Margot Robbie

[pachengala]

Jan 19, 2017 21:32:29 GMT -4 kateln said:

Jan 19, 2017 17:49:40 GMT -4 kostgard said:

I may have referred to SE Portland near the Fred Meyer headquarters (a neighborhood that is VERY nice now, but at the time a little run down) as "Tonya territory".

This was my hood growing up and it was indeed a rough place back then--our coked-out neighbors were forever stealing our bikes--and it still blows my mind how expensive and gentrified it is now. (Oh! I got my first Cabbage Patch Kid at that Freddie's, so warm feelings 4eva.)

Topic? My dad loves Tonya Harding and shouts 'Free Tonya' when he very infrequently visits the skating rink. Oh wait, actual topic: I still can't believe this is an actual Hollywood project, with an actual it-girl and [my boyfriend] Sebastian Stan. Serious question: who greenlighted this?

[SApril]

I'm mad they are filming this in Georgia and not Portland. I should be seeing Mt. St. Helens, Hood and Rainier in the background shots (on a clear day you can see all three)!

When Tonya moved to Vancouver, WA my brother says he used to run into her in bars. And some people were kind of mean to her.

As for Margot in that ridiculous fat suit, Tonya was not that bulky in her skating years. Actually, I think she gained a bit of prior to the 1994 Olympics, but before that she wasn't big. Just shaped more like gymnast and short. She was 95lbs at the 1990 Nationals.

I read on ONTD that there will be no actor playing Nancy Kerrigan in the movie. Apparently she's only mentioned in passing.

[Mutagen]

Jan 19, 2017 20:05:49 GMT -4 kostgard said:

Jan 19, 2017 19:29:19 GMT -4 Ginger said:

I agree with everything you said except for this part because I think lack of prettiness was only part of the reason she didn't get endorsements. If I were a sponsor and had to chose a skater to endorse, no doubt I would go with Kristi or Nancy (or Katarina Witt, who was still sucking up a big chunk of the endorsements). They were workhorses. They were reliable and cooperative. They had a reputation for being hard working and embodying good sportsmanship. Even before the Kerrigan attack, Tonya was known for a poor work ethic and flaming out at events because she was late and out of shape.

And I'm sure Kristi, in particular, was willing to do whatever her sponsors wanted. They make figure skaters say some really dumb stuff. I love hearing Tanith Belbin discussing her passion for wrapping presents using "Scotch Tape brand tape" or Ekaterina Gordeeva discussing how all of her children's favorite childhood memories center around her Smuckers jam recipes. But I don't see Tonya having the brains or the personality to sweet talk Saturday afternoon figure skating fans into buying Hallmark figurines.

I have a hard time coming up with a sponsorship that I think Tonya actually deserved over any of those other women.

Oh, I completely agree with you (I wasn't too clear on that). If Tonya had any sort of discipline, she would have been far more successful both in her sport and with endorsements. I think because she didn't have spectacular looks/sex appeal advertisers weren't willing to overlook her rough edges. No woman looked at Tonya and thought "I wanna be like her" and no man looked at her and thought "I wanna do her" because she had neither looks nor charm. So advertisers weren't that tempted. But if she had the work ethic to overcome her rough edges, she could have landed them and let the stylists at her photo shoots and commercials take care of her look and she could play the scrappy tough cookie that a lot of people find appealing. I think her looks definitely played a part in her lack of endorsements, but I think she could have easily gotten past that (it isn't like she was a deformed troll or anything) if she were the least bit reliable. That's how she was her own worst enemy.

in the "30 for 30" doc, Tonya is still super-pissed about all the money she didn't get, feeling that she was basically "robbed" of it all unfairly because she never won gold at the Olympics (and she contends that she didn't win gold only because the judges were biased against her - never mind that her routines were sloppy and she fell. And advertisers certainly weren't going to touch her after she was involved in at least covering up an attack on her competitor, no matter how well she did). But really, even if she had won, she wouldn't have racked in all the endorsements Nancy got because she had a bad habit of doing things like getting into a fender-bender and then threatening the other driver with a bat. She thought figure skating would make her rich. She had the raw talent to go far, but she kept shooting herself in the foot with her poor choices, refusal to accept guidance from others and the chip she got on her shoulder when things didn't go her way.

As for the endorsements she did get, I remember her getting something that was rather unfeminine, like for tires or something like that. I vaguely remember the commercial and it was just footage of Tonya skating -no acting or lines required.

That 30 for 30 documentary was wild. I was surprised at how much of Tonya's POV there was, and I actually thought it was a little unbalanced in her favor... and she still came off as a total asshole. I just could not believe the part where she was still mad that Nancy wouldn't talk to her the first time they saw each other on the rink after the attack. STILL, in the year 2014 or whenever that doc was made, Tonya seemed to consider herself the victim of Nancy being "mean".  

If she'd taken the approach of "you know what?  I fucked up, I deservedly paid for it, and I've tried to live my life for the better since then", I think Tonya would've come across much better in the documentary, and maybe could have even redeemed herself a little. But her interviews seemed to be filled with self-pity and continued bitterness towards Nancy, with almost a total lack of ability to introspect or take ownership of her choices.  It's one thing to lack self-awareness at 22, it's another not to have gained any by age 42.

As far as Nancy Kerrigan herself goes. Weirdly, I have such a vivid memory of going to school with a girl who HATED Nancy Kerrigan.  Nancy was Satan on skates as far as this girl was concerned.  Obviously that's sort of an extreme anecdote but I'm not sure Nancy was as universally liked as much as was purported.  A lot of people seemed to take some weird pleasure in the popular princess girl getting taken down, and seemed to relate way too hard to Tonya's sense of resentment.  In regard to the Margot Robbie movie, I think that's the angle I'm most concerned about.  I think it really sucks that Nancy was assaulted just trying to go about her business, and I think it would extra-suck if this movie played lightly or sympathized with the people who did that to her.

As a side note, if you aren't watching more of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries, you should!  They're so good.  The one about the Loma Prieta earthquake during the 1989 World Series is fascinating (and horrifying in some places).

[The Brunette]

Jan 20, 2017 19:40:57 GMT -4 Mutagen said:

As a side note, if you aren't watching more of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries, you should!  They're so good.

Yes! You don’t even have to be a sports fan to be riveted by 30 for 30. I haven’t seen them all, but The Price of Gold (Harding’s story) is really good - as well as Broke, The Band That Wouldn’t Die, June 17, 1994, The Marinovich Project (the sports equivalent of a psycho stage mom story), The Two Escobars … O.J.: Made in America is also under the 30 for 30 banner.

Oh, and Small Potatoes: Who Killed the USFL? (Hint: It’s the man of the hour on this day.)

As a “fat, “ugly” high school outcast at the time the scandal broke, I totally identified with “fat,” “ugly” Tonya and detested Nancy, because I saw N as equivalent to my bully. (N was “pretty” and popular, like my bully, so my wounded 15-year-old self cast N as the queen bee who used her social standing to spread rumors about me and wreck my reputation - I saw that if you’re pretty and popular, you’re totally all about turning the universe against someone below you, and you can get away with it). For many years, even into adulthood, I couldn’t separate myself from T and I thought she got a raw deal (I mean, the popular pre-Lillehammer belief was that T was involved in the attack because she had no friends in the skating circuit, and welp, similarly, I had no friends in my high school.)

No, “princess” N probably wasn’t a bully to “outcast” T, but when you’re a 15-year-old outcast, you see “princess” and “outcast” and your developing mind acts accordingly.

I forget if it was in The Price of Gold or the NBC documentary that ran during the Sochi games, but in the footage where T was practicing in leggings and leotards - she looked good! Those costumes she chose for competition (or perhaps, had to wear - I’ve read that because of lack of funds, she borrowed stuff from other PDX skaters) were so unflattering to her body type. Athletic-inspired costumes with minimal frills (longer A-line skirts, for example) would have really suited her, but alas, she was too stubborn to admit it, or to listen to people who perhaps suggested she opt for different styling. So now we (and Margot’s stylists) all think she was fat, and not merely a shitty dresser.

While I do believe that T was involved in the attack, for a time I thought, “I can’t blame her - I’d have loved to have caused physical harm to my bully.” That’s long past (thankfully!), but I still have some sympathy for T - that background had to have seriously fucked her up (OMG HER CRAZY MOM HAD A FUCKING BIRD ON HER SHOULDER). But when you lie to yourself so much over the years, there’s no way you could ever own up to your mistakes. Well, at least she’s not president.

[kostgard]

Jan 20, 2017 19:40:57 GMT -4 Mutagen said:

That 30 for 30 documentary was wild. I was surprised at how much of Tonya's POV there was, and I actually thought it was a little unbalanced in her favor... and she still came off as a total asshole. I just could not believe the part where she was still mad that Nancy wouldn't talk to her the first time they saw each other on the rink after the attack. STILL, in the year 2014 or whenever that doc was made, Tonya seemed to consider herself the victim of Nancy being "mean".  

If she'd taken the approach of "you know what?  I fucked up, I deservedly paid for it, and I've tried to live my life for the better since then", I think Tonya would've come across much better in the documentary, and maybe could have even redeemed herself a little. But her interviews seemed to be filled with self-pity and continued bitterness towards Nancy, with almost a total lack of ability to introspect or take ownership of her choices.  It's one thing to lack self-awareness at 22, it's another not to have gained any by age 42.

As far as Nancy Kerrigan herself goes. Weirdly, I have such a vivid memory of going to school with a girl who HATED Nancy Kerrigan.  Nancy was Satan on skates as far as this girl was concerned.  Obviously that's sort of an extreme anecdote but I'm not sure Nancy was as universally liked as much as was purported.  A lot of people seemed to take some weird pleasure in the popular princess girl getting taken down, and seemed to relate way too hard to Tonya's sense of resentment.  In regard to the Margot Robbie movie, I think that's the angle I'm most concerned about.  I think it really sucks that Nancy was assaulted just trying to go about her business, and I think it would extra-suck if this movie played lightly or sympathized with the people who did that to her.

As a side note, if you aren't watching more of ESPN's 30 for 30 documentaries, you should!  They're so good.  The one about the Loma Prieta earthquake during the 1989 World Series is fascinating (and horrifying in some places).

I rewatched the 30 for 30 doc last night after this thread (you can buy it for like $2-$3 on Amazon or YouTube). And yeah - that part where Tonya was all, "I went up to her at the Olympics and told her I was sorry she got attacked she she blew me off and refused to hug me! That was so rude!" Girl, you're lucky all she did was be all, "Whatever." If the wife of the man who orchestrated a physical assault on you came up to say hello would you be all smiles and sunshine with her? Hell, no. Especially not since at that point it had come out that Tonya had helped cover it up. The fact that she still hadn't figured it out 20 years later was telling. She was still all, "I was being NICE, and Nancy was being a BITCH! And yet somehow I'm the bad guy!" She still can't take responsibility for her part in what happened.

Other fun bits from the doc - Paul Wylie totally hates Tonya's ass, Tonya is still fond of the red talon nails, Tonya's mother is just the worst in her faux fur coat and parrot on her shoulder. Also, in the opening Tonya says she was born "Outside of Portland, Oregon. Somewhere - who knows where." What? Was she born in a parking lot some where and not a hospital?

In a lot of ways I do feel sorry for Tonya because coming from such a shitty background probably didn't give her a lot of the tools you need to navigate life. But at the same time, watching this, she clearly isn't dumb. Even as a teenager she comes across as pretty smart and during the whole mess she was somewhat savvy about how she talked to the media. And it wasn't like she only had her shitty mother and no one to turn to for help. Her coach and her choreographer really tried to help her. They worked with her for free. Her coach took her on shopping trips (including one where she comes out of the dressing room in a nice black dress and her coach gasps, "Tonya! You look great!" and Tonya just makes a "Gag me" face). She (by her own admission) refused to listen to advice and always slapped that helping hand away. And then got mad when when doing it her own way didn't work. Then she put all her eggs in one basket (no focus on education or anything else - just skating), fucked up that basket by her own actions, then apparently has been stewing in bitterness since she got banned and those meanies at the USFSA took away her basket for no good reason (in her eyes).

And it does suck that she had to borrow costumes or they were homemade, but homemade doesn't have to equal "tacky." This thread also made me fall into a rabbit hole of skating costumes. And honestly, Tonya wasn't always terrible in the costume department. I mean, never as nice as Nancy's, but for late 80s/early 90s skating costumes, not truly terrible.

Like, I think she actually looks cute here. I mean, total cheese, but of its time and the skirt is kinda interesting. And her hair is really no different than Yamaguchi's.

And this one is no worse than the one that Yamaguchi was wearing in the previous pic. She just needs better hair (the french braid did her no favors. She needs bangs). She was overly-fond of that deep neckline, though. She used it A LOT and it wasn't the best look on her.

And this isn't terrible for early 90s, either. Again, she just needs better hair.

However, this is awful.

And her most famous outfit was the worst. Tacky. Unflattering. And it's paired with zero-effort "I just got done mowing the lawn" hair.

And just to show how she looks when someone helps her out, here she is styled for a photo shoot. She looks great. If she had allowed her coach or others to help her she wouldn't have been the "ugly duckling" (as they called her in the doc).

Okay, all this is making me look forward to seeing how they interpret these costumes in the movie.

[boricuamusicfan]

Call me crazy, but I think that, in terms of looks at least, Amy Schumer would have been a much better fit for the Tonya Harding role. As far as acting, I think neither Schumer nor Robbie are extraordinary, but at least Schumer would look like Harding. I still feel that Robbie is this generation's Sharon Stone...spectacularly hot in that meh-blonde-sexy-bimbo way, but far from a great actress. I still cringe when I remember her alleged NY accent for Suicide Squad's Harley Quinn.

ETA: Am i the only one who finds it funny that Amy Schumer is set to play Barbie while Margot Robbie has been cast as Tonya Harding?

[scarletprincess]

I just think Robbie is way too tall to play Tonya.

[mochakitty]

Jan 20, 2017 18:52:49 GMT -4 SApril said:

I read on ONTD that there will be no actor playing Nancy Kerrigan in the movie. Apparently she's only mentioned in passing.

Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Caitlin Carver will play Nancy Kerrigan.

EXCLUSIVE: Caitlin Carver has been cast as champion figure skater and Tonya Harding rival Nancy Kerrigan in the biopic I, Tonya starring Margot Robbie. Craig Gillespie is directing the film, which follows Harding’s involvement in the 1994 assault on Kerrigan who was clubbed in the knee right before the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit in an effort to incapacitate her.

[Auroranorth]

Oh, boy. This sounds like it's going to be awful.

[ladyboy]

Yes. I can't wait. Hopefully there will even be sloppy skating and/or really noticeable body doubles. I think we're guaranteed an unintentionally hilarious script.