XPost: alt.fan.nicole-bobek, alt.fan.tonya-harding

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The Portlandian, the Internet's premier source of Tonya News

August 23, 2017 Edition
(C) 2017 Portland Ice Skating Society
http://www.pdxiss.org *****************************************************************

We are pleased to present, for your reading pleasure, another
edition of "The Portlandian", bringing you more news about our
favorite figure skater. But there's an extra reason to celebrate
this time - it's happy birthday to that other sexy blonde ice
queen of the 1990's, Nicole Bobek, who turns forty today!


"I, TONYA" TO SCREEN IN TORONTO

We have now learned more information about Margot Robbie's film
"I, Tonya". Since our last edition, it has been announced that
the film will be screening at the Toronto International Film
Festival next month. The festival runs from the 7th to 17th of
September, though screening times for "I, Tonya" itself have not
yet been announced:

http://www.tiff.net/tiff/film.html?v=i-tonya

Another piece of news is that Miramax is now no longer involved
in the U.S. distribution of the picture. This is nothing to do
with the "I, Tonya" movie itself - it's just that Miramax have
decided to shut down their entire film production and
distribution division as part of a strategic restructuring of the
company and will now concentrate on milking their back catalog
(which totals around 700 films) instead of new movies. Our
sources tell us that there are several other major distibutors
who are interested in coming in, however, and the producers are
quite confident of finding a replacement, so hopefully this will
just be a minor bump on the road rather than anything serious.

The screening in Toronto is therefore for these potential new
distributors only, and not open to critics, media or the public.
So it's not really a "premiere" in the normal sense of the word.
The actual release date will be determined by production company
Luckychap and the new distributor, but it's likely that the
widespread release will occur early in the new year around when
the Winter Olympics take place in South Korea - assuming, of
course that South Korea will still exist in early 2018, which is
an open question the way things are going in that part of the
world at the moment.

The second piece of news is that as we suspected, it does appear
that there is a move to push Margot and Allison Janney for Oscar
nominations. In order to qualify for nomination, the film has to
screen at a cinema in Los Angeles for at least a week before the
end of the year, so if you live near that area you may not have
to wait until February to rock up to a box-office and buy a
ticket.

And to separate the true hard-core Tonyaphile from the wannabe,
without Googling or otherwise cheating, can you tell us whether
it's Tonya or Margot in the picture in the link above, and if so,
your reasoning as to how you reached your decision?


Although the U.S. distribution rights are still up for grabs, the
film has landed distribution deals in several overseas countries
(including, most importantly, New Zealand):

http://www.screendaily.com/news/margot-robbies-tonya-harding-drama-gets-uk-australia-deals/5116862.article

"Entertainment One (which holds a stake in Sierra/Affinity)
has acquired the title for the UK and Spain, while Roadshow
Films has taken Australia and New Zealand rights.

Further deals have been done for: Canada (VVS), Benelux (The
Searchers), Iceland (Myndform), Italy (Lucky Red), Portugal
(NOS Lusomundo Audiovisuals), Switzerland (Ascot Elite),
Latin American (California Filmes), Hong Kong (UA Films),
India (Gakhal Entertainment), South Africa (Ster Kinekor),
Taiwan (Lots Home Entertainment), Thailand (M Pictures),
Middle East (Eagle Pictures), Turkey (Fabula Films), Eastern
Europe, Russia and Greece (Miramax)."

It's not known whether the U.S. pullout by Miramax affects those
latter territories.


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution also reported that a reshoot of
a boxing scene took place in Duluth, GA. back in May:

http://www.ajc.com/business/employment/now-casting-tonya-seeking-boxing-coach-and-more/wyV98IShys3YrJkmQhSMAI/


A couple of interviews with two members of the cast have also
surfaced. Firstly, Caitlin Carver, on playing Nancy:

http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/05/qa_alabama_actor_discusses_pla.html

But Carver, a 24-year-old Monrovia native, was fascinated with
the story of jealousy and obsession even before reading the
script for "I, Tonya."

"It was one of the best scripts I ever read," she said in a
recent interview. "Honestly, I kind of obsessed over it. I had
to be a part of it.

"It really takes you through Tonya's life and career as a
figure skater, from the beginning. It tells her story; all
done in a very interesting, clever way. I think people are
really going to love it."

"Yes, I will be doing a little bit of skating. I swear, dance
helps with everything in my life. Dance is how I found my
confidence, dedication and strength. It taught me to always
work my hardest, take direction, and so on. I was able
to use all of that when working on the ice."


And also 10-year-old Mckenna Grace, who played young Tonya:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2017/03/29/year-old-actress-shares-surprising-insight-tonya/4c956eky4md3eGrAkYgZOP/story.html

Mckenna found the role demanding: "Physically, it was the most
challenging role I’ve ever done before because I had to learn
to ice skate, and I’ve never done ice skating before," she
said. "I’d fall and I was all beaten up but I had to get up and
keep trying."

She also believes that the film will make people feel sympathy
for Tonya: "It’s a really great script. It shows Tonya’s
childhood and sometimes it makes you feel really bad for her,"
she said. Referring to the portrayal of Tonya's mother, she says
"Allison Janney is so wonderful. She plays this horrid, mean role
but in real life she was the kindest person."


YAMA-KIPPI-YAY-BO, MOTHERF****R - THNK MUSEUM RETURNS IN NEW
LOCATION!

The New York-based THNK1994 museum has now completed the move to
its new premises at 1436 Atlantic Ave. in Crown Heights.

This extra space has allowed curators Matt & Viviana to expand
the museum into a general pop culture museum, where exhibits will
be rotated every few months in addition to the permanent
Tonya/Nancy collection. To celebrate the re-opening, their first
exhibition in the new location was devoted to Kim Cattrall of
"Sex and the City" back in early May:

http://www.thnk1994.com/yama-kippi-yay-bo/

As an aside, there is at least a tangential connection between Ms
Cattrall and Tonya - in 2005 she played a skating coach in the
film "Ice Princess", about a young physics student who becomes a
champion figure skater.

Other exhibits include the current one focusing on Nicole
Richie's 2007 Memorial Day BBQ - it seems that even the 2000's
are now fair game for nostalgia - and an upcoming one entitled
"Real Housewives Pointing Fingers" in fall.

Their fame has spread far and wide in the two-and-a-half years
since they opened the museum in the hallway of their apartment,
even featuring recently in the UK Daily Mail and also guesting on
Jezebel's Dirtcast back in March. The Tonya/Nancy stuff in the
latter starts around 18:55:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4762312/Brooklyn-apartment-HALLWAY-turned-Nancy-Kerrigan-museum.html

http://jezebel.com/why-are-we-still-obsessed-with-the-tonya-harding-nancy-1793776563

In another article, Viviana describes it as "Disneyland, only
very niche".

http://www.metro.us/things-do/new-york/its-disneyland-only-very-niche-brooklyn-gets-pop-culture-gallery

Of more importance to us is that the permanent collection - the
Tonya & Nancy wing that started it all off, has now also reopened
with a gala reception on the 28th of July. Photos of this event
can be found on their Twitter feed:

https://twitter.com/MattandViviana

If you want to visit, normal business hours are 12-7pm, Wednesday
to Sunday. It might be a very niche Disneyland, but unlike
the real one, nobody would ever describe it as "dumb" or "corny".


CHICAGO TONYA PLAY FAILS TO SCORE 6.0 WITH CRITICS

A few months ago Chicago played host to a run of "Tonya and
Nancy: the Rock Opera". Now Dan Aibel's Tonya-themed play "T"
that we mentioned a few issues ago has also opened in that city,
with actress Leah Raidt playing the lead role, a skater called
only "T", though obviously modeled on Tonya. The play is being
produced by the American Theater Company, whose plays focus on
the question, "What does it mean to be an American?". These
articles give some background to the production:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/World-Premiere-Play-T-Opens-Tonight-at-American-Theater-Company-20170525

http://www.theatermania.com/chicago-theater/news/american-theatre-company-world-premiere-of-t_81141.html

https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20170424/north-center/tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan-american-theater-company-t

"The play is really preoccupied with class — if you start three
steps behind, what's it going to take to catch up to someone like
Nancy?" says Will Davis, the company's artistic director. "I
actually think Tonya's having a zeitgeist moment... She was a
poor American. To be a poor woman trying to win a gold medal,
there's thematic fodder about the sham of the American Dream," he
said.

Davis also hopes "T" will provoke discussion of gender
stereotypes as well. Tonya was "was so muscular and strong". "In
a man, it would have been lauded."

Unfortunately, unlike the rock opera, this play has regrettably
received less positive reviews, despite its pro-Tonya intentions,
with critics seeing it as more resembling a broken shoelace than
a triple axel. Tony Adler in the Chicago Reader criticizes its
"relentlessly cartoonish treatment of the characters" and
"misshapen structure that lets Tonya's dumb-as-rocks pals talk on
and on while Tonya herself remains a cipher":

https://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/american-theater-company-t-tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan/Content?oid=26750741

while as Chris Jones in the Trib laments its lack of a Nancy and
what he sees as inauthentic-sounding dialog:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/reviews/ct-american-theater-co-t-review-ent-0527-20170526-column.html

Jonathan Abarbanel says the play "provides little exposition and
takes no time to establish relationships":

http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/THEATER-REVIEW-T-/59312.html

Mary Houlihan in the Sun-Times is more forgiving, saying "Raidt
is good with Harding’s imagined contemplative side, but she
doesn’t quite capture the skater’s edgy toughness":

http://chicago.suntimes.com/entertainment/t-stage-drama-revisits-the-still-fascinating-kerrigan-harding-saga/

One a related note, the New York Times recently published one of
the few articles that explores the pop culture legacy of the
scandal, dealing with not only the Aibel play, but also the film,
the museum, and a musical:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/12/theater/tonya-harding-nancy-kerrigan-figure-skating.html


AN ENCOUNTER WITH A FAN

We recently came across this blog post in which a fan by the name
of Brad describes a meeting with Tonya at the Hollywood
Collectors Show ten years ago:

http://www.catsafterme.com/blog/archives/2033#more-2033

Brad says that "of all of the celebrities I met that Saturday,
February 16, 2007, figure-skating champion Tonya Harding was one
of the nicest." He then goes on to say:

"she was more than cordial and extremely down-to-earth. So
much so in fact that it was nearly on the tip of my tongue to
ask her out to dinner – just for the sheer novelty! Obviously
she was kind enough to let us pose for pictures with her as
well. Don’t believe everything your read – not all stars are
difficult and rude snobs."

We find that this response is often typical of people's reaction
when they meet Tonya in person. So many people just take at face
value what they read in the media and assume she's some sort of
nasty, calculating psychopath who will break their knees as soon
as bat an eyelid. Those who have met her in real life routinely
say they are blown away by how polite and personable she is and
how completely different she is to what they expected.

Incidentally, Brad notes in another post on his blog that he has
also met Heather Langenkamp, who did an excellent impersonation
of Nancy Kerrigan in the TV movie "Tonya & Nancy: The Inside
Story". So I guess he can say he's met both Tonya and "Nancy"
(even if only the first one was the real one).


GOSSIPCOP KNEECAPS "DANCING WITH THE STARS" TONYA RUMOR

Finally, it seems that the Trashional Enquirer is up to its old
tricks again, making up falsehoods about our Tonya. This time
it was claiming that she'd been invited to sit in the front row
of the audience on "Dancing With The Stars" in order to rattle
Nancy Kerrigan:

http://www.gossipcop.com/tonya-harding-invited-nancy-kerrigan-dancing-with-the-stars-watch-audience-dwts/

It shouldn't even need to be said that this is total bollocks.
But fortunately the Gossipcop site did a thorough debunking for
us.

It's a good thing that our "Jayson" Awards aren't real physical
statues like the Oscars. There's so much Fake News about Tonya
around these days that at this rate, we'd run out.


And the answer to the question that we posed earlier about the
photo in the link above - "is it Tonya or Margot?" is: Margot.
The real Tonya had much more muscular legs and thighs than those
in the picture. Margot's are far too skinny. But only a hard-core
Tonyaphile would notice that, so it's probably good enough for
most moviegoers.

*****************************************************************
VISIT THESE GREAT TONYA WEB SITES:

PortIce - http://www.pdxiss.org
David House - http://www.tonyaharding.org
Charlie Main - http://www.charliesweb.com/tonya/tonya.html
Puppetboy - http://www.usapaul.net/tonya/
Valerie Smith - http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/LilHam.html
Swan Lake - http://members.tripod.com/~TonyaHarding/index.html
Blades of Gold - http://members.tripod.com/tmhfan/index.html
THNK1994 Museum - https://www.facebook.com/THNK1994/ *****************************************************************

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