Tonya Harding biopic starring Margot Robbie adds Allison Janney as Harding’s mother

If you were ready to write off the Tonya Harding biopic starring Margot Robbie, thinking it sounded like a Lifetime movie more than a story suited for the big screen, recent casting additions might be making the project even more intriguing.

Back in March, Robbie signed on to play the infamous figure skater in a film titled I, Tonya, which will cover Harding’s 1994 rivalry with Nancy Kerrigan. In the nine months since then, the production has been developing. According to Variety‘s Justin Kroll, Allison Janney (The West Wing) is close to joining the project as Harding’s mother, LaVona Golden. Also recently added to the cast is Sebastian Stan (Captain America: Civil War), who will play Harding’s ex-husband Jeff Gillooly.

Harding has said that her mother viewed her as a way to earn big money through her athletic success, adding that Golden often was verbally abusive and resorted to physical punishment to motivate her daughter. ESPN’s 30 for 30 film about the Harding-Kerrigan rivalry, The Price of Gold, did not portray Golden in a flattering light. In addition to being tough on her daughter, Golden was an eccentric who liked to talk to her pet parrots.

Lavona Golden swag…. pic.twitter.com/OQZZBQvgHo

— A-Ro (@fifththirdAro) January 22, 2014

Craig Gillespie will direct the film, which will be his second sports movie. He also directed 2014’s Million Dollar Arm.

The script by Stephen Rogers is largely based on the writer’s interviews with Harding and Gillooly. (Rogers’ script was also recently cited on Hollywood’s Black List, which compiles studio executives’ favorite as-yet-unproduced screenplays.) Harding’s husband at the time, Gillooly had hired someone to attack Kerrigan at the 1994 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Detroit with the intention of breaking her leg and rendering her unable to compete at the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

As of yet, no one has been cast to play Kerrigan, which figures to be a rather key role, even if the story largely focuses on Harding and the scheme to attack her rival. While Miramax recently acquired rights to distribute the film, no release date has been set for I, Tonya, nor is there any indication as to when filming will begin.