Usually, November brings the full-throttle Oscar season. In years past, we’ve already had some major film contenders come out of the summer film festival season, and we’re usually being inundated with interviews and events and premieres and all of that. This Oscar season feels different already, mostly because it’s happening in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, and because of Weinstein, male executives all around Hollywood are being especially “don’t look at me, I’m not trying to make news!”
So, for old time’s sake, let’s talk about a film which will be an Oscar contender (in my humble opinion): I, Tonya. I, Tonya debuted at some film festivals in the late summer, and critics adored it. It’s supposed to be trashy and tragic and funny and delightful and full of incredible performances. Even if you’re not sold on Margot Robbie or her weird take on Tonya Harding’s accent, you should stay for Allison Janney playing Tonya Harding’s mother. We already talked about the first teaser trailer, and now the full-length trailer has been released, and OMG.
When this first premiered at TIFF and the reviews came out, I said that Margot was “probably going to win an Oscar for playing Tonya Harding.” I still believe Margot is a legit contender, although – to be clear – it’s just early November. The person who seems like the biggest contender in November is rarely the one to beat in February. But maybe. Allison Janney though… like, for-sure, she’s going to win an Oscar, right? Right. As for Margot’s long-standing chances to win an Oscar for playing someone so trashy… again, this film is about classism and the elitism that Tonya fought against. It would be some kind of justice to see Margot win for a role where she played such a trashy person.
Screencaps courtesy of ‘I, Tonya’.
Don’t see it as Oscar worthy. Good movie yes. Oscar no. Maybe for Janney but there’s so many other great movies coming out in the next two months.
Agreed. Looks like a good movie, but not Oscar worthy. But who knows. Stranger things have happened, like Emma Stone’s win. Not an Oscar worthy performance. I wouldn’t hate seeing Allison Janney get a nod in the supporting category though.
Yea well i’m over mediocrity winning. LLL was an average movie not one that deserved all the wins they got. Ugh
i just get so annoyed when the oscar talk is thrown out so easily (the awards have already sunk in estimation over the years, they dont mean as much. its a high school popularity contest, not merit based most of the time) it looks like it could be a fun trashy watch, but hardly high caliber. thought janney looks amazing, she overshadows most of her costars. i would rent it from redbox for her but margot’s accent is distracting and overdone. she doesnt have a presence to me. seems actresses these days still think that if they get dowdy for a role it automatically makes it more “brave” or compelling. it doesnt
Same.
I’m very interested in it’s Box Office performance. The Emma Stone-Billie Jean biopic, Battle of the Sexes flopped hard, which no one saw coming.😶
I wanna see if I Tonya suffers the same fate, or is rescued.
it flopped because no likes Emma Stone anymore. She has pretended not to see the racial inequity in her industry and just keeps walking around in her privileged haze, so us woke folks are done with her. Sad because I liked her. La La Land was an abomination and it should not have won the awards it did and it rightfully lost to a better movie. You’ll notice that Ryan Gosling’s movie bombed too. I’m glad and I really love him. But these people need to wake up…gain some insight and then some sensitivity. Charlotte Johanssen better push back her release dates as well.
And Affleck just sealed the fate of the Justice League movie, no wants to go see his douchey mug on screen these days. So…
I think the audience isn’t as dumb as the industry thinks anymore. when we see a movie that is not truly Art, or an actor receiving an award that is questionable, we know to side eye a bit. if this movie won an Oscar or was nominated? like Margot, but c’mon!
yes kimbers, you said it best
Yeah right. Check out the top two highest grossing films at the box office right now – Boo! A Madea Halloween and the latest Saw movie.
Nah. Not feeling it.
Right, her accent seems too fake? Somehow her delivery seems a bit too rehearsed?
Also, Margot is still a bit to glamorous for the role. I think Riley Keough or Taryn Manning might’ve worked better?
It wouldn’t have been acting for Taryn…bless her but she’s pulled some Tanya-esque things in her past too
This looks like fun!
At the moment, I would say Janney will be nominated for supporting actress. Other nominations are possible. It’s true that many other oscar-worthy films are coming out, but many films have crashed and burned this year.
It looks like a good movie but not Oscar material. Also why is it that any good movie is dismissed as Oscar-baity. Can’t people make a good movie because they want to?
THIS!
Saw it at TIFF. Brilliant.
I haven’t wanted to see a movie in awhile but now I want To see this and that billboard movie with Frances McDormand.
I vividly remember when the Kerrigan attack happened and the aftermath at the Olympics (Tonya crying to the judges to restart her routine because her skate lace broke). I’ll definitely be seeing this for the nastalgia but also because it does look really good. I’m also a sucker for Allison Janney, she’s amazing in everything she does.
I was on my honeymoon in St. Lucia during the Olympics. Everyone on the island was Team Tonya. I never thought I would be gossiping about figure skaters on a tropical island.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when that drama was unfolding during the ladies skating event. And then Oksana Baul ended up winning the gold rather than Kerrigan or Harding!! If it happened today it would be less surprising, probably because reality tv has inured us to bizarre behavior
Yes, I remember like it was yesterday! I’m looking forward to seeing this just for the nostalgia alone.
I was 10 and OBSESSED with ice skating and the Olympics that year. LOVED Nancy Kerrigan. I still remember that Olympics and being glued to the TV. And then seeing Nancy Kerrigan and Oksana and Michelle Kwan and everyone on that ice skating tour in person!
I really want to watch this!
I see some Golden Globes nominations perhaps.
It’s gonna be an interesting Weinstein-free awards season. The trend seems to be playing a real person. It’s sad I don’t know which other ladies will be contenders. Have the major films with important female roles come out yet? But the men’s side, the real person trend seems to be paydirt. Gary Oldman as Churchill, Woody Harrelson as LBJ and even James Franco as Tommy Wiseau.
This may be the year for quirky films. Again, without Weinstein awards season could actually be fun. So I think I, Tonya and The Disaster Artist both have a legit shot at big awards.
It’s actually looking to be a really strong field for Best Actress. As far as what’s already been released, Emma Stone in Battle of the Sexes was meant to be a contender, but despite her being great that film came and went without making much of a mark so I doubt she’ll get a nom. There’s also Jennifer Lawrence in Mother. I know the film is loathed here, but it was very, very well-received in Hollywood, and Lawrence got total raves, so she has a good shot at a nomination.
Still to be seen, apart from Margot, are Sally Hawkins in The Shape of Water (she’ll definitely get a nomination at least), Frances McDormand in Three Billboards, Saorsie Ronan in Ladybird, Meryl Streep in The Post, Jessica Chastain in Molly’s Game and Annette Benning in Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool. Kate Winslet was in the conversation too, but Wonder Wheel looks like one of Woody Allen’s crappier offerings, so that’s not happening.
Excellent rundown. What we would look for is if Robie shows up in what are called precursor awards and nominations. Those would be NY and LA critics, Globes, and most importantly, SAG. Do I spend too much time analyzing the Oscars? Oh yes, for about 50 years.
I think Chadwick and Josh from Marshall have a good shot at noms as well. Armie Hamer will be in the mix as well. The women’s field is exceptionally tight…I don’t think Stone or Lawrence are getting through this year. Lawrence’s performance is nothing special and while I thought Stone was great its going to fizzle come January. The latest articles on Oscar races already have both out of the mix. Ladybird looks like a no brainer and it was great, Chastain as well. I think Robbie will get a nom but not a win. Toss up on the last few spots but I’m hoping its not Winslet or Steep. Streep has been nominated for some truly terrible movies lately and I don’t want an Allen movie in the mix.
Finding out how many awards are essentially bought & paid for I sort of think they’re all BS now. It’s been evident for some time but it’s clear now – the best performance is not the most important factor for winning, it’s how much money is behind it and how much of that money will go towards other projects of those who vote for it.
Oh please, the idea that Tonya Harding is some kind of admirable anti-hero is ridiculous. She sought to hurt a rival in order to win. To this day, she pretends like she’s the victim, not Kerrigan. Yes, there was abuse in her upbringing and that was awful. Ut still doesn’t excuse the conspiracy to hurt Kerrigan. She’s not a hero who fought “classism and elitism,” she was a part of a cabal of punks.
Yea this so much. All in their interviews they kept going on about Tonya like she was some good person. I really dislike the notion that actors have to “find humanity” of awful human being. Tonya and her husband got what they deserved.
I wonder how they will portray Nancy, they’ll probably make her some kind of b!tch who deserved it. Sebastian Stan was already needlessly cruel to Nancy on his instagram a few weeks back, so I don’t think that’s promising for how the movie portrayed her.
Tonya and Jeff apparently “loved” this movie, I wonder if their victim felt the same? Did they even bother to ask? The people who hurt her’s opinion matters so much, but not hers.
Wow, that’s really disappointing to hear about Sebastian Stan. Kerrigan was the victim, she was injured, and it was only because of their own sheer ineptitude that she wasn’t hurt worse. It bothers me so very much that people treat Kerrigan’s injury like it was just some kind of joke.
Despite the fact that many believe Kerrigan grew up with a lot of money, she didn’t. She had a working class background like Harding, though more loving and stable parents. But her family hasn’t escaped tragedy, either, as her brother’s addiction issues ultimately led to their father’s death a few years ago. And yet, Kerrigan is unfairly held up as a standard bearer of “elitism.” It’s infuriating.
YES THIS TOO. having a tough life does not EVER give you license to hurt an innocent person. never ever. not tonya not roman polanski. this excuse if pure garbage. i like an anti- hero story as much as the next person, but tonya was part of a terrible plot to attack and take out an opponent. nothing admirable about that.
I couldn’t believe it when I heard the movie was going to be made, I literally thought they must’ve been talking about another Tonya or that I had messed up the name and was thinking about someone else.
What happened was a crime, and the end of a great skater, not funny at all.
Totally agree with y’all. I used to watch figure skating back then, and it was horrible what they did to Nancy. Yes, Nancy was pushed by the media as the darling and Tonya wasn’t, when Tonya actually was an excellent skater. Yes, that would have been difficult to see when looking at news reports and reading the paper, but that doesn’t excuse what Tonya did.
I love Margot but will pass on this one. Making her into an anti-hero when she was revealed to be so horrible a person isn’t funny to me.
Wouldn’t Tonya still have made it to the Olympics without taking Nancy out? That’s the one part of that crime I never understood. At that time American skaters were doing well, and I’m pretty sure 3 would have been allowed to go to the Games. So why did Tonya and her husband carry out the crime?
Once you make it to the Olympics, it’s anybody’s gold to win because so many unpredictable things can happen in 4 minutes, and the East bloc judges differed in what they valued over the Western judges (i.e balletic artistry vs technical precision). If the crime was about winning gold at the Olympics, it still doesn’t make any sense to have carried out the crime. Even if Nancy wasn’t at the Olympics, the gold still could have gone to anybody. Which clearly it did anyway. Nancy took the silver and Oksana took the gold.
@perplexed
the US women had 2 spots and there was no way tonya wasn’t getting one of them. but she wanted to go to the olympics as us champion. and instead of just working hard, she used her time hatching this plot. a well trained tonya could have beat nancy fair and square. tonya was world champion in 91. if she had stayed in that form, she could have 2 olympic gold medals. but her work ethic came and went and thought losses she had when she was not as trained were because they didnt like her. she didnt take responsibility then or now.
This is like the gangster genre films people seem to love. Some people love seeing a crazy on screen. I’m not too sure it’s meant to be making excuses for Harding, esp with the last bit where she’s obv a huge liar. I’d catch this movie if there was nothing else on I wanted to see. I just read on Wikipedia Harding and her husband sold her sex tape to Penthouse. Classy woman.
I just don’t know about this film, from what we know both of them were terrible abusive people. Is this the type of movie we want to win an Oscar this year? A movie about abusive people, it’s not like the movie is exploring that. It’s a comedy.
It’s a black comedy. All the awfulness is present.
I can’t stop seeing Jaime Pressly in My Name is Earl.
Uncanny resemblance indeed!
yes!!
Not every movie that isn’t a superhero movie is oscar bait, that phrase is over used.
But this movie is the prototype Oscar Baity.
It’s being platformed release during award season, it’s done the festivals and it was specifically sold to Neon on the promise that the studio would market it HARD for award voters and watchers.
Comedies are a hard sell for Oscar nominations, let alone wins. I think Kevin Klein was the last actor to win for a comedy film.
Alan Arkin for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE 2007. While it is generally regarded as a comedic performance, it certainly had pathos as well.
Well, it appears to be more in the vein of a dark comedy or comedy-drama, such as Prizzi’s Honor (directed by John Houston), or To Die For (directed by Gus Van Sant),. Those kinds of comedies do have a much better chance of nominations, especially for acting, and sometimes actually winning awards when done right.
Yes I agree, definitely looks like a dark comedy that might be a win…
Neon is at there full campaigning for this movie. I definitely think they’re are going to be nominated possibly in best picture category. Margot looks awesome at some moments but forced in some scenes. I think I need to be fully immersed in the experience to fully appreciate her performance.
I’m here for it. I followed Ice Skating pretty hard in my middle school/high school years. I will watch this for the memories. I cannot wait. I was team Nancy, but I was glad that Oksana Bayul ultimately won the gold.
Meh, it’s kind of Lifetime-ish. It’s fine. I won’t watch though – still have PTSD from 90s hairstyles.
I really like that Margot has taken a role as producer on a lot of her new movies.
I have been binge-watching old West Wing episodes to help me with my Trump Trauma and, as a result, think this MUST be Claudia Jean Cregg’s year. Allison Janney for the win.
I’m from white trash greater metro 1980s and 90s Portland, the same area/era as Tonya, and I don’t know what Robbie’s accent is supposed to be. We don’t sound like that.
I’m from 80s-90s white-trash-by-Bible-Belt-proximity-Midwest|Southern plains. She sounds like us in the flyover states. So maybe not Portland area but definitely a midwestern accent with a slight drawl, they’re all a bit different depending on what state you’re in. You can only hear the regional differences and state differences if you live in KS, MO, NB, OK, AR, etc. I’m excited for this movie. Yeah, it was awful then but it’s been a long time and it is an outlandish story of desperation and woe.
This might be a good movie, but I don’t necessarily think the movie is saying anything new that we didn’t know before. Winning figure skating gold will bring in the $$$$ if you’re American, and Tanya was the less pretty, less well-groomed, and polished one and figure skating doesn’t like that — well, duh.
Sebastian Stan is way better-looking than Jeff Gillooly. It’s not just Margot Robbie who is too pretty for the role she’s playing. None of these people look as “trashy” as the real people were.
Tonya Harding is an idiot. An ignorant fool. She’s violent. It actually kinda disgusts me that they even made a movie that would in any way glorify her. Why? There’s nothing interesting or cinematic about her or her story. They must’ve had to dig real, real deep.
I will definitely go see this movie. This is one of those stories where you have to admit “you can’t make this sh*t up.”