A new film about disgraced skater Tonya Harding is to have its premiere in cinemas in the United States in December, it has been announced.
The first trailer for the film, starring Australian actress Margot Robbie, has also been released to help publicize it.
A clip for I, Tonya, shows the actress smoking a cigarette under the arena hallway prior to competition, stubbing it out with her skate, then coming out on to the ice.
In a voiceover, Harding asserts that the American people want someone to love and someone to hate.
“The haters always say, ‘Tonya, tell the truth’,” the voiceover says.
“There’s no such thing as truth.
“I mean, it’s bullshit.”
Robbie is best known for starring in Australian soap opera Neighbours and also appeared in the hit film The Wolf of Wall Street,
The movie, which it is claimed is a dark comedy, had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.
The film is about Harding’s attack on rival figure skater Nancy Kerrigan before the 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer.
Kerrigan was attacked by a man who struck her a few inches above the knee.
The attack was traced back to Harding’s former husband Jeff Gillooly and her bodyguard Shawn Eckhardt.
Both Harding, the 1991 World Championship silver medalist, and Kerrigan went to Lillehammer 1994.
Kerrigan, by then fully recovered from her injuries, won the silver medal, while Harding finished eighth.
Harding was later found guilty of being involved in the attack and banned from the sport for life.
The film, directed by Craig Gillespie and written by Steven Rogers, is being released by Neon.
I, Tonya is scheduled to open in New York City and Los Angeles on December 8.
It is is due to be released across the rest of the United States on January 19 next year.
By Duncan Mackay
Republished with permission from insidethegames.biz.