Olympic figure skater Randy Gardner’s life story coming to the big screen

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

‘Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story’ promises to be an inside look at the life and struggles of a gay, adopted Olympic athlete.

https://www.outsports.com/2018/12/7/18129079/randy-gardner-gay-olympic-figure-skating-film

For Gardner, inspiring young people to live their true lives is the most important outcome of the project. He was overjoyed to see several out gay figure skaters at the Olympics earlier this year.

“I believe the most important part of telling one’s story, whether it be in memoir or film form, is to help the next generation learn about your own experience and maybe even help them find their way in this ever so complicated world,” Gardner told Outsports

Gardner’s story isn’t one-dimensional. He found out late in life that he was adopted, and that is an important part of the storytelling in the film.

How funny, the image used is my new avatar from earlier this week.

 

[aftershocks]

Great! Thanks for sharing. I hope to donate to the post-production completion effort. I wish I could afford the $250 donation level which garners a skating lesson from Randy! Cool!

 

[AYS]

Oy my heart skipped a beat when I saw the partial thread title on the main forum page "Olympic figure skater Randy.."

I'll look forward to seeing this.

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I loved Randy's and Tai's book, Forever: Two As One. He seems like such a great guy, too.

 

[annie720]

Hope the film is done well. I’m a huge Randy fan!

 

[VGThuy]

Speaking of, does anybody remember the Tai tv-movie they made back in the day? I caught it on Lifetime or Oxygen or whatever like ten years ago.

 

[Spiralgraph]

I loved Randy's and Tai's book, Forever: Two As One. He seems like such a great guy, too.

I love that book too, it's on my coffee table. As a huge Tai and Randy fan I hope this new movie is well done and tells Randy's story in a way everyone involved can be proud of.

 

[DreamSkates]

When and where will this be in theaters?

 

[Aussie Willy]

Speaking of, does anybody remember the Tai tv-movie they made back in the day? I caught it on Lifetime or Oxygen or whatever like ten years ago.

I remember that movie from the 80s or 90s.

 

[Sylvia]

2 more days to contribute something to the Seed&Spark campaign for post-production costs (currently at 75% of their goal): https://www.seedandspark.com/fund/go-figure-the-randy-gardner-story

2 recent photos with Randy and Tai at the seasonal outdoor ice rink in Santa Monica:

Michelle Kwan: https://www.instagram.com/p/Br22QNunjPo/ & https://www.instagram.com/p/Br1Pkl4nhDb/

Adam Rippon: https://www.instagram.com/p/Brx-588HKBp/
Jordan Cowan's video of Adam skating & message in support of Randy's film project: https://www.instagram.com/p/Brxq2deHWCP/

A big thank you to Randy Gardner and Sharidan Williams-Sotelo of the @gofiguredocumentary for helping us get ice time at @dtsantamonica’s #IceatSM. The indie documentary is about Randy’s life and career and is near the end of its crowdfunding drive with less than $6K to go to fund its post production. I also did some on ice filming with them back in May, so it would greatly honor me if you could help it reach its goal before New Year’s Eve!

 

[Frau Muller]

Speaking of, does anybody remember the Tai tv-movie they made back in the day? I caught it on Lifetime or Oxygen or whatever like ten years ago.

I do. It’s in my skating movies collection. Titled On Thin Ice: The Tai Babilonia Story.
Editing to add:
Just played the DVD. 1990. Aired on NBC Monday Night at the Movies. Starred Rachel Crawford as Tai.

 

[Sylvia]

Bumping this thread back up 1.5 years later to share the link to the official website for the Randy Gardner documentary:

Figure Skating | Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story Documentary

New Documentary Film about two time Olympian and World Figure Skating Champion Randy Gardner and his search for his identity beyond the ice.

www.gofiguredocumentary.com

Randy's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/gofiguredocumentary/

Conversation between Randy & Javier Raya for SkateProud (July 3, 2020):

SkateProud Chat with Randy Gardner

⛸🏳️‍🌈 @gofiguredocumentary 🎥🎤 @skateraya Follow 👉 @skateproud

www.youtube.com

 

[aftershocks]

^^ Thanks for sharing @Sylvia. The clip on Randy's website brings back old memories. I see that Eric Radford composed the documentary's soundtrack. That's cool.

I wish I'd had the opportunity to see Randy's stage show. I did have the chance to meet him years ago at a COI event, and that's a moment I remember fondly.

ITA with this description of the film's mission:

"Memoir is a powerful tool to unlocking our true story without artifice. Film is a perfect tool to making sure that our true stories are passed from one generation to the next."