Neon and 30WEST have acquired domestic rights to “I, Tonya,” a dark comedy starring Margot Robbie as Olympic skater Tonya Harding.
“I, Tonya” received strong reviews in Toronto from critics who praised the film’s darkly humorous take on Tonya Harding’s shift from a famous figure skater to an exile from her sport after it was discovered she was involved in an attack on rival skater Nancy Kerrigan. The film also stars Allison Janey as Harding’s mother and Sebastian Stan as Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly. Julianne Nicholson, Paul Walter Hauser and Bobby Cannavale co-star.
“It’s been a whirlwind couple of days and we’re so thrilled by the overwhelming response I, Tonya received since premiering in Toronto,” said LuckyChap Entertainment and Clubhouse Pictures. “This film means the world to us and we’re really happy to find a distribution partner in NEON, who loves it as much as we do. From the first meeting we had with them, their passion spoke volumes. They completely captured the essence and tone of our film and embraced the spirit of it through their innovative marketing approach.”
Craig Gillespie directed the film from a screenplay by Steve Rogers. Bryan Unkeless, Steven Rogers, Margot Robbie and Tom Ackerley produced the film. Len Blavatnik and Aviv Giladi executive produced the film for AI Films, who financed the project. Rosanne Korenberg and Zanne Devine are also executive producers.
The deal was negotiated by NEON and 30WEST and CAA and UTA on behalf of the filmmakers. Bill Block, CEO of Miramax, Adrian Lopez, SVP Business and Legal Affairs at Miramax and Vince Holden of AI Films negotiated the deal on behalf of their respective companies.
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30WEST, which was founded by former CAA agent Micah Green and entrepreneur Dan Friedkin also partnered with Cinetic Media to negotiate a deal at Toronto to sell domestic rights Morgan Spurlock’s sequel to “Super Size Me” to YouTube Red.