The Wolf of Wall Street meets figure skating.
A new red band trailer for the upcoming Tonya Harding biopic starring Margot Robbie, I, Tonya, has hit the web.
Harding, a two-time Olympian, was the first American woman to ever complete a triple axel while in competition, which she did in 1991 during the U.S. Championships. This fact is often overshadowed, however, by the 1994 Olympics — when Harding’s main competitor Nancy Kerrigan was attacked by Shane Stant. Stant, for those who don’t know the unbelievable true story, was hired by by Hardin’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt.
“America,” Robbie says in the trailer. “They want someone to love. But they want someone to hate. I mean, come on — what kind of friggin person bashes in their friend’s knee? Who would do that to a friend?”
I, Tonya looks to be covering all these events in the form of a dark, in some ways satirical, comedy. Alongside Robbie, Allison Janney (The West Wing) plays LaVona Golden — Harding’s brutally fueled mother who was the one pushing her so hard to win. “I made you a champion knowing you’d hate me for it,” Janney says in the trailer. “That’s the sacrifice a mother makes.”
The film, directed by Craig Gillespie (Lars and the Real Girl) and written by Steven Rogers, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year and took home the runner-up award for People’s Choice. At the time of this article being written, it sits at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Following its TIFF run, Neon production company bought the rights to the film for a $5 million offer, one of the biggest sales that took place at TIFF this year. “It’s been a whirlwind couple of days and we’re so thrilled by the overwhelming response I, Tonya received since premiering in Toronto,” said sales company LuckyChap Entertainment and Clubhouse Pictures in a statement via Indiewire. “This film means the world to us and we’re really happy to find a distribution partner in Neon, who loves it as much as we do. From the first meeting we had with them, their passion spoke volumes. They completely captured the essence and tone of our film and embraced the spirit of it through their innovative marketing approach.”
Neon has now given I, Tonya a limited release on Dec. 8, 2017 in hopes it will earn awards consideration. There has been no word on when it will be given a wide release yet (we’re hoping soon). I, Tonya also stars Caitlin Carver as Kerrigan, Sebastian Stan as Gillooly, Ricky Russert as Staat and Julianne Nicholson as Diane Rawlinson.
Watch the trailer for I, Tonya here and let us know if you’re excited to see this movie in the comments below.