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Forming the face of a huge sporting scandal back in the early 1990s, former figure skater Tonya harding will soon have a film based on her widely reported, and controversial, career; with Focus/Wolf Of Wall Street star Margot Robbie looking to take the title role.
Operating under the title I, Tonya, the film will tell the tale of the loveable underdog who rose from humble beginnings to become one of the top figure stakes in the US. She was the first woman to complete the triple axel jump in a large competitive setting,won the 1991 US Figure Skating Championships, placed second at the World Championships, and then things went horribly wrong in the run up to the 1994 Olympics.
During the qualifying round at the US Figure Skating Championships Harding, husband Jeff Gillooly, and a couple of other co-conspirators, attacked rival Nancy Kerrigan; attempting to break her leg with a club to the right knee, the attackers merely bruised Kerrigan (who went on to not only compete, but win a silver medal at the Olympics) and sloppily found part of their attack ending up on camera; leading to an eventual lifetime ban for Harding (after competing, and placing eighth at the Olympics).
No director is in place as yet, though Steven Rogers (P.S. I Love You) has researched the film (speaking with Harding ad Gillooly), and written the script which Robbie herself is looking to produce, and star in as Harding.
Margot Robbie will be back on the big screen next month with the release of Tina Fey comedy Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and playing the iconic super-villain Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (released August 5th).
Matt Wheeldon – @TheMattWheeldon.
Source: Deadline.
