I, Tonya

[Vagabond]

Contextual characters never mentioned in the movie include:
Dorthy Hamil
Roz Sumners
Tiffany Chin
Debi Thomas
Jill Trenary
Midori Ito
Krist Yamaguchi
Surya Bonaly
Oksana Baiul
Yuka Sato

That's like a list of the characters in Hamlet without the Kween!

 

[SmallFairy]

I thought the movie was fun. Not brilliant, but a good laugh, they nailed the stupid villains, "led" by Eckhardt. I watched it with lots of my skating friends and we just had to look past all the non-accurate skating stuff, like all the missing competitors (no mention of Midori was the absolute worst), Hamar Olympic rink being far too big and looking nothing like it, and Tonya's constant change of boot brands. No way she was skating in Lillehammer in Jackson freestyle boots Nerdy stuff aside, the movie was maybe a little over the top at times, but I get that's the point of the whole thing.

Fun fact: my friend worked in a souvenir shop in Lillehammer during the Olympics and Tonya came in, buying a Norwegian lusekofte. She says Tonya was so tiny, and looked so tired and pale, with kinda bad skin, she felt really sorry for her. I don't know if it was before or after the competition.

 

[miffy]

I think Baiul and Yamaguchi were both mentioned once each, extremely briefly. Definitely no Ito though

 

[bardtoob]

I think skaters were not mentioned to avoid litigation.

 

[snippy]

I think skaters were not mentioned to avoid litigation.

There’s this, but also I don’t think that the story was about them, so it wasn’t totally necessary

 

[berthesghost]

There’s this, but also I don’t think that the story was about them, so it wasn’t totally necessary

I think it's less this and more that pointing out that not only was the ice princess exactly what attracted Tonya to skating in first place but that she rose in the ranks during a period of athletic prowess where minotities were having unprecedented gains all goes against her bs revisionist history of Tonya being snubbed by a country club type institution because she was po and more athletic, which is the great lie the movie insists of pushing as its narrative.

 

[cmk]

There’s this, but also I don’t think that the story was about them, so it wasn’t totally necessary

I am sure there were a few scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. imdb had an actress credited for playing Midori. I saw it via firestick. I will buy the dvd (maybe the "missing" skaters will turn up in the deleted scenes). I enjoyed the movie but wish they had done a biopic earlier ( 94-99 so Tonya could have done the skating scenes herself).

 

[cmk]

There still aren't very many black skaters skating at Olympic-level. In the past you had Thomas, Bonaly, and I think Tai was mixed. The past Olympics had Vanessa James (in pairs) and Mae Bernice Meite (singles) skating for France. I read an article where Rudy was lamenting the lack of Latino's in the sport. The most successful minority (us) in skating has to be the Asians . I do think some of it has to do with the enormous financial cost of elite figure skating. Its a lot cheaper to buy a basketball, football, soccer ball, or a baseball bat.

88 Olympics- Thomas was athletic, but Trenary and Kadavy definitely fit the ice princess role. 92 Olympics- Kristi was athletic enough to pull off a 3lutz/3toe and the most artistic of the top 4. Midori and Tonya were athletic powerhouses and both were far more artistic than they were ever given credit for. Nancy was the least athletic and the least artistic skater but managed to win a bronze medal despite an extremely poor freeskate ( she definitely should have been behind both Tonya and Surya in the free (and overall ). 94- Kerrigan was able to fake the "ice princess" image despite having an affair with her still married agent (who left his wife for her), but lost a lot of endorsements when she made snarky comments about Baiul and Disney ( who pulled the plug on their planned movie after she dissed them at Disney world). Harding was still very athletic, but buckled under the stress after being hounded by the media day and night. She was still way undermarked in the short (they took off for a fall on the lutz combo when it should of only been a small deduction for the step inbetween, and the 2 flip was not two footed or stepped out of .

International judges were more willing to reward powerful athletic skaters ( Irina, Surya) more than the judges in the us. Some foreign countries ( Russia, Germany) totally footed the bill so the skaters didn't have the stress of trying to make ends meet. Tonya was from a very poor working class family- mom was a waitress, and her dad worked at a few different jobs and dealt with health issues. Nancy was on the upper end of the working class (welders make good money) and had a more stable family life. Tonya's family moved a lot, Nancy's family stayed in the same house.

 

[jenniferlyon]

The movie could have been named "I, Tonya, Tonya, Tonya!" As other than the briefest of mention of Nancy almost in passing, the movie really only focuses on Tonya, I assume to heighten the "lone wolf goes up against the system" narrative the story was pushing.

Contextual characters never mentioned in the movie include:
Dorthy Hamil
Roz Sumners
Tiffany Chin
Debi Thomas
Jill Trenary
Midori Ito
Krist Yamaguchi
Surya Bonaly
Oksana Baiul
Yuka Sato

I'm not sure of the exact legalities because some of the above-mentioned skaters would be considered public figures while others may not be. But it's highly likely that the filmmakers didn't want to deal with lawsuits.

 

[cmk]

The movie didn't always have things in the correct order. The tall unnamed skater in one of the scenes was probably supposed to be Trenary (although that particular skate America it should of been someone playing Chin instead). There were scenes that weren't used due to theater time constraints . I think all of the skaters mentioned would be considered public figures.

 

[MacMadame]

I think Baiul and Yamaguchi were both mentioned once each, extremely briefly. Definitely no Ito though

I think not mentioning Ito is worth discussing because of the triple axel, but not mentioning skaters who weren't competing at the time like Dorothy Hamil, Roz Sumners, Tiffany Chin, Debi Thomas and Jill Trenary? The idea that they should be part of the story makes me Why would they be remotely relevant? I'd say the same thing about Bonaly and Sato - not really a factor in this particular story. Yamaguchi definitely was a factor but was mentioned. And wasn't Baiul mentioned too? Not that I think she was much on Harding's radar, not like Ito and Yamaguchi had to have been.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

What Connie Chung thought of 'I, Tonya.

I'm thinking that if a movie is ever made about her life, I, Connie! would star, well, Connie Chung.

 

[berthesghost]

I think not mentioning Ito is worth discussing because of the triple axel, but not mentioning skaters who weren't competing at the time like Dorothy Hamil, Roz Sumners, Tiffany Chin, Debi Thomas and Jill Trenary? The idea that they should be part of the story makes me Why would they be remotely relevant? I'd say the same thing about Bonaly and Sato - not really a factor in this particular story. Yamaguchi definitely was a factor but was mentioned. And wasn't Baiul mentioned too? Not that I think she was much on Harding's radar, not like Ito and Yamaguchi had to have been.

every single skater I mentioned is not only relevant to the real life Tonya's skating story, but were relevant to scenes in the movie that they chose to leave references out of, from the large (they spend 10-15 minutes dwelling oh her being wuz robbed at 86 SA because she's not some ice princess while not only ignoring that she lost to Tiffany Chin but having a dozen nameless competitors in the background none of whom were Asian) to the small (little girl Tonya is obsessed with skating so lavona gives her lessons. In real life, the nation was obsessed with "america's sweetheart" dorothy Hamil. So it was just a coincidence that little Tonya got obsessed with skating at the very same time the media was pushing Hamil hard? Sure.)

 

[MacMadame]

I don't agree. It's a story about Tonya Harding. Unless those skaters were people she personally idolized or had a lot of interaction with, there's no point throwing them in. That's not how most movies work. They compress the story and the characters to the essential ones. Otherwise the movie becomes unwieldy and hard to follow.

 

[berthesghost]

I don't agree. It's a story about Tonya Harding. Unless those skaters were people she personally idolized or had a lot of interaction with, there's no point throwing them in. That's not how most movies work. They compress the story and the characters to the essential ones. Otherwise the movie becomes unwieldy and hard to follow.

but this is what I have said repeatedly in this thread, so what are you not agreeing with, because now it sounds like you do agree. In your last post thou seemed to not agree that any of the people I listed had anything to do with real life Tonya. My only point was that there were a lot more contextual people other than just midori left out of the movie.

 

[NoStefaniaNo]

I don't agree. It's a story about Tonya Harding. Unless those skaters were people she personally idolized or had a lot of interaction with, there's no point throwing them in. That's not how most movies work. They compress the story and the characters to the essential ones. Otherwise the movie becomes unwieldy and hard to follow.

Exactly. They are telling a story not making a film on the history of figure skating. Extraneous names and personalities would have just distracted the audience.

Even NBC, in its documentary Calgary '88, barely mentioned any skaters other than the four they focused on. It's just good story telling.

 

[Karina1974]

Of course, you would. But two of them are men and I was talking about the ladies. Tell me what other big name competitions Surya was invited to, such as Landover, and I'll agree with you that she was A list. IIRC, she wasn't invited to those competitions hence she wasn't A list by definition.

My theory is that the A listers were invited but the ones on the Ladies side declined because Tonya was going to be there.

Surya DID skate the World Pro, in 1999, the year Tara won it. I still have that competition on a VHS.

She also won the only Winter Goodwill Games that was held, in Lake Placid in 2000. I have that one on tape as well. Nancy and Katarina competed, and IIRC Oksana did too.

 

[MacMadame]

but this is what I have said repeatedly in this thread, so what are you not agreeing with, because now it sounds like you do agree. In your last post thou seemed to not agree that any of the people I listed had anything to do with real life Tonya. My only point was that there were a lot more contextual people other than just midori left out of the movie.

I don't think most of those people are or were players in Tonya's life.

 

[meggonzo]

Including Hamill and Sumners is a bit of a stretch, but Chin, Thomas, and Trenary make sense since she competed against them. But the filmmakers can only cram in so many details into a 2 hour movie.

 

[berthesghost]

Hamil was a superstar just when Tonya got interested in skating. Kristi called her her childhood idol. I suppose it's possible that tonya got obsessed with skating at the very same time Hamil was a household name but wasn't influenced by her at all. I just don think it's probable.

Sumners was the first skater from the area to make it big and was a nat and world champ when Tonya was coming up the ranks. Again I find it hard to believe that Tonya skated heavily in Portland during roz's hey day but no one talked about Roz or Roz was no influence on Tonya's development at all. They shared a choreographer in Flowers Iirc.

 

[gkelly]

By that standard, the movie should have mentioned all the other kids that Tonya skated with in Portland, who teased her in the locker rooms or on the practice ice, or who tried to befriend her, who beat her or lost to her at regionals at juvenile level, etc. etc. How long would it take to show every kid in her day-to-day experience? Or even to consolidate all those experiences into one fictional composite fellow skater?

Little kids who start skating are not necessarily inspired by star skaters on TV. If they go to a rink even once, maybe passing by and seeing older kids jumping and spinning on the ice, maybe trying out a public session and loving it, they might fall in love with the sport having never heard of the Olympics or any of their country's Olympic competitors.

I started skating at an older and more aware age than Tonya. I had no idea who Janet Lynn was although she was at the peak of her career when I took my first lessons. I had seen skating on TV, probably one broadcast of the men's competition at 1971 Nationals: the only name that stuck with me was John Misha Petkevich. That wasn't why I started skating.

Did I, Claudius need to mention Jesus by name even though Claudius was only tangentially aware of anything happening over in Judea during the period chronicled in that novel?

 

[Japanfan]

A parody in Australia of I'Tonya - https://www.facebook.com/TheFrontBar7/videos/2122986071044958/

That looks absolutely terrible - unless perhaps one likes stupid slapstick comedy. That's not me, as the only comedy I generally like is blacker. The blacker and more bity, the better.

 

[Seerek]

There still aren't very many black skaters skating at Olympic-level. In the past you had Thomas, Bonaly, and I think Tai was mixed. The past Olympics had Vanessa James (in pairs) and Mae Bernice Meite (singles) skating for France.

For those of you too young to remember, France's Axel Mederic qualified for the 1988 Olympics, while countryman Fernand Fedronic made it to 2 World Championships in the mid 1980s

 

[cmk]

Tonya will be on the Ellen Show today. Interview, and trying to teach some dude named Andy how to skate ( I think he's a hockey player).

 

[Seerek]

I do think the one big mis-step in film vs. fact with respect to the skating was implying that Tonya Harding's 1986 Skate America result was poor (she actually finished 2nd) and that the poor result was due to the judges (the film had Tonya receiving marks in the 4's, which was certainly not the case in reality).

 

[gkelly]

If he's a hockey player, he must know how to skate.

Will she try to teach him to figure skate?

 

[cmk]

If he's a hockey player, he must know how to skate.

Will she try to teach him to figure skate?

yes. He was going " these skates are different", toe pick, "I want to change back to my other skates". There is a preview clip online.

 

[Sylvia]

Clip of Andy Lassner (Executive Producer of The Ellen Show) skating with Tonya: https://twitter.com/TheEllenShow/status/967909155267756032

 

[MacMadame]

Hamil was a superstar just when Tonya got interested in skating. Kristi called her her childhood idol. I suppose it's possible that tonya got obsessed with skating at the very same time Hamil was a household name but wasn't influenced by her at all. I just don think it's probable.

Tonya has never said anything in any interview I've seen or read that indicates she paid much attention to Hamil. She has specifically (and consistently) said that she saw people skating, tried it, and fell in love with it and that's how she got into skating.

Sumners was the first skater from the area to make it big and was a nat and world champ when Tonya was coming up the ranks. Again I find it hard to believe that Tonya skated heavily in Portland during roz's hey day but no one talked about Roz or Roz was no influence on Tonya's development at all. They shared a choreographer in Flowers Iirc.

Again, I've never seen any evidence that she was even aware of Sumner's existence. She probably was but not enough to talk about her in public. There may have been some local news where she was directly asked about Sumner but nothing on the National level that I've seen.

I don't think people who follow skating realize how many kids there are out there who skate but don't really follow anything but the local scene. There are even coaches who have no idea what's going on internationally or even just on the other side of the country. Before I started skating, I had this idea that skaters sat around gossiping about the National and International stars and I was quite surprised to find out how little most of them were interested in that.

 

[miffy]

I do think the one big mis-step in film vs. fact with respect to the skating was implying that Tonya Harding's 1986 Skate America result was poor (she actually finished 2nd) and that the poor result was due to the judges (the film had Tonya receiving marks in the 4's, which was certainly not the case in reality).

Oh wow those are great marks! You’re quite right, that wasn’t portrayed accurately at all!

I didn’t mean to start a fuss over people not being named in the movie and I don’t think I explained what I meant very well. It was just that they did mention a world podium sweep of Kristi, Tonya and Nancy but then failed to mention that the same Kristi won the Olympics. And they mentioned Baiul was the reigning world champion, but not that she then beat Nancy in the Olympics (I think, not 100% sure on that!) The reason I thought an Ito mention would have been fitting is because she also landed triple axels around the same time as Tonya. But everyone is right that really it isn’t a huge deal, I still enjoyed the movie very much and would watch it again!