I, Tonya (2017)
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
- Before Margot Robbie was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Craig Gillespie's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
I, Tonya is a 2017 American biographical dark comedy directed by Craig Gillespie, based on the true story of figure skater Tonya Harding and the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan. Margot Robbie stars as Harding, a fiercely talented but rough-edged skater from a working-class Portland, Oregon background whose technical brilliance โ she was the first American woman to land a triple axel in competition โ was undermined by figure skating's classist judging culture and her own chaotic personal life. The film's most innovative element was its mockumentary structure, with the real Tonya and her ex-husband Jeff Gillooly, played by Sebastian Stan, offering contradictory accounts directly to the camera, each blaming the other for the 1994 attack that permanently altered both skaters' lives.
Allison Janney won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her ferocious portrayal of Harding's abusive mother LaVona, a chain-smoking, foul-mouthed woman whose cruelty was simultaneously horrifying and darkly hilarious. Margot Robbie performed many of her own skating sequences after months of intensive training. I, Tonya earned $53 million worldwide on a $11 million budget.
