Upcoming Sonja Henie biographical film, 'Queen of Ice'

Sylvia

Sylvia

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Came across this Romanian news item: https://www.romania-insider.com/documentary-shot-eastern-romania/
Queen of Ice, a documentary telling the story of the famous Norwegian skater and actress Sonja Henie, will be filmed at Dunarea skating rink in Galati, a city in Eastern Romania, between September 4 and September 13.
...
The Galati skating rink is under the administration of the “Sportul Galatean” Foundation, established by the City Hall. The producers of the Queen of Ice documentary paid a total of RON 35,000 (over EUR 7,600) to rent the skating rink, according to information from City Hall representatives.
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Found this article from 2015 that says Norwegians Anne Sewitsky will direct the biopic and Ine Marie Wilmann will play Henie: http://variety.com/2015/film/global...s-up-sonja-henie-biopic-exclusive-1201427265/
... “Ice” charts the rise and fall of Henie, who became one of the highest paid actresses of her time, and was a controversial public figure because of her friendship with Adolf Hitler.
The movie also delves into the intense relationship between Henie and her older brother Leif, who taught her how to ice skate in Oslo and played a leading role in her life.
Pic opens in 1937, as twenty-something Sonja is on top of her game, having won Olympic medals. She settles in Beverly Hills and launches her Hollywood movie star. The movie then charts her downfall after she loses her studio deal, and became a near-recluse. She then moved to Rio de Janeiro, where many German expats lived after the war.
“I’ve been drawn to tell Sonja Henie’s story because she was such an ambivalent character. On one hand, she was a fun-loving, strong, bold woman who was very career-driven and at the same time, she was sometimes lacking empathy as if she was unable to truly love someone apart herself,” Sewitsky told Variety.
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January 2016 Norwegian article with a photo of Wilmann lacing up her skates: https://www.budstikka.no/osteras/fi...eokter-for-a-spille-sonja-henie/s/5-55-258874
 
Wow! Very intriguing, very interesting information re Henie. I'm familiar w/ some of this, but there is definitely additional eyebrow-raising content and material. Thank you, @Sylvia for the links, etc.
 
My coach is teaching Ine Marie Wilmann to skate for the movie. They have worked together for two years now I think. Ine was sharing ice with us on our weekend camp this spring. Susanne (my coach) said Ine has started from scratch and it's very different teaching someone to skate like they did in the 20ies. They even had to modify her skates;)
 
I sincerely hope that younger generations will take the time to educate themselves about the rich history of figure skating. It is true that many have, but sometimes, when reading the comments on this forum and in general, I'm under the impression that a good portion of the sport’s fan base is inclined to believe that the sport didn't get going until the nineties, or later. :lol: How much they will be missing unless they take the initiative to research and learn about how wonderful and intense the sport has always been. Henie is a good start. ;)
 
I'm laughing at the "innocent girl from the North" description of Henie's movie persona in the Variety article. If you've ever SEEN her movies, she always plays something like a nymphomaniac child vampire who latches onto Tyrone Power before he knows what's hit him. :eek: Apparently she did the same thing in real life, too, or at least Leif's book says that she totally wore Power out by going at it in the dressing room between takes. :smokin:
 
Weve3 said:
I sincerely hope that younger generations will take the time to educate themselves about the rich history of figure skating. It is true that many have, but sometimes, when reading the comments on this forum and in general, I'm under the impression that a good portion of the sport’s fan base is inclined to believe that the sport didn't get going until the nineties, or later. :lol: How much they will be missing unless they take the initiative to research and learn about how wonderful and intense the sport has always been. Henie is a good start. ;)
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True about younger generations, but I think it's also true that most fans (regardless of generation) know precious little about so many aspects of the sport's history. For those of us who've been following the sport for decades, we do have longer memories of various events and watershed moments, and perhaps some greater insights and perspectives (as well as video cache shared by some: Thanks @floskate!). And yet many of today's younger generation of fans, probably have a deeper understanding of technical aspects as well as more significant hands-on knowledge of the current scene due to the sport's greater accessibility in this day and age. Plus the contact between fans and skaters across the world is so much richer which adds a different twist to how the sport is now developing. But it's difficult to track the impact of changes, trends & influences while they are in the midst of happening.

I totally agree that now is a crucial time for us all who love the sport to look back and try to learn and understand more from the vantage point of where we are now with all the historical resources that are more available via technology. The sport and the world is a smaller place and more connected which offers this generation so many advantages they may not have thought about accessing with more purposeful intention. There's always something new to learn. :) And @N_Halifax's Skateguard blog is one of the most invaluable resources filling in many gaps in our knowledge and understanding. It's incredible how much we don't know about a lot of things generally, and especially about the vast and complex history of figure skating. It's Amazeballs!

The sport has touched so many people's lives in so many different ways. And the individual stories are endless. There's so much in figure skating that remains uncovered and little understood, even by people supposedly leading the sport.

Sonja Henie is quite a fascinating character beyond the skating ice princess and Hollywood B movie queen we've heard about. I can see aspects of her story being made into a Broadway play or musical. I'm looking forward to seeing the biopic. I wonder how it will be distributed?
 
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skatesindreams said:
She was a "A-List" star, who rivaled Clark Gable, at the height of her Hollywood fame.
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Thanks for pointing that out. I wasn't around then to notice. ;) Although I have studied Film History, I'm not an expert. :) During the height of her Hollywood career, I agree that Henie was tremendously successful and A-list in terms of popularity and salary. She became one of the wealthiest women in the world during the late 1930s and early 1940s. But, she was not A-list in terms of dramatic range and significant acting ability. That's the sense that I term her a 'B-movie Queen,' but my characterization does short-change Henie's huge success in Hollywood, so I appreciate your input.

You are right that Henie was a Hollywood bigwig in her time. But in terms of rivaling other actors, that would be mainly in the category of monetary earnings and popular hits. With her success, I'd say Henie 'rivaled' Esther Williams* and Johnny Weissmuller as star athletes who parlayed their athletic fame and good looks into Hollywood acting careers. Henie's films, while popular with audiences, did not garner her any prestigious acting awards or Best Picture fame (today her films would be considered B-movies produced during the Hollywood studio system).

* Esther Williams was on tap for 1940 Summer Olympics in synchronized swimming, but she missed out due to WWII. She joined professional water shows, and later made a series of so-called 'aquamusical' films in Hollywood. Weissmuller (aka Tarzan) was a star athlete at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics (winning five Olympic gold medals in swimming, and one bronze medal in water polo).
 
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dr.frog said:
If you've ever SEEN her movies, she always plays something like a nymphomaniac child vampire who latches onto Tyrone Power before he knows what's hit him.
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Reading that description -- now I actually want to see one of her movies! :lol:
 
Yup, Kiira is in Oslo, or more precisely Bærum, at Jar icerink:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYIdXYflIb2PN5hczNbok1oAvj4Row3RqMo_M40/?taken-by=pushkova87

Notice Ine Marie Wilmann's modified skates;) Between Ine and Kiira is Anna Pushkova and Susanne Lidholm Torgersen, the latter is coaching Ine for the movie. Anna is coaching skaters in my club, coaching our adult group, and probably coaching some here too;) She works together with Susanne a lot.
 
^^ Maybe the Kiira-as-stunt-double thing hasn't been officially announced yet? If so, makes sense why Kiira hasn't intragrammed it and only skaters/coaches with private instas post pics.
 
aftershocks said:
During the height of her Hollywood career, I agree that Henie was tremendously successful and A-list in terms of popularity and salary. She became one of the wealthiest women in the world during the late 1930s and early 1940s.
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More information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pdl39K30yM

American "Biography": Narrated by the equally Norwegian Peter Graves
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDAEmET915E&t=509s
European Version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDAEmET915E

I wonder if the upcoming film will offer new information and insight.
Sonja was a very complicated person, IMO.

If you want to see her prototypical films, "Thin Ice" and "Sun Valley Serenade" are two.
 
For skating fans I would also recommend One in a Million, Henie's first film in which she played a skater in active training for the Olympics. (Amateurism rules played a big part in the plot)
 
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Thanks for the links to the documentary @skatesindreams. Somehow I had never seen that one. Interesting gossip from Ann Miller! :lol:

The one I remember watching has interviews with Sonja's secretary. Lot's of detail and quite a harrowing watch in places.
 
^^ Interesting!

Google translate sometimes gets things horribly bungled when dealing with Finnish, so lemme roughly summarize the new info here (corrections are welcome!):

- Kiira is in the c. 10 skating scenes, which feature choreos & moves strictly in the Henie era style; some bits are copied straight from Henie's old programs

- she's been practicing for this since early May
- the process has challenged her preconceptions about Henie era skaters' skill level: previously, she'd watch some Youtube videos and thought it'd be a piece of cake for her but actually getting up on the toe picks, doing the Henie era twirls & turns etc. turned out to be not that easy
- basically, she felt like she had to forget everything she's learned over the years: every move comes embellished with a little hook(?) (or maybe loop? lobe? help me!) and your arms are flinging/flapping when you're doing crossovers (her ex coach Maaret told her students not to copy Kiira when she was practicing at the Tampere rink lol)

- the equipment is different, too (the skates are "like wilted tulips"): Henie's boots reached high up in the shin and didn't support the ankle the same way modern ankle-length sturdy boots do. Kiira had custom boots made in USA that weren't "socks" like Henie era boots (lol) but more like a compromise between the old and new
- she was chosen for the project because she has previous experience in front of the camera and she kinda looks like Ine Wilmann (Kiira is only 2 cm shorter and 3 years younger)
- it's been nice working with Ine, who's been challenged by this role and by being on skates; Ine and Kiira are both one half of Sonja and it's up to the crew to combine those halves into one entity

- what do Kiira and Sonja have in common? perfectionism and feeling that nothing is ever enough
- Sonja was even more of a perfectionist, she was never able to let go of that, but Kiira can understand how a person ends up with pathological ambition like that
- Kiira also recognizes little Kiira in little Sonja, skating happily with a beaming smile on her face; by the end of her career Sonja's smile wasn't so genuine anymore

- next up: 5 weeks of shooting in Romania
- Kiira is prepared to be waiting around a lot while being ready for her takes and retakes
- it's kinda freeing to be somebody else on the ice

- premiere of the film will be in Dec 2018
 
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