Blades of Glory
Kick Some Ice
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$61 000 000
Box office
$145 708 642
Director
Actors
Scenario
Producer
Ben Stiller, Stuart Cornfeld, John Jacobs, Marty P. Ewing
Camera operator
Composer
Artist
Stephen J. Lineweaver, Gary Warshaw
Audition
Juel Bestrop, Seth Yanklewitz
Editing
Richard Pearson, Thomas Hayslip
Whole Team (93)
Whole Team (93)
Short description
When a much-publicized ice-skating scandal strips them of their gold medals, two world-class athletes skirt their way back onto the ice via a loophole that allows them to compete together as a pairs team.
What's left behind the scenes
- The hotel used to accommodate athletes at the Olympic Games in Montreal in the film is the famous “Habitat 67” building complex, built for the 1967 World's Fair. In reality, it never served as a hotel, but is a private condominium.
- The famous figure skaters appearing in the film include: Sasha Cohen, Scott Hamilton, Peggy Fleming, Brian Boitano, Dorothy Hamill, Nancy Kerrigan, Kyoko Ina, Yuka Sato, and David Pelletier.
- The scenes of the World Figure Skating Championship were filmed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
- The role of Chazz Michael Michaels could have gone to Ben Stiller, but the actor felt that the character was too similar to roles he had played previously.
- According to the national flags raised during the award ceremony at the world championship, the medalists were athletes from the USA (the two main characters), South Korea, and Sweden. In the history of men's singles skating, South Korean skaters had never reached the podium, and the last time Swedish athletes had managed to do so was back in 1929. Furthermore, this situation with four medalists directly contradicts the rules; had two skaters tied for first place, both would have received gold medals, no one would have received silver, and only bronze would have been awarded.
- According to the flags of the countries raised at the awards ceremony at the World Championship, the medalists were athletes from the USA (the two main characters), South Korea, and Sweden. Figure skaters from South Korea have never reached the podium in the history of men's singles skating, and Swedish athletes last achieved this feat in 1929. Furthermore, this situation with four medalists directly contradicts the rules, and if two skaters were to share first place, both would receive gold medals, no one would receive silver, and only bronze would be awarded.
- The figure skating style of Will Ferrell's character is partially based on the performances of the famous Canadian figure skater and three-time world champion Elvis Stojko.
- The preparation of the two lead actors and the choreography of the ice scenes in the film were overseen by renowned Canadian figure skater Sarah Kawahara, who trained world champions and Olympic medalists, and also staged world-famous ice shows. Her assistant was Lisa Marie Allen, a competitor in figure skating at the 1980 Olympic Games, who also appears in a cameo role in one of the episodes.
- Copies of the film were delivered to American cinemas under the fake title 'Partners'.
- Craig T. Nelson, who played the role of the coach, had previously appeared on screen in a similar role in the series “Coach” (1989-1997).
- The figure skating style of Will Ferrell's character is partially based on the performances of the famous Canadian figure skater, three-time world champion Elvis Stojko.
- According to the film's screenwriters, "88.773% of Will Ferrell's dialogue" was either improvised by the actor or specifically tailored to him.
- The hotel used to house athletes during the Montreal Olympics in the film is the famous "Habitat 67" complex, built for the 1967 World Expo. In reality, it has never served as a hotel and is actually a private condominium complex.
- The scenes of the World Figure Skating Championships were filmed at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.
- Many of the elements that Chazz and Jimmy perform on the ice while lifting each other are actually dance moves rather than figure skating moves. Their inclusion in a program is not explicitly forbidden by the rules, and they have been performed by many famous skaters in official competitions. Accordingly, a situation where a telecommentator sees such moves for the first time and is stunned by them would unlikely happen in reality.
- Craig T. Nelson, who played the role of the coach, had previously appeared in a similar capacity in the series "Coach" (1989-1997).
- Many of the elements performed on the ice by Chazz and Jimmy, such as lifting each other, actually belong to dance, not figure skating. Their inclusion in the program is not explicitly prohibited by the rules, and they have been performed by many famous figure skaters in official competitions. Accordingly, the situation where a television commentator would see something like this for the first time and be amazed is unlikely to have happened in reality.
- The fictional figure skating element called the 'Steel Lotus' is a parody of the skating performed by Anton Pamchenko in the movie 'Striking Blade' (1992).
- In the film's opening scene, when a young Jimmy first discovers figure skating as a child, the song "Time to Say Goodbye" performed by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli is played. This same song was featured during the compulsory program of German figure skater Katarina Witt in the movie "The Ronin" (1998).
- The preparation of the two lead actors and the choreography of the on-ice scenes were handled by renowned Canadian figure skater Sarah Kawahara, who has coached world champions and Olympic medalists, and has staged world-famous ice shows. Her assistant was Lisa Marie Allen, a participant in the 1980 Olympic figure skating competitions, who also makes a cameo appearance in one of the episodes.
- The loophole in the rules used by the two main characters is, in reality, a complete fabrication of the screenwriters. According to the rules of official pairs skating competitions, a pair consists of a man and a lady (lady being the accepted term for a woman in figure skating).
- During the press conference, Jimmy McEllroy (Jon Heder) answers a question from a Japanese reporter asked in Japanese. Jon Heder spent two years in Japan as a Mormon missionary, during which time he became fluent in Japanese.
- Playing professional figure skaters required significant effort and long training sessions from Will Ferrell and John Heder. John Heder even broke his ankle during figure skating training in preparation for filming, and this rather serious injury to the actor caused an unforeseen delay in the project’s work.
- In the opening scene of the film, when young Jimmy first discovers figure skating as a child, the song “Time to Say Goodbye” by Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli is playing. The same song was used during the performance of the compulsory program by German figure skater Katarina Witt in the film “Ronin” (1998).
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Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
