movie without getting in the
way of the story. Thesoundtrack also includes iconic anthems
like En Vogue's Free youe Mindand Heart's Barracuda. Singer songwriter
(27:51):
Sufjan Stevens sent his songTonya Harding to Jacobs to be used
in the movie, but it wasturned down because they couldn't
find a way to use it in thefilm. Peter Nashl composed the score
to I Tonya in a little overthree weeks. When the movie had its
world premiere at the Torontofilm festival in September 2017,
(28:12):
it was the runner up in thefestival's People's Choice Awards.
But shortly before productionon the film began, Miramax had acquired
the domestic distributionrights to I Tonya for $6 million
and they'd also helpedcomplete the film. However, prior
to the film's premiere,Miramax put the distribution rights
on sale. A bidding war ensuedfor the domestic distribution rights
(28:35):
to the film, with NetflixEntertainment Studios, Annapurna
Pictures, CBS Films and AvironPictures all bidding for the movie.
The bid was won by Neon and 30West. They paid $5 million for the
distribution and the releaseof I Tonya was scheduled firmly for
awards season in December2017, with a wider release set for
(28:58):
January 2018 to coincide withthe Winter Olympics. I Tonya released
Limited in four cinemas on 8December 2017 in the US, opening
wide on 19 January 2018 sevenweeks later. While it had slowly
increased the number ofcinemas it was available in, it would
(29:19):
never quite crack the US top10, peaking at 12th in its fifth
week and then again in itsninth week. On its $11 million budget,
I Tonya grossed $30 milliondomestically in the US and $23.9
million internationally, for atotal worldwide gross of $53.9 million.
(29:40):
It also has a 90% rating ofrotten Tomatoes. With a critical
consensus reading led bystrong work from Margot Robbie and
Anison Janney, I Tonya findsthe humor in its real life story
without losing sight of itsmore tragic and emotionally resonant
elements. While both MargotRobbie and Alison Janney were praised,
(30:00):
the idea of making Harding asympathetic character didn't sit
well with everyone, with USAToday critic Christine Brennan, who
had covered the real story in1994, criticizing the movie for not
letting facts get in the wayof a good story and suggesting that
the only person Tonya Hardinghad to blame was herself. I Tonya
(30:21):
received a total of 96 awardsnominations and 44 wins, making Lucky
Chap Entertainment's firstfeature film a bit of an awards darling.
At the Academy Awards, it wasnominated for Best Actress for Embargo
Robbie, Best SupportingActress for Alison Janney and Best
Film Editing for Tatiana SRegal. Alice and Janney would end
(30:43):
up winning. Janney also wonthe BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress
with the movie nominated forBest Actress, Best Costume Design,
Best Makeup and Hair and BestOriginal Screenplay. Janney also
won the Golden Globe, withMargot Robbie again nominated for
Best Actress and the movieitself nominated for best motion
picture, musical or comedy.And so this was a movie that ended
(31:05):
up a commercial success, acritical success, and an awards season
success as well. The quoteunquote whack heard around the world
created a worldwide mediafrenzy long before Twitter or Instagram
and was really only quashedafter the O.J. simpson Chase and
the subsequent trial. The wordgillooly became a verb to gillooly
(31:27):
someone. But the biggestchange after the incident was figure
skating itself. When TonyaHarding and Nancy Kerrigan competed
in the short program at the1994 Winter Olympics, 48.5 million
viewers turned in for a singleprogram that was tape delayed. And
all of a sudden the worldbecame interested in ice skating,
(31:48):
with up and comers likeMichelle Kwan becoming celebrities
in their own right. Kwon was13 years old, training in the Cobo
arena the day Nancy Kerriganwas attacked. And everyone in the
arena was left shaken by a manseemingly able to get past security
and attack a professionalskater in broad daylight. The media
(32:09):
obsession with Tonya Hardingled to TV networks fighting to show
skating events, creating TVspecials on skaters. A total of 13
professional competitions wereaired on TV after Harding's downfall.
Skaters went on US wide tours,skating in sold out arenas, mobbed
by fans. This boom lasted from1994 to 2001. By the 2014 Olympics
(32:34):
in Sochi, 11 days of figureskating competitions broadcast in
PrimeTime drew just 21.4million viewers. But it was also
a sport that Tonya Harding wasnot allowed to participate in. In
a life of abuse and neglect,skating had been her one true love,
and for a while, it had lovedher in return. Exactly how involved
(32:56):
she was in the planning andexecution of the attack on Nancy
Kerrigan is debatable. And thepoint of this movie is, I guess we'll
never truly know the realstory. Harding was punished for her
involvement and was punishedseverely from a sport that constantly
punished her for beingdifferent and for being, quote unquote,
white trash. Harding beingbanned from the sport led to her
(33:18):
trying other avenues,including reality TV and celebrity
boxing, as well as becoming awelder, a painter and a sales clerk.
While skating had been her onetrue love. It's not anymore. The
final title card reads, tonyawants you to know she's a good mother.
Stephen Rogers had askedHarding during their interviews.
(33:39):
How do you want people toremember you? Harding replied, I
want people to know I'm a goodmother. She is now married with a
teenage son, and in doing sohas basically broken the cycle of
abuse and neglect she becamethe mother for her son that she'd
always wanted for herself.Tonya Harding may not have had love
in her early life, but she haslove now. Despite everything, Harding
(34:04):
continued to love skating andreturned to the ice, even reuniting
with her former coach, DodiTeachman. Nancy Kerrigan was not
consulted for the film and hadno input into her portrayal. Her
character has minimal screentime in the movie, appearing primarily
in footage of the attack andits aftermath. Director Craig Ganespi
did this on purpose and made aconscious decision to focus on Harding's
(34:27):
story rather than the rivalrybetween the two skaters. Harding
did attend the movie'spremiere and reportedly was emotional
after viewing it. She hasexpressed some appreciation for how
the film portrayed aspects ofher life that the public didn't know
about, particularly herdifficult upbringing and abusive
relationship, but didn't agreewith Jeff Gillooly's point of view.
(34:48):
Kerrigan, however, has beenmostly quiet about the film. In interviews
around the time of the film'srelease, she indicated she hasn't
seen it and wasn'tparticularly interested in revisiting
that chapter of her life,which is absolutely fair. While Alice
and Janney won all the awards,this movie lives and dies quite literally
on the work of Margot Robbie,whether that's as the lead actor
(35:11):
or the producer. She is aconventionally beautiful blonde known
for the Wolf of Wall streetand Suicide Squad, both movies where
sex appeal and the male gazewere firmly a priority to this movie,
where, let's be honest, thereis no sex appeal, there is no male
gaze, but she is phenomenal inthis movie. I Tonya proved she act
(35:32):
her socks off as well as findgreat stories as a producer. She
is everything in this movieand he's just Jeff. But it's the
way this movie depicts abusethat I find the most interesting.
I Tonya never sugarcoats theabuse. It never condones the behaviors
of Levonna or Jeff or indeedof Tonya herself, but highlights
(35:52):
the cycle of abuse and howabusers always go back to their patterns
of abuse and victims just wantto be loved. And so the cycle perpetuates.
And it's not just physicalabuse either, but emotional abuse
as well as educational abuse.LaVonna limits her daughter's education,
takes her out of school toskate, which made Tonya Harding a
(36:12):
great skater but also limitedher access to friends or support
networks. Love, honor,strengthen, saved to fund Tonya's
skating career, but neverbecause she loved her daughter or
wanted her to live a betterlife, but to be the consummate narcissist
and always have her daughterunder her control for the rest of
her life as penance for thesacrifices she made. Just as Tonya
(36:35):
reached her limit, she metJeff Gillooly, her meal ticket away
from her abusive mother, andwent from being abused by her mother
to being abused by herhusband. And then after being abused
by her husband and divorcinghim, she was abused by the hierarchy
of ice skating. She was deemednot good enough. Then she was abused
by the media, ridiculed andmocked mercilessly with everyone
(36:58):
having an opinion on her life,whether she did it, whether she knew,
whether she wanted NancyKerrigan out of the way. And this
isn't to say that TonyaHarding is innocent throughout all
of this. She is not. NancyKerrigan is the one who is completely
innocent. Tonya Hardingperpetuated abuse. She was involved
in the attack on NancyKerrigan and she paid the price for
(37:19):
it. The court of publicopinion also found her guilty, but
on way more serious chargesthan the law did. This movie doesn't
exonerate her, but it doeshighlight there are always multiple
sides to the story that hurtpeople, hurt people, and that we're
all capable of abuse. It maynot be obvious, but every time we
judge someone else, whetherthat's on TV or in gossip magazines,
(37:42):
we're feeding that narrativeand adding to their invisible trauma.
But ultimately, just likeTonya Harding's famous triple axel,
I Tonya absolutely sticks thelanding. Thank you for listening.
As always, I would love tohear your thoughts on I Tonya. And
thank you as always for yourcontinued support of this podcast.
If you want to get involvedand help this podcast grow and reach
(38:04):
more people, you could tellyour friends and family about this
podcast. You could leave arating or review wherever you found
this podcast. Or you can findme, follow me and like and share
posts on social media. I amerbaldiorama on all of the social
medias. And if you like thisepisode on I Tonya, you might also
(38:25):
like some of the episodes thatI have done on women in sports specifically.
I'm just going to highlight acouple of them. Episode 206, Bring
It on, which is aboutcheerleading, but it's about more
than cheerleading and it's ahell of a lot more smart for an early
2000s teen comedy than it'sever given credit for. And also episode
(38:46):
248, which is fighting with MyFamily, which is also based on a
true story, the True Story ofthe WWE Wrestler Page and How She
Became the WWE Wrestler Page.I actually did that for women's History
Month last year. So that is amore recent episode, but it was a
lot of fun to do because Iknow very little about wrestling
(39:08):
exactly the same as I knewvery little about ice skating until
I did this episode. Sobasically what I'm saying is I use
Verbal Diorama as an excuse tojust learn about things, which hopefully
is the reason you're listeningyourself. Let me know what you think
of those movies and of thoseepisodes. So the next episode of
this podcast gonna besomething completely different. I
(39:29):
have two words for you. UglySonic. The next episode of Bubble
Diorama is going to be on theHistory and Legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog
and the incredible decisionthat they made after the trailer
was released to completelyredesign Sonic. Listening to fan
feedback not only saved themovie, but created a billion dollar
(39:53):
Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.But don't feel bad for Ugly Sonic.
He turned up in theChippendale Rescue Rangers movie.
I hope you will join me nextepisode for the history and Legacy
of Sonic the Hedgehog. And asI always like to say, this podcast
is free and it always will befree. However, unfortunately it's
not free to make a podcast. Irely on some incredibly generous
(40:15):
individuals to help fundVerbal Diorama and to secure the
future of this podcast aswell. You are under no obligation
to join them. However, if youdo get value out of what I do and
you do enjoy the episodes thatI produce, and if you're unaware,
I do all of this on my own aswell. I don't have any help to do
this podcast and I have neverhad any help to do this podcast.
(40:37):
So if you do get value out ofwhat I do and you have some spare
pennies and you want to investin independent podcasting, there
are two ways you can do that.You could go to verbaldiorama.com
tips and give a one off tip.Or you can go to verbaldiorama.Com
Patreon and you can join theamazing patrons of this podcast.
They are Claudia, Simon,Laurel, Derek, Kat, Andy, Mike, Luke,
(41:00):
Michael, Scott, Brendan, Lisa,Sam, Jack, Dave, Stuart, Nicholas
so Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny,Ali, Stu, Brett, Philip M, Michelle,
Zenos, Sean, Rhino, Philip K,Adam, Elaine, Kyle, and Aaron. If
you want to get in touch, youcan email verbal dioramail.com or
(41:21):
you can go toverbaldiorama.com and fill out the
little contact form on there.You can say hi. You can give feedback.
You can also make suggestionsas well if you wish. And you can
also find bits that I doover@filmstories.co.uk too and finally.
(44:35):
Bye.
Hi everyone. I'm Em andwelcome to verbal diorama, episode
293, I, Tonya. This is thepodcast that's all about the history
and legacy of movies you know,and movies you don't. That is both
a garden and a flower. VerbalDiorama is the garden and I'm a flower.
Welcome to Verbal Diorama.Whether you are a regular returning
listener or a brand newlistener to this podcast, thank you
(01:42):
for being here. Thank you forchoosing to listen to this podcast.
As always, I am so delightedto have you here for the history
and legacy of I, Tonya. And ifyou are a regular returning listener,
thank you so much for comingback to this podcast. And thank you
for your continued support ofthis podcast. This podcast has been
going for six years now andover 290 episodes. It really genuinely
(02:05):
does mean so much that youcontinue to come back and continue
to listen to this podcast. Andif you are a brand new listener,
well, you've got a lot ofcatching up to do. That's all I can
say. I'm not saying you haveto listen to every single episode,
but there's a lot of amazingepisodes out there that are ready
in your podcast app for you tolisten to right now. So this month
on Verbal Diorama, it isWomen's History Month. Well, it's
(02:28):
Women's History Month justgenerally, but also on this podcast.
And I wanted to do episodes tocelebrate women in movies from all
walks of life, from warriorsto queens to single mothers and to
women in sport. Last week wehad a single mother fighting for
justice for an entire town.And this week, one of the most famous,
(02:50):
disgraced sports people of alltime, but also someone who inexplicably
changed the future of hersport forever bringing notoriety
and fame to a sport that wasnever appreciated quite so much until
the incident. Women's HistoryMonth is obviously a month for us
all to remember the stories ofwomen who came before us, who inspire
(03:12):
us and shape the world forwomen and girls today. And as a woman
in film podcasting, which isgenerally very male dominated as
far as hosts go, I always feellike a bit of an anomaly in the film
podcasting sphere. But I'malso inspired by other women. Women
from all walks of life, fromall cultures or religions or professions.
(03:34):
And so that's why I reallywanted to focus on women in film.
And not only women in Film forthis month, but true Stories of women
put to film. I, Tonya is thefinal episode of this month. And
genuinely, I hope you'reenjoying hearing these stories as
much as I'm enjoyingresearching and telling these stories.
(03:55):
Now, if you've listened to myprevious episodes on the Woman King
and Elizabeth, historicalaccuracy tends to differ when we
talk about different biopicsor historical dramas, but we've at
least had reliable narratorsin I, Tonya. The whole point is that
everyone is unreliable. Butwhile the media in real life portrayed
(04:17):
Tonya Harding as standoffish,gruff, and a girl from the wrong
side of the tracks, this moviegoes some way to humanize Tonya Harding,
to show that talent supersedessocial status and class. But in the
world of competitive figureskating, you need all of them to
succeed. Here's the trailerfor I, Tonya.
(06:56):
Growing up in an abusive andpoor family in Portland, Oregon,
competitive figure skaterTonya Harding was never fully accepted
in the figure skatingcommunity for not inherently being
the image, grace, breeding andprivilege that the community wanted
to portray. Despite beingnaturally gifted in the sport athletically,
Harding became nationalchampion, a World Championship medalist
(07:19):
and an Olympian, and the firstAmerican woman to complete the Triple
Axel in competition. Butdespite all this success, she is
arguably best known for herassociation to the incident 6 January
1994 attack on her competitorNancy Kerrigan, who, unlike Tonya,
was everything that the figureskating community wanted in their
(07:41):
representatives. Let's asalways run through the cast of this
movie. We have Margot Robbieas Tonya Harding, Sebastian Stan
as Jeff Gillooly, AlisonJanney as LaVonna Harding, Julianne
Nicholson as Diane Rawlingson,Caitlin Carver as Nancy Kerrigan,
Bijana Novakovic as DodieTeachman, Paul, Walter Hauser as
(08:05):
Shawn Eckhart, Bobby Cannavaleas Martin Maddox and McKenna Grace
as young Tonya I Tonya waswritten by Stephen Rogers and was
directed by Craig Gillespie.Figure skating was the first winter
sport to be included in theOlympic Games, with its introduction
occurring at the 1908 Olympicsin London until 1920. It then became
(08:30):
part of the first WinterOlympic Games in 1924. The International
Skating Union, or ISU,regulate international figure skating
judging and competitions,including the Winter Olympics, the
World Championships, the WorldJunior Championships, the European
Championships, Four ContinentsChampionships, the Grand Prix Series,
(08:50):
both senior and junior, andthe ISU Challenger Series. It's not
a cheap sport to participatein. Expenses for women in the sport
at U.S. championship level inthe late 1980s were nearly $50,000
a year. For a young child juststarting out with coaching, you'd
expect to pay around 7 to$8,000 a year. Nor is winning lucrative.
(09:14):
At the 2011 WorldChampionships, both male and female
skaters who won would earnabout $45,000. Many have to have
other jobs on the side, and soit makes the story of Tonya Harding
even more remarkable. BecauseHarding came From a poor working
class background, neither ofwhich were represented in ice skating
(09:36):
because it was such anexpensive sport to get into. Tonya
Harding was figure skating'srebel. In a sport where women were
supposed to be slim, daintyand graceful. Harding was graceful
on the ice, but she was alsofierce, athletic, brash and not afraid
to call out the sport or itsbody for its double standards and
(09:57):
its classism. But on the ice,Harding was a talent, unafraid to
push herself and change thestandards associated with the sport.
She was also huge tabloidfodder, and often her tumultuous
relationship with her mother,her husband and the media superseded
her talent and athleticism.Harding quickly became a household
(10:17):
name. In 1991, she was thefirst American woman to pull off
the notoriously difficulttriple axel. And she was also involved
in the biggest and possiblyonly scandal to hit US figure skating
in 1994, the unprovoked Attackon Nancy Kerrigan. The aftermath
of the attack was recorded,meaning news outlets had footage
(10:39):
of a screaming Nancy Kerriganmoments after being assaulted. This
undoubtedly led to theincident being reported on more than
it would have otherwise been,and the crazy particulars surrounding
Harding's ex husband, JeffGillooly, his friend Shawn Eckhart,
and the two goons hired toassault Kerrigan, Shane Stant and
Derek Smith. It became a mediacircus, with Harding at the center
(11:03):
of the ring. It also coincidedwith the inception of the 24 hour
news cycle and the media fedthe public its own narrative, with
Harding as the villain andKerrigan the damsel in distress.
But it doesn't feel like thenatural fit for a movie. The script
for I, Tonya was one ofHollywood's favorite unproduced screenplays,
(11:24):
landing on both the Hit Listand blacklist in 2016. Screenwriter
Stephen Rogers was best knownfor romantic comedies like Hope Flats
and Kate and Leopold, and hewas looking to reinvent himself.
He became fascinated withHarding's perspective of the 1994
Nancy Kerrigan attack afterwatching Nanette Bernstein's ESPN
(11:45):
documentary the Price of Gold,specifically the way Harding was
vilified by the press. Rogersflew up to Oregon from Los Angeles
to meet Tonya Harding, hopingshe would let him purchase her life
rights for a screenplay.Harding understandably has issues
trusting strangers, or indeedhuman beings in general, but they
got on. She told him her sideof the story and asked him if she
(12:08):
would have any control overthe script he was writing. Rogers
truthfully said no, but maybehaving her side of the story out
in the world was worth it.Rogers would end up pinky Promising
that if she signed away herlife rights, he would do his best
by her. Rogers wrote thescript on spec so that he could maintain
some control over the projectand produce it himself outside the
(12:31):
studio system. Over the threeyear process of bringing this story
to the screen, Rogers says thetrickiest aspect was securing Harding
and Gillooly's life rights. Hereached out to Jeff Giannully, then
going by Jeff Stone, whoallegedly still feels guilty for
orchestrating the string ofevents that resulted in the US Figure
Skating association banningHarding for life. Gillooly had pleaded
(12:55):
guilty to racketeering in theaftermath and was sentenced to two
years in prison. And he didn'twant any money for his rights. Once
Rogers had secured the liferights from both individuals, the
screenwriter flew back toOregon and interviewed Harding and
Gillooly more intensely. Andtheir stories were wildly different
to each other's. Rogers knewthat this was the trick up his sleeve,
(13:16):
the differing perspectives oftwo people and the contradictory
stories. This was going to beno conventional biopic, but a narrative
that was unreliable, withcharacters breaking the fourth wall
to explain what was going on.And it would also include Harding's
mother, LaVonna, interruptingto criticise the screenplay. By not
including her story enough,Rogers would say there was only one
(13:38):
subject on which Harding andGillooly agreed. That LaVonna Harding
was verbally and emotionallyabusive to Tonya. LaVonna Harding
wasn't approached forinterview, but Rodgers knew immediately
who he wanted for the role.His friend, Alison Janney. Rogers
insisted on Janney playing thepart, so much so that when he sold
the script, that was acondition at the sale that Alison
(14:00):
Janney must play Lavon Hardy.Rogers sent the script out to as
many independent productioncompanies as possible. One of them
was the newly formed LuckyChap Entertainment, launched in 2014
by Margot Robbie, her thenboyfriend, now husband, Tom Ackerley,
and friends Josie McNamara andSophia Kerr. Oh, Tonya would be the
(14:21):
first major motion picturerelease for the company. But at the
time they got the script,neither Robbie nor Akerley knew who
Tonya Harding was. Robbiethought the story was fictional.
It wasn't until she went downa Wikipedia rabbit hole that that
she realized this was based ona crazy true story. Robbie didn't
just want to produce the movieeither. She wanted to star as Tonya
(14:43):
Harding. She'd starredopposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the
Wolf of Wall street and inSuicide Squad as Harley Quinn. And
Robbie wanted to do somethingdifferent. But it would need a physical
transformation as well as thesame drive that led Harding to do
that infamous Triple Axel.Robbie was immediately drawn to Tonya
Harding. Upon learning it wasbased on real events, she became
(15:05):
even more intrigued and saw itas an opportunity to portray a multidimensional
female character. And forLucky Chap Entertainment I Tonya
represented exactly the kindof project they wanted to champion,
female driven stories withcomplex characters that might not
otherwise get made inHollywood. As a relatively new production
company, they saw value in theunique script that larger studios
(15:29):
might have considered toorisky. Robbie took on dual roles
as both star and producer,helping to secure financing for the
modestly budgeted film.Director Craig Gillespie, known for
Lars and the Real Girl, cameon board and the team assembled the
rest of the cast includingSebastian Stan and the must casting
of Alice and Janney. ForSebastian Stan, his casting as Jeff
(15:50):
Gillooly was miles from hismost well known role of Bucky Barnes
in Captain America. Youwouldn't necessarily equate the Winter
Soldier stoicism with JeffGillooly's violent temper and mustache,
but that's acting. Costumedesigner Jennifer Johnson had a wealth
of video and photographicreference to Harding's skating costumes,
(16:10):
but she also wanted to becareful to not stray into caricature.
Early 90s fashion wasscrunchies, perms, garish colours,
many of which came back intofashion recently. But for the skating
costumes, Johnson wanted topay homage to the originals from
the handmade costumes from thestart of her career through to the
professionally designedoutfits at Lillehammer. Matching
(16:32):
the outfit to the skatingfixture was no mean feat though,
and required hours spentcombing through grainy home videos
on YouTube. These videos wereoften incorrectly labeled and additionally
skaters would often repeatcostumes. Over the year, Johnson
and her team intentionallycreated outfits that were poorly
fitting and made with cheapand comfortable fabrics, reflecting
(16:54):
on Harding's status as anoutlier in the sport and definitely
not one of those nice middleclass girls like Nancy Kerrigan,
who is seen in the purevirginal white lace costume she was
attacked in. Harding'sbejeweled turquoise costume she wears
for the Triple Axel was one ofthe few styles with which Johnson
used a little creativelicense, adding a silver underlay
(17:16):
to the knees of her skirt. Itwas intentionally made with single
stretch jumbo spandex, whichis really thick and awkward. It was
so real to life that TonyaHarding approached Johnson at the
movie's afterparty andcommented how authentic the costume
looked. Now, of course, ifMargot Robbie was going to be playing
Tonya Harding, Margot Robbieneeded to know how to skate and luckily
(17:39):
she had experience in icehockey, so knew the basics of skating
on ice, but she still spentthree to four months in training
and weeks specifically withchoreographer Sara Kawahara on the
ice. By the time principalphotography started In Atlanta in
January 2017, Robbie was ableto shoot entire sequences of Hardy's
routines along withprofessional doubles. The Triple
(18:02):
Axel, though, was somethingelse. Only 25 women have ever been
able to pull off a tripleAxel. Only five of those in Olympic
programs, and any of them whowere still able to do so were likely
in training for the nextOlympics and wouldn't be able to
risk performing it for themovie. The first woman to successfully
do a Triple Axel was MidoriIto. She was the first woman to do
(18:25):
it at regional competition inJapan in 1988, then again internationally
at the 1988 NHK Trophy, andthe first woman to do it at the Olympics
in 1992. To achieve it for themovie, the production hired skating
doubles Heidi Munger and AnnaMalkova. Robbie did as much of her
own skating as possible, withthe routines in the movie almost
(18:45):
shot for shot remakes ofHarding's actual routines. Robbie
suffered from a herniated discin her neck, which occurs when all
or part of the disc is forcedthrough a weakened part of the spine.
It causes extreme pain whenmoving the neck, which can also be
felt through the shoulderblades and arms. Robbie couldn't
afford to leave the project,so just got shot up with painkillers
(19:07):
and had routine MRIs to ensureit was safe for her to continue filming
skating scenes. The complexjumps were replicated by Robbie on
a blue screen so they had theangle of her face. They then digitally
map her face over Markova's orMungers. For other shots like the
Triple Axel, they created adigital face from scratch in conjunction
(19:27):
with French company Isco andVFX Studio 8 VFX for the triple Axel,
Robbie starts scouting forreal and then a body double takes
over, but with Robbie's facesuperimposed over. The Triple Axel
is also shown in the movie inextreme slow motion, giving viewers
plenty of time to study thejump and show off how impressive
(19:48):
a jump it actually is. Theyended up blending three or four takes
to get the best version. Theyalso set up six witness cameras around
the ice rink so they couldpinpoint the movements of the skating
double Rebuilt all thestadiums in cg and because the budget
wasn't there to fill stadiumswith extras, they also repopulated
stadiums with CG people sothey could match exact backgrounds
(20:11):
from shot to shot. AVFXproduced 215 visual effects shots
in just six months. Like mostlow budget movies, I Tonya had a
quick turnaround. It had a 31day shoot with everyone pitching
in to help. There were oftenfilming days where Margot Robbie
and Sebastian Stan wereplaying teenagers in the morning,
20 somethings in the afternoonand 40 somethings in the evenings.
(20:35):
There was one day where theyhad 20 setups in a single day. I
Tonya wrapped filming inspring 2017 with plans for an autumn
2017 release with hopes ofmaking it into Oscar season. This
meant the crew had just weeksto complete post production before
the film's premiere at theToronto Film Festival. Editor Tatiana
(20:56):
S. Regal had the unenviablejob of balancing the tone in the
edit. This is a movie that hasto balance the comedy of the situation
as well as the violence ofdomestic abuse and showing characters
in a sympathetic light. So ifthe movie has unreliable narrators
on purpose, what is accurateto what we know and what is just
(21:17):
made up and what will we neverknow? Whether it's true or not, it's
basically a truth universallyacknowledged that Lavonna Harding
was often verbally andphysically abusive to Tonya, and
this was witnessed severaltimes over the years. While no one
witnessed a young TonyaHarding peeing herself on the ice,
it was well known that Nirvanawould refuse her request to get off
(21:39):
the ice after having scrimpedand saved to pay for her lessons.
Levonna was also witnessedhitting Tonya with a hairbrush by
other child skaters. The factthat Nirvana was paying for Tonya's
lessons was always mentionedand Tonya really did have to go to
school in her skating costumefor class photos so that she also
had skating photos. Tonya'sfather didn't leave the family first,
(22:02):
Nirvana did. Tonya lived withher father for 18 months until he
got a new job in Idaho. Tonyathen moved back in with her mother,
who was by then married to hersixth husband, James Golden. Tonya's
half brother Chris Davidson,AKA Creepy Chris, really did try
to sexually assault Tonya whenshe was 15. She ended up running
(22:22):
to a neighbor's house to callthe police. Davidson was arrested
and spent several years injail for the attempted assault. He
was then killed in a hit andrun after his release from prison.
Levonna never believed Tonya'saccount of what happened. It's worth
noting that mother anddaughter haven't spoken since 2002.
A death threat really wascalled in against Tonya Harding before
(22:45):
a regional competition in thePacific Northwest. Whether it was
at CART or not is unknown, butit probably wasn't him. While Harding
never told the judge to suckher appendage, shall we say, when
she read it in the script,Harding wished she had said it. She
did regularly call out thejudge's classism and bias, though,
including those who criticisedher homemade outfits and told her
(23:08):
she didn't fit the allAmerican image of a stable home life
and that was going to affecther chances to get on the Olympic
team. Harding reconciled withJeff Gillooly after their 1993 divorce
purely to show the stabilityto get better marks and to get picked
for the Olympics. And in oneof the more bizarre turns, Shawn
(23:29):
Eckhart really did believe hewas a counter terrorist expert, often
bragging about his dangerousexploits. He really did interview
with Diane Sawyer in 1994,claiming that his education and training
was in counter espionage andcounterterrorism and that he'd been
quoted by a travel magazine asan expert in terrorism. Eckhart really
(23:50):
did brag publicly about hisinvolvement in Nancy Kerrigan's attack.
Eckhart's father also braggedabout his son's involvement. Various
people went to the FBI withinformation about Eckhart's confessions,
including his close friendGene Saunders, who was wiretapped
by the FBI to gatherinformation from Eckhart. Eckhart
was questioned the next dayand confessed to his involvement
(24:13):
in Nancy Cogan's attack. Thegoons that were hired, Shane Stant
and Derek Smith, were nephewand uncle. Stant really did move
his car every 30 minutes toavoid suspicion in the car park of
the Tony Kent Arena. The moviesuggests he did every 15 minutes,
but still avoiding suspicionthere like an absolute pro. Stant
(24:35):
also really did headbutt aglass door to escape the Cobo center
in Detroit after the attack onKerrigan. He also tackled an innocent
bystander to the ground as heran to Smith in the getaway car.
After the incident and theresulting media circus, Tonya Harding
tried to stay out of the glareof the cameras. So to get pictures,
the media would try to get hercar towed or set off the alarm just
(24:59):
so she would have to leave herhome and face them. But the final
truth of the matter is thatTonya Harding pled guilty to conspiring
to hinder the prosecution andNancy kerrigan's attackers. In March
1994, she received a $160,000fine, three years probation and 500
hours of community service.She was forced to resign from the
(25:20):
United States Figure Skatingassociation and withdraw from the
1994 World Figure SkatingChampionships. Harding was banned
from participating in anyevents sanctioned by the USFSA, including
as a coach. In her 2008autobiography, the Tonya Tapes, she
claimed she wanted to tell theFBI what she knew of her ex husband's
(25:41):
involvement in the attack, butthat he had threatened to kill her
at gunpoint after beingsexually assaulted by him and two
other men. Jeff Gillooly hasalways denied this claim. It is time
to segue into the obligatoryKeanu reference of the episode. And
if you don't know what thatis, it's where I try and link every
movie that I feature withKeanu Reeves for no reason other
(26:03):
than he is the best of men.And sometimes it's really easy to
link Keanu to movies,especially when he starred with someone
or there's like a tenuous linkto a movie that he was into this
one. But I actually found areally interesting connection between
this movie and Keanu Reeves inthat I mentioned that Margot Robbie
(26:23):
experienced a herniated discin her neck which was incredibly
painful for her and she justkind of baffled through it. And it's
interesting as well becauseKeanu Reeves had a neck injury on
the Matrix and he trained witha neck brace and he didn't want anyone
to know that he couldn't dothe film. And in the end, if you
think about it, both actorsgot their dues because Margot Robbie
(26:45):
got multiple awardsnominations for I, Tonya and Keanu
Reeves ended up starring inone of the most important and influential
sci fi movies of all time. AndI know I keep mentioning it, but
when Harding got the tripleaxel at the 1991 U.S. figure Skating
Championships, she skated tothe 1989 Batman theme. And Tonya
(27:06):
Harding was really ahead ofher time using pop, rock and metal
songs for skating. It'ssomething that's fairly commonplace
now, but it was unheard ofback then due to the very traditionalist
nature of the sport and peopletending to prefer classical music
to skate to. Some of the songsfeatured in Ortonia had been used
in Harding's real liferoutines like ZZ Top Sleeping Bag.
(27:30):
Music supervisor Susan Jacobsselected tracks from the 1970s like
Fleetwood Max the Chain orSupertramp's Goodbye Stranger. Feeling
that classic rock songs fillthe movie without getting in the
way of the story. Thesoundtrack also includes iconic anthems
like En Vogue's Free youe Mindand Heart's Barracuda. Singer songwriter
(27:51):
Sufjan Stevens sent his songTonya Harding to Jacobs to be used
in the movie, but it wasturned down because they couldn't
find a way to use it in thefilm. Peter Nashl composed the score
to I Tonya in a little overthree weeks. When the movie had its
world premiere at the Torontofilm festival in September 2017,
(28:12):
it was the runner up in thefestival's People's Choice Awards.
But shortly before productionon the film began, Miramax had acquired
the domestic distributionrights to I Tonya for $6 million
and they'd also helpedcomplete the film. However, prior
to the film's premiere,Miramax put the distribution rights
on sale. A bidding war ensuedfor the domestic distribution rights
(28:35):
to the film, with NetflixEntertainment Studios, Annapurna
Pictures, CBS Films and AvironPictures all bidding for the movie.
The bid was won by Neon and 30West. They paid $5 million for the
distribution and the releaseof I Tonya was scheduled firmly for
awards season in December2017, with a wider release set for
(28:58):
January 2018 to coincide withthe Winter Olympics. I Tonya released
Limited in four cinemas on 8December 2017 in the US, opening
wide on 19 January 2018 sevenweeks later. While it had slowly
increased the number ofcinemas it was available in, it would
(29:19):
never quite crack the US top10, peaking at 12th in its fifth
week and then again in itsninth week. On its $11 million budget,
I Tonya grossed $30 milliondomestically in the US and $23.9
million internationally, for atotal worldwide gross of $53.9 million.
(29:40):
It also has a 90% rating ofrotten Tomatoes. With a critical
consensus reading led bystrong work from Margot Robbie and
Anison Janney, I Tonya findsthe humor in its real life story
without losing sight of itsmore tragic and emotionally resonant
elements. While both MargotRobbie and Alison Janney were praised,
(30:00):
the idea of making Harding asympathetic character didn't sit
well with everyone, with USAToday critic Christine Brennan, who
had covered the real story in1994, criticizing the movie for not
letting facts get in the wayof a good story and suggesting that
the only person Tonya Hardinghad to blame was herself. I Tonya
(30:21):
received a total of 96 awardsnominations and 44 wins, making Lucky
Chap Entertainment's firstfeature film a bit of an awards darling.
At the Academy Awards, it wasnominated for Best Actress for Embargo
Robbie, Best SupportingActress for Alison Janney and Best
Film Editing for Tatiana SRegal. Alice and Janney would end
(30:43):
up winning. Janney also wonthe BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress
with the movie nominated forBest Actress, Best Costume Design,
Best Makeup and Hair and BestOriginal Screenplay. Janney also
won the Golden Globe, withMargot Robbie again nominated for
Best Actress and the movieitself nominated for best motion
picture, musical or comedy.And so this was a movie that ended
(31:05):
up a commercial success, acritical success, and an awards season
success as well. The quoteunquote whack heard around the world
created a worldwide mediafrenzy long before Twitter or Instagram
and was really only quashedafter the O.J. simpson Chase and
the subsequent trial. The wordgillooly became a verb to gillooly
(31:27):
someone. But the biggestchange after the incident was figure
skating itself. When TonyaHarding and Nancy Kerrigan competed
in the short program at the1994 Winter Olympics, 48.5 million
viewers turned in for a singleprogram that was tape delayed. And
all of a sudden the worldbecame interested in ice skating,
(31:48):
with up and comers likeMichelle Kwan becoming celebrities
in their own right. Kwon was13 years old, training in the Cobo
arena the day Nancy Kerriganwas attacked. And everyone in the
arena was left shaken by a manseemingly able to get past security
and attack a professionalskater in broad daylight. The media
(32:09):
obsession with Tonya Hardingled to TV networks fighting to show
skating events, creating TVspecials on skaters. A total of 13
professional competitions wereaired on TV after Harding's downfall.
Skaters went on US wide tours,skating in sold out arenas, mobbed
by fans. This boom lasted from1994 to 2001. By the 2014 Olympics
(32:34):
in Sochi, 11 days of figureskating competitions broadcast in
PrimeTime drew just 21.4million viewers. But it was also
a sport that Tonya Harding wasnot allowed to participate in. In
a life of abuse and neglect,skating had been her one true love,
and for a while, it had lovedher in return. Exactly how involved
(32:56):
she was in the planning andexecution of the attack on Nancy
Kerrigan is debatable. And thepoint of this movie is, I guess we'll
never truly know the realstory. Harding was punished for her
involvement and was punishedseverely from a sport that constantly
punished her for beingdifferent and for being, quote unquote,
white trash. Harding beingbanned from the sport led to her
(33:18):
trying other avenues,including reality TV and celebrity
boxing, as well as becoming awelder, a painter and a sales clerk.
While skating had been her onetrue love. It's not anymore. The
final title card reads, tonyawants you to know she's a good mother.
Stephen Rogers had askedHarding during their interviews.
(33:39):
How do you want people toremember you? Harding replied, I
want people to know I'm a goodmother. She is now married with a
teenage son, and in doing sohas basically broken the cycle of
abuse and neglect she becamethe mother for her son that she'd
always wanted for herself.Tonya Harding may not have had love
in her early life, but she haslove now. Despite everything, Harding
(34:04):
continued to love skating andreturned to the ice, even reuniting
with her former coach, DodiTeachman. Nancy Kerrigan was not
consulted for the film and hadno input into her portrayal. Her
character has minimal screentime in the movie, appearing primarily
in footage of the attack andits aftermath. Director Craig Ganespi
did this on purpose and made aconscious decision to focus on Harding's
(34:27):
story rather than the rivalrybetween the two skaters. Harding
did attend the movie'spremiere and reportedly was emotional
after viewing it. She hasexpressed some appreciation for how
the film portrayed aspects ofher life that the public didn't know
about, particularly herdifficult upbringing and abusive
relationship, but didn't agreewith Jeff Gillooly's point of view.
(34:48):
Kerrigan, however, has beenmostly quiet about the film. In interviews
around the time of the film'srelease, she indicated she hasn't
seen it and wasn'tparticularly interested in revisiting
that chapter of her life,which is absolutely fair. While Alice
and Janney won all the awards,this movie lives and dies quite literally
on the work of Margot Robbie,whether that's as the lead actor
(35:11):
or the producer. She is aconventionally beautiful blonde known
for the Wolf of Wall streetand Suicide Squad, both movies where
sex appeal and the male gazewere firmly a priority to this movie,
where, let's be honest, thereis no sex appeal, there is no male
gaze, but she is phenomenal inthis movie. I Tonya proved she act
(35:32):
her socks off as well as findgreat stories as a producer. She
is everything in this movieand he's just Jeff. But it's the
way this movie depicts abusethat I find the most interesting.
I Tonya never sugarcoats theabuse. It never condones the behaviors
of Levonna or Jeff or indeedof Tonya herself, but highlights
(35:52):
the cycle of abuse and howabusers always go back to their patterns
of abuse and victims just wantto be loved. And so the cycle perpetuates.
And it's not just physicalabuse either, but emotional abuse
as well as educational abuse.LaVonna limits her daughter's education,
takes her out of school toskate, which made Tonya Harding a
(36:12):
great skater but also limitedher access to friends or support
networks. Love, honor,strengthen, saved to fund Tonya's
skating career, but neverbecause she loved her daughter or
wanted her to live a betterlife, but to be the consummate narcissist
and always have her daughterunder her control for the rest of
her life as penance for thesacrifices she made. Just as Tonya
(36:35):
reached her limit, she metJeff Gillooly, her meal ticket away
from her abusive mother, andwent from being abused by her mother
to being abused by herhusband. And then after being abused
by her husband and divorcinghim, she was abused by the hierarchy
of ice skating. She was deemednot good enough. Then she was abused
by the media, ridiculed andmocked mercilessly with everyone
(36:58):
having an opinion on her life,whether she did it, whether she knew,
whether she wanted NancyKerrigan out of the way. And this
isn't to say that TonyaHarding is innocent throughout all
of this. She is not. NancyKerrigan is the one who is completely
innocent. Tonya Hardingperpetuated abuse. She was involved
in the attack on NancyKerrigan and she paid the price for
(37:19):
it. The court of publicopinion also found her guilty, but
on way more serious chargesthan the law did. This movie doesn't
exonerate her, but it doeshighlight there are always multiple
sides to the story that hurtpeople, hurt people, and that we're
all capable of abuse. It maynot be obvious, but every time we
judge someone else, whetherthat's on TV or in gossip magazines,
(37:42):
we're feeding that narrativeand adding to their invisible trauma.
But ultimately, just likeTonya Harding's famous triple axel,
I Tonya absolutely sticks thelanding. Thank you for listening.
As always, I would love tohear your thoughts on I Tonya. And
thank you as always for yourcontinued support of this podcast.
If you want to get involvedand help this podcast grow and reach
(38:04):
more people, you could tellyour friends and family about this
podcast. You could leave arating or review wherever you found
this podcast. Or you can findme, follow me and like and share
posts on social media. I amerbaldiorama on all of the social
medias. And if you like thisepisode on I Tonya, you might also
(38:25):
like some of the episodes thatI have done on women in sports specifically.
I'm just going to highlight acouple of them. Episode 206, Bring
It on, which is aboutcheerleading, but it's about more
than cheerleading and it's ahell of a lot more smart for an early
2000s teen comedy than it'sever given credit for. And also episode
(38:46):
248, which is fighting with MyFamily, which is also based on a
true story, the True Story ofthe WWE Wrestler Page and How She
Became the WWE Wrestler Page.I actually did that for women's History
Month last year. So that is amore recent episode, but it was a
lot of fun to do because Iknow very little about wrestling
(39:08):
exactly the same as I knewvery little about ice skating until
I did this episode. Sobasically what I'm saying is I use
Verbal Diorama as an excuse tojust learn about things, which hopefully
is the reason you're listeningyourself. Let me know what you think
of those movies and of thoseepisodes. So the next episode of
this podcast gonna besomething completely different. I
(39:29):
have two words for you. UglySonic. The next episode of Bubble
Diorama is going to be on theHistory and Legacy of Sonic the Hedgehog
and the incredible decisionthat they made after the trailer
was released to completelyredesign Sonic. Listening to fan
feedback not only saved themovie, but created a billion dollar
(39:53):
Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.But don't feel bad for Ugly Sonic.
He turned up in theChippendale Rescue Rangers movie.
I hope you will join me nextepisode for the history and Legacy
of Sonic the Hedgehog. And asI always like to say, this podcast
is free and it always will befree. However, unfortunately it's
not free to make a podcast. Irely on some incredibly generous
(40:15):
individuals to help fundVerbal Diorama and to secure the
future of this podcast aswell. You are under no obligation
to join them. However, if youdo get value out of what I do and
you do enjoy the episodes thatI produce, and if you're unaware,
I do all of this on my own aswell. I don't have any help to do
this podcast and I have neverhad any help to do this podcast.
(40:37):
So if you do get value out ofwhat I do and you have some spare
pennies and you want to investin independent podcasting, there
are two ways you can do that.You could go to verbaldiorama.com
tips and give a one off tip.Or you can go to verbaldiorama.Com
Patreon and you can join theamazing patrons of this podcast.
They are Claudia, Simon,Laurel, Derek, Kat, Andy, Mike, Luke,
(41:00):
Michael, Scott, Brendan, Lisa,Sam, Jack, Dave, Stuart, Nicholas
so Kev, Pete, Heather, Danny,Ali, Stu, Brett, Philip M, Michelle,
Zenos, Sean, Rhino, Philip K,Adam, Elaine, Kyle, and Aaron. If
you want to get in touch, youcan email verbal dioramail.com or
(41:21):
you can go toverbaldiorama.com and fill out the
little contact form on there.You can say hi. You can give feedback.
You can also make suggestionsas well if you wish. And you can
also find bits that I doover@filmstories.co.uk too and finally.
(44:35):
Bye.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.