Well, this might be fun. Deadline reports that rapidly rising star Margot Robbie (The Wolf of Wall Street) has become attached to I, Tonya, a new film centering around the scandal-ridden story of former figure skating pro Tonya Harding. The script comes from Steve Rogers and the project appears to be in development by Bryan Unkeless and his Clubhouse Pictures. Robbie is looking to also produce the film under her LuckyChap Entertainment banner.
The story of Tonya Harding is a fairly nutty one. Born without a wealth of opportunities or privilege to a poor family in Portland, Harding rose to near unparalleled success in the world of figure skating before drifting into infamy. A national champion and ranked second in the world, Harding entered into a heated rivalry with American skater Nancy Kerrigan heading into the 1994 Winter Olympics. Her accomplishments in the sport – Harding was the first American woman to complete the rigorous triple axel jump on the world stage – would of course between moot once her involvement in the attack of Kerrigan became the major story and sparked an Olympic-sized scandal.
The story of Tonya Harding can tonally veer in many directions and its unclear as of now how the biopic may go. No director has been announced as of yet, but with Robbie in the conversation, a top-tiered filmmaker may soon come aboard depending on how quickly I, Tonya can get off the ground. Likely an integral part of the story will be Jeff Gillooly, Harding’s former husband who was also involved in the attack on Nancy Kerrigan.
Robbie can currently be seen on screen in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot alongside Tina Fey and has full year ahead with upcoming tentpoles The Legend of Tarzan and Suicide Squad – both films are due in theaters this summer. We will stay tuned to future developments regarding I, Tonya.
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