One of the biggest stories of 1994 was the escalated drama between U.S. figure skaters Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, and now it’s being made into a biopic titled I, Tonya.
On tap to direct is Craig Gillespie (The Finest Hours, Million Dollar Arm), who came onto the scene with Ryan Gosling film Lars and the Real Girl.
Robbie, who’s set to play Harding in the movie, is appearing in two big summer blockbusters: Suicide Squad and Legend of Tarzan.
The Harding-Kerrigan story has never been made into a movie despite its almost surreal nature, and it lends itself to the medium when you consider the details of the saga.
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In 1994, Kerrigan and Harding were the frontrunners for the two available positions on the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Kerrigan was previously a bronze medallist in the 1992 Olympics, while Harding was the first American female figure skater to land a triple axel in a major competition, which she did in 1991.
Heading into the U.S. nationals, Harding was seen as an underdog to Kerrigan, who at this point was an Olympic veteran. Harding had a personal goal to win a gold medal, and was willing to do anything to do it.
During a practice skate in Detroit, a group of men directed by Harding’s husband at the time, Jeff Gillooly, attacked Kerrigan with a baseball bat after her training session, trying to maim her leg and oust her from the competition. Kerrigan only sustained a bruised knee. Gillooly, who had absconded to Oregon by the time of the attack, was arrested and interrogated, and he insisted it was Harding’s idea the whole time.
Following the Olympics, Harding eventually admitted that she was a part of the scheme. She never went to jail, but was punished severely when the U.S. Figure Skating Association took her 1994 championship title from her and banned her for life from the sport.
Kerrigan would go on to compete at the Olympics, winning the silver medal. Harding ended up in a distant eighth place, her last placement before being banned.
In 2002, Harding boxed ’90s newsmaker Paula Jones (who sued then-U.S. president Bill Clinton for sexual harassment) on the short-lived TV show Celebrity Boxing. Harding has one son, who was born in 2011.
As of this writing, there is no set date for the start of production on I, Tonya.
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