Blades of Glory Writers Tell All

Posted on March 27, 2007

Brothers Jeff and Craig Cox are the screenwriters for the upcoming Will Ferrell/Jon Heder skating comedy, Blades of Glory. The plot is simple: two straight, male figure skaters are stripped of their gold medals and banned from the mens' competition after they get into a fight at a medal ceremony. They both love skating and through a loophole in the rules, decide to compete together in the pairs' competition. Both skaters are narcissists and their outfits are wildly flamboyant. The Cox brothers discuss with the L.A. Times their secret for writing the two characters' interactions: sibling rivalry.

The brother say they used their own childhood sibling rivalry to develop the rivalry between the two competitive skaters. Craig Cox says, ""Jimmy is like the younger brother to Chazz just like I am to Jeff. "Their arguments are very immature ... like a 12-year-old and a 9-year-old would have."

As The L.A. Times is wont to do, it then spins off into a lengthy discussion of the psychological underpinnings of the film and gay male/straight male stereotypes, which seems a bit overwrought for a Will Ferrell comedy. Still, the serious analysis of Ferrell's characters -- from Ron Burgundy to Ricky Bobby -- is interesting. In any event, the stills from the film are hilarious.

Here's a funny clip from the film called The Iron Lotus.