Heder, especially, went from overconfident to often intimidated during skating lessons with Ferrell, who was equally inept going forward, backward or just staying still.
"My faith in my skating world was shattered when Will and I had our early training sessions," says Heder, a Mormon from Oregon who had never laced up a pair of blades in his life.
Still, being a little bit athletic he expected to get some camera-ready moves down. "The deal was we would do some of the skating, but naturally the harder tricks like the lifts and the jumps would be done by stunt professionals," Heder recalls. "I thought that wouldn't be a problem."
Then reality set in. "Even skating forward was hard," he admits. "I remember thinking, 'I just don't know how this will workout,' because we had to get to a certain level of believability, and try to look natural on and off the ice."
She's always been a touch... dramatic. Even operatic, one could say. Well, now the 1994 Olympic Ladies Champion is one step closer to belting out a Wagner tune. She will be appearing in a musical, Cold as Ice, at the Gateway Theater in Long Island. Click here, for details.
If you would like to audition (or just want a sneak peek at what you can expect from the show), here is the official info (all colors from original website):
Gateway Playhouse, Bellport is seeking performers for its World Premiere production of COLD AS ICE, starring Olympic Gold Medalist, OksanaBaiul. This musical chronicles the lives of six Olympic bound Ice Skaters. The production will be performed on ice by skating athletes and joining them will be actors (who do NOT skate) portraying their alteregos as well as other important characters in the lives of these skaters. We are seeking singers with a contemporary pop sound. Commitment dates are May 1-June 17.
Roles that are open:
Maya Propova (Early 20's) A young talented Russian skater trapped in a system that she wants to escape. Should be thin, fair, and physically resemble OksanaBaiul. Strong Actress/Singer. Russian- Eastern European Dialect skills a plus.
Chelsea Riley (Early 20's) A talented young skater who comes from a working class family All-American type. (Think Sara (sic) Hughes) Strong singer/actress.
Lindsey Cohen ( Early 20's) A young beautiful skater, who has been given the world with strings attached. Trying to find her own voice and individuality. Actress/Singer.
Natalia Platov (Over 35) A world renowned Russian skating coach with a world class temper. Russian/Eastern European Dialect skills a plus. Strong Actress. Non singing.
Josh Baldwin ( 20's) A young male skater with a flamboyant and creative bent. Hispanic orBi-Racial actor sought.(Think Rudy Galindo, Brian Boitano, etc...) Actor/Singer.
David Campbell (20's) A young Canadian skater a heart throb matinee idol with a reputation for the ladies. (Think Elvis Stojko). Actor/Singer.
Dean Andrews(20's) A young, smart, motivated young man, All-American skater- thin preferably blonde, (think Scott Hamilton) Actor/Singer
Veronica Cohen (40's) Overbearing brassy broad who will stop at nothing to see her daughter win the gold. (Strong actress/singer)
Character Men(30's-40's) Various coaches, talent agents, fathers.Strong actors. Non-singing.
Character Women (30's-40's) Strong Actress/Singers to play mothers of various skaters.
Gateway Playhouse is on an Equity LOA contract & participates in the Equity Membership Program.
Salaries range. There are full salaried positions available for some roles and stipend salaries available for the smaller ensemble roles. Housing provided thru rehearsal and run, if necessary.
Please submit photo and resume electronically to artsoffice@gatewayplayhouse.com, only if you do not have access to the world wide web should you submit pictures and resumes by mail to:
Welcome to my new visitors who found this blog courtesey of the World Figure Skating Championships going on right now.
In case you're wondering where the heck you've landed, allow me to introduce myself: This is www.FigureSkatingMystery.com.
While other, more worthy sites tackles the hard, current news, we like to have a bit of fun. In addition to Where Are They Now interviews with former champions and competitors (just pop your favorites' name in the search box above to see all the archived entries), this is the place to find more off-the-beaten-path skating news.
For instance, this interview with Will Farrell about his upcoming movie, Blades of Glory:
Will, 40, said: "This was not a foolish endeavour. Jon and I were able to fulfil our dreams of becoming figure skaters.
"I think for both of us it was really the pitch: two guys become the very first men's figure skating team."
During their training, they met real figure skaters who hammered them into shape for the movie and taught them lifts and turns.
And Will is adamant none of them gave him a hard time for making this movie.
He said: "Every single skater, even all the cameos, the pros in the film, the coaches - everyone embraced the movie.
According to this article in The Grand Rapids Press:
Alexei Yagudin is the most decorated man in the history of figure skating.
I am not quite sure where that accolade comes from. Yagudin is a three-time European, four-time World and one-time Olympic champion.
How does that trump Dick Button's five World Championships and two Olympic medals? Not to mention that Dick was also a European champion back in the days when Americans could participate, and Dick won seven national championships, while Yagudin never won the Russian Nationals.
More recently, Scott Hamilton has the same number of World and Olympic titles as Yagudin, plus four U.S. titles. (And you can't really blame him for not winning the Europeans).
Plus, I've always been partial to Todd Eldredge's collection of Novice, Junior and Senior National medals, plus the World Junior and the World Senior Championships.
So I'll put it to you -- who do you think the most decorated man in the history of figure skating really is?
Born in Lamar, (Jeanne) Clark started skating while her mother was working in Colorado Springs at the Broadmoor Ice Palace. She quickly advanced as a skater, and she started touring as a 17-year-old with Sonja Henie’s Hollywood Ice Review.... “She mesmerized a crowd,” said Tom Collins, who skated with Clark and is now president of Champions on Ice, a company that produces shows across the country featuring world-class skaters. “When she was on the ice, you couldn’t take your eyes off her.”
While Yagudin said skating is certainly a big part of his life right now, he doesn't plan to do it forever. He sees coaching in his future; he also dabbles in real estate. As for his "eligible bachelor" status, Yagudin said he likes being single right now."
While most of the article on Cincinatti.com is a Where Are They Now, the first two paragraphs are an example of What He Was Not:
Madison Place native and Olympic figure skater Russ Witherby is coming back to where it all began. He skated his way around the world as a competitive pairs figure skater by way of 13 trips to the national championships, six to the world championships and a trip to the 1992 Winter Olympic Games in Albertville, France.
I return from maternity leave with a photo (above) of the reason(s) why I have -- and probably will continue to be -- busy this festive skating season (a great, big thank you to everyone who sent their good wishes on the birth of Aries Camille), as well as a question to get people thinking... and talking.
When 1987 World Champion Debi Thomas appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show several years back, Oprah introduced her as "the only woman of color to win an Olympic medal in figure skating."
If that's true, where does it leave Kristi Yamaguchi? And Midori Ito? And Chen Lu? And Michelle Kwan? And... well, you get the picture?
