Misplaced Pages

The Cutting Edge

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Cutting Edge is a 1992 American sports - romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser and written by Tony Gilroy . The plot is about a wealthy, temperamental figure skater (played by Moira Kelly ) who is paired with an injury-sidelined ice hockey player (played by D. B. Sweeney ) for Olympic figure skating. Competing at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville , France, they have a climactic face-off against a Soviet pair. It spawned a film series including a number of sequels. The film was primarily shot in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario , Canada. The film has come to be known as a cult classic .

#977022

124-525: Kate Moseley is a world-class figure skater representing the United States in the pairs event at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary . She has genuine talent, but years of being spoiled by her wealthy widower father Jack have made her impossible to work with. Doug Dorsey is captain of the U.S. ice hockey team at the same Winter Olympics. Just minutes before a game, he and Kate collide in a hallway in

248-537: A multi-sport event held from February 13 to 28, 1988, with Calgary, Alberta as the main host city. This marks the most recent time that two consecutive Olympic Games were hosted in North America (with the 1984 Summer Olympic Games hosted in Los Angeles, California, United States). It was the first Winter Olympic Games to be held for 15 days, like the counterpart Summer Olympic Games . The majority of

372-647: A "Big-ticket Games" idea, and estimated to cost nearly three times what Vancouver was expected to pay to host the Winter Olympics. Vancouver's bid was based on already developed infrastructure, including the Expo 86 precinct, the Pacific Coliseum and Whistler Blackcomb , which later served as the basis for the successful 2010 Winter Olympics bid and the later unsucceful 2030 Winter Olympics bid. CODA then spent two years building local support for

496-573: A 2016 feature film, Eddie the Eagle . The Jamaican bobsleigh team , making their nation's Winter Olympic debut, was also popular in Calgary. The team was the brainchild of a pair of Americans who recruited individuals with strong sprinting ability from the Jamaican military to form the team. Dudley Stokes and Michael White finished the two-man event in 30th place out of 41 competitors and launched

620-514: A B included Sommersby and Untamed Heart . A C-grade film for the year was Body of Evidence . As opening-night audiences are presumably more enthusiastic about a film than ordinary patrons, a "C" grade from them is – according to the Los Angeles Times – "bad news, the equivalent of a failing grade". According to Ed Mintz, "A's generally are good, B's generally are shaky, and C's are terrible. D's and F's, they shouldn't have made

744-530: A bloodthirsty spectator sport seems to have encouraged an even more brutal approach to film reviewing. I'm talking about market research firms like CinemaScore [...]. They have everything to do with the movie business and absolutely nothing to do with either the creation or the intelligent viewing of film. The filmmaker is reduced to a content manufacturer and the viewer to an unadventurous consumer." Ed Mintz rejected being connected to Rotten Tomatoes , and defended CinemaScore methodology of polling select audiences on

868-473: A fraction of Witt's gold medal-winning score. American speed skater Dan Jansen 's personal tragedy was one of the more poignant events of the Games as he skated the 500 metre race mere hours after his sister Jane died of leukemia . A gold medal favourite, Jansen chose to compete as he felt it is what his sister would have wanted. Viewers around the world witnessed his heartbreak as he fell and crashed into

992-534: A high-strung prima donna whose outrageous willfulness masks a girlish vulnerability gives the picture a big charge of energy." In The Baltimore Sun , Stephen Hunter described it as " Taming of the Shrew on ice" and pointed out its lack of realism, but said that it made for an enjoyable film with charm. The film was followed by several sequels: The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold (2006), The Cutting Edge: Chasing

1116-449: A level playing field for all broadcasters. For the first time, the negotiations were based on a series of sealed bids and representatives from ABC , CBS and NBC vied for the opportunity to broadcast the Games. After six rounds of sealed bids, the ABC delegation led by producer Roone Arledge was successful with an agreement paying a record US$ 309 million ( CA$ 386 million Canadian at

1240-613: A lot of criticisms because of the various environmental concerns,the rejection by International Ski Federation (FIS) of slopes for each of the 10 events in the program and the use of artificial snow due the lack of natural snow on that season. After the first inspections,the International Ski Federation (FIS) officials noted the venue's lack of technical difficulties needed for the Olympic competition. Therefore, these FIS delegates proposed some major changes in

1364-404: A mutual respect as both strive to outdo each other in work ethic. As their relationship grows warmer, they learn to set aside their differences, becoming a pair to be reckoned with both on and off the ice. Kate even boldly defends Doug to her former coach who patronizes and insults them, and Doug defends his unusual choice of sport to his own family and friends, whom he had expected to mock him. At

SECTION 10

#1732798175978

1488-423: A night of drunken celebration, revealing that she broke off her engagement to wealthy financier Hale Forrest. Usually a ladies' man, Doug uncharacteristically rebuffs her advances, fearing the possibility of regret and loss of respect for each other. When Kate discovers that Doug has bedded another woman (a rival skater) almost immediately after leaving her to sleep off her intoxication, she becomes enraged. However,

1612-532: A nightly summary, while CTV had the rights to Winter Games with CBC broadcasting a nightly summary. The nightly summary of the Games was also televised on CBC . Japan's broadcast rights were awarded to NHK in July 1986 for US$ 3.9 million. OCO'88 made several alterations to the Olympic program as part of efforts to ensure value for its broadcast partners. Now, the premier and main events, including ice hockey and figure skating, were scheduled for prime time and

1736-555: A nine-month delay. Second, the Olympic Oval was built on the campus of the University of Calgary for C$ 40 million. Contrary to what was proposed in the bid in which this infrastructure would be outdoors, throughout the process it was realized that it would have to be 100% covered and is the first fully enclosed 400-metre long track speed skating in the world, to protect the athletes and public from bitterly cold weather and

1860-630: A plasterer before the Games to making £10,000 per hour per appearance afterward. Left embarrassed by the spectacle he created, the IOC altered the rules following Calgary to eliminate each nation's right to send at least one athlete and set minimum competition standards for future events. Regardless, the President of the Organizing Committee, Frank King, playfully saluted Edwards' unorthodox sporting legacy, which would also be commemorated with

1984-425: A pretty good indicator. I rely on it". Another said that competitor PostTrak was "much better...more thorough and in-depth". CinemaScore also conducted surveys for product placements , Anheuser-Busch , and Las Vegas casinos. As of October 2024 , a total of 118 films have received an A+ rating from American audiences polled by CinemaScore. Peter Ettedgui As of August 2024 , two directors have made

2108-590: A private survey, whose result would be disclosed only to the client. Some of these privately contracted surveys' results have nevertheless been publicly touted, such as the "A+" ratings for films including Courageous and A Question of Faith (both released by faith-based distributor Pure Flix Entertainment). CinemaScore describes itself as "the industry leader in measuring movie appeal". There are 35 to 45 teams of CinemaScore representatives present in 25 large cities across North America. Each Friday, representatives in five randomly chosen cities give opening-day audiences

2232-405: A public contest. The 1988 Winter Olympic Games were the most expensive Games, summer or winter, to be held at that time, with total expenses exceeding CA$ 879.6 million. The high cost was anticipated, as organizers were aware at the outset of their bid that most facilities would have to be constructed. The venues, constructed primarily with public money, were designed to have lasting use beyond

2356-517: A second gold in Calgary. Her compatriot Christa Rothenburger won the gold medal in the 1000 metre race in speed skating, then went on to win a silver medal in the team sprint cycling event at the 1988 Summer Games to become the only person in Olympic history to win medals at both Olympic Games in the same year. The Soviet Union won gold in ice hockey as Nordic neighbours Finland and Sweden took silver and bronze, respectively. As it had in 1976, Canada again failed to win an official gold medal as

2480-584: A shift in television policy by the International Olympic Committee and growing enthusiasm by broadcasters in the United States. Amendments to the Olympic Charter in 1977 established a policy mandating joint television rights involving the IOC and the local organizing committee and was enshrined in the 1981 bid agreement for the Calgary games. The joint negotiating committee convened in 1984 late-January, some weeks before

2604-469: A significant cost at that time. Three of them are located within Calgary and the other two are located west of the city. First, the Olympic Saddledome was planned to be the main venue of the games, hosting ice hockey and figure skating finals.This arena is also part of Stampede Park and was expected to cost C$ 83 million, but a cost overrun pushed it to nearly C$ 100 million and caused

SECTION 20

#1732798175978

2728-444: A similar demographic. CinemaScore pollster Dede Gilmore reported the trend in 1993, "Most movies get easily a B-plus. I think people come wanting the entertainment. They have high expectations. They're more lenient with their grades. But as (moviegoers) do it more and more, they get to be stronger critics". In 1993, films that were graded with an A included Scent of a Woman , A Few Good Men and Falling Down . Films graded with

2852-419: A small survey card. The card asks for age, gender, a grade for the film ("A", "B", "C", "D" or "F"), whether they would rent or buy the film on DVD or Blu-ray, why they chose the film and whether or not they felt the film lined up with its marketing. CinemaScore typically receives about 400 cards per film; the company estimates a 65% response rate and 6% margin of error . An overall grade of "A+" and "F"

2976-635: A team of 150 students from Bishop Carroll High School , the sister-brother pair made up to 300 appearances per month in the lead-up to the Games. From their introduction at the closing ceremonies of the Sarajevo Games in 1984 until their retirement at the conclusion of the Calgary Games, the pair made about 50,000 appearances. The iconic mascots graced signs welcoming travellers to Calgary for nearly two decades until they were replaced in 2007. The mascot's names "Hidy" and "Howdy" were chosen by

3100-432: A vote of 27–9. Calgary's bid was at the time the most ambitious for the Winter Olympics ever, as the city lacked winter sports facilities and almost everything would have to be built from scratch. CODA proposed constructing all new venues, arguing that if Calgary was awarded the Games, Canada's inventory of training facilities would increase significantly. The Vancouver bidding committee argued that Calgary's bid represented

3224-437: A year) received the top grade, including seven Academy Award for Best Picture winners. From 2000 to January 2020, there were 53 movies with "A+". As of July 15, 2020 , about 90 films have received "A+". From 2004 to 2014, those rated "A+" and "A" had multiples of 4.8 and 3.6, respectively, while C-rated films' total revenue was 2.5 times their opening weekend. Ed Mintz cited Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise as

3348-522: A year-round destination for Albertans, by facilitating and accelerate Canmore's economic transition away from coal mining to tourist attraction. However, the Nakiska ( Cree meaning "to meet") ski resort was the most controversial and polemic complex built for these Winter Olympics. It is located on Mount Allan (inside Kananaskis Country ) and it hosted the alpine skiing events.It cost around C$ 25 million to Alberta government funds. This venue drew

3472-422: Is calculated as the average of the grades given by responders. In this case, grades other than "F" are qualified with a plus (high end), minus (low end) or neither (middle). The ratings are divided by gender and age groups (under 21, 21–34, 35 and up). Film studios and other subscribers receive the data at about 11 pm Pacific Time . CinemaScore publishes letter grades to the public on social media and, although

3596-484: Is reflected in the annual Calgary Stampede , which also relied heavily on volunteers to run the Olympics. Over 22,000 people signed up for more than 9,400 positions, no matter how inglorious: doctors, lawyers and executives even offered to collect the waste generated during the opening ceremony. Also, for the first time, a "Homestay" program was created and several local families opened their homes to visitors from around

3720-491: Is the fallible partner after all. Before getting on the ice for their decisive performance, Doug professes to Kate that he has fallen in love with her, leaving Kate overcome with emotion, and she decides they are going to do the Pamchenko. They proceed to skate with a passion neither had shown before, performing the Pamchenko flawlessly to win them the gold medal. Kate tells Doug she also loves him and they kiss each other before

3844-469: The 1976 Summer Olympics , host country Canada failed again to win a gold medal on their home soil (They won three gold medals in demonstration events, but they are not added at the official medal table). The Finnish ski jumper, Matti Nykänen , and the Dutch speed skater, Yvonne van Gennip , won three individual gold medals each. The 1988 Winter Olympics were also remembered for the "heroic failure" of both

The Cutting Edge - Misplaced Pages Continue

3968-586: The CA$ 72.2 million Canada Olympic Park , and CA$ 40 million for the Olympic Oval . Provincial expenses included CA$ 14.4 million to build the Canmore Nordic Centre , and CA$ 25.3 million to build Nakiska . All three governments contributed to the CA$ 97.7 million Olympic Saddledome . Of OCO'88's reported revenue of CA$ 526.8 million, CA$ 110 million was paid to the IOC as a share of television and market rights, and an additional CA$ 7 million

4092-496: The CBS network for $ 243 million, a 20 per cent reduction compared to Calgary. A series of ticket-related scandals plagued the organizing committee as the Games approached, resulting in widespread public anger. Demand for tickets was high, particularly for the main events which had sold out a year in advance. Residents had been promised that only 10 per cent of tickets would go to "Olympic insiders", IOC officials and sponsors, but OCO'88

4216-599: The Chinook winds . Third, Canada Olympic Park (formerly called the Paskapoo Ski Hill ) was renovated for C$ 200 million and is located on the western outskirts of Calgary. This most expensive venue of these Winter Olympics hosted the men's bobsleigh , luge , and men's ski jumping and its portion of the Nordic combined events. Also, it hosted some events of the demonstration sport of freestyle skiing . From

4340-492: The Pacific Ocean at Victoria, British Columbia before returning east to Alberta, and finally Calgary. The torch covered a distance of 18,000 kilometres (11,000 mi), the greatest distance for a torch relay in Olympic history until the 2000 Sydney Games , and a sharp contrast to the 1976 Montreal Games when the relay covered only 775 kilometres (482 mi). The identity of the final torchbearer who would light

4464-493: The Royal Canadian Air Force 's Snowbirds , the parade of nations and the release of 1,000 homing pigeons . Canadian composer David Foster performed the instrumental theme song ("Winter Games") and its vocal version ("Can't You Feel It?"), while internationally recognized Canadian folk/country musicians Gordon Lightfoot singing Four Strong Winds and Ian Tyson performing Alberta Bound were among

4588-734: The Stampede Corral shared the functions of secondary venues for the ice hockey tournament and the figure skating preliminaries. Though the Stampede Corral did not support the International Ice Hockey Federation 's (IIHF) standard-sized Olympic ice surface, OCO'88 was able to convince the IIHF to sanction the ice rink for Olympic competition, in exchange for a C$ 1.2 million payment. A record 57 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) entered athletes at

4712-520: The megaproject , selling CA$ 5 memberships to approximately 80,000 of Calgary's 600,000 residents. Calgary also secured CA$ 270 million in funding from the federal ( CA$ 200 million) and provincial governments. Some civic leaders, including then- mayor Ralph Klein , travelled around the world to lobby IOC delegates. The arrival of the National Hockey League 's (NHL) newly relocated Calgary Flames from Atlanta in 1980 drove

4836-473: The " Battle of the Carmens "—between Witt and American rival Debi Thomas , who had both elected to skate to Bizet 's Carmen in their long programs—were the marquee events of the Games. Boitano won the gold medal over Orser by one-tenth of a point. Witt won the gold while Thomas won the bronze medal. Manley was not viewed as a medal contender, but skated the greatest performance of her career to come within

4960-607: The "two stars, it doesn't matter how bad the film is, they can pull (the projections) up". (DiCaprio's Shutter Island had a 3.1 revenue multiple despite a "C+" grade, and Cruise's Vanilla Sky had a 4 multiple with a "D" grade.) As of 2020 , 22 films have received an "F" grade. Vulture wrote that besides horror, Another type of movie features prominently on the list: let's call it "Misleading Auteurism". These are movies made by prominent, often Oscar-nominated directors that investigate risky and controversial subject matters and receive both praise and pans. But because of how

5084-452: The $ 23.5 million contract to serve as the host broadcaster, responsible for the manpower and equipment to televise the games. In 1978, while the bid was strengthened, CBC and CTV signed an agreement that if Calgary were the eventual winner, the two broadcasters would create a consortium in which the purchase of television rights would take place jointly. The previous arrangement had CBC provide full coverage for Summer Games with CTV broadcasting

The Cutting Edge - Misplaced Pages Continue

5208-499: The 10 official Olympic Winter sports, and lettering was engraved on the steel caldron portion. The torch used a mixed type of three fuels (gasoline, kerosene and alcohol) to allow a continuous burn during the unpredictable Canadian winter. Approximately 100 torches were manufactured for the Games. The 1988 Winter Games began on afternoon of February 13 with a $ 10 million opening ceremony in front of 60,000 spectators at McMahon Stadium that featured 5,500 performers, an aerial flyover by

5332-617: The 1988 Winter Olympics, with eight more NOCs than any other previous Olympic Winter Games. 1,109 men and 315 women, for a total of 1,424 athletes, participated in these Games. Fiji , Guam , Guatemala , Jamaica , the Netherlands Antilles and the Virgin Islands had their Winter Olympics debut in 1988. There were 46 events contested in 6 sports (10 disciplines). In addition, there were 22 events in 4 demonstration sports and disciplines that have no official status in

5456-510: The British ski jumper, Michael Edwards , and the debut of the Jamaica national bobsleigh team . Both of them became subjects of major feature films about their participation in these Games: Cool Runnings by Walt Disney Pictures in 1993 and Eddie the Eagle by 20th Century Fox in 2016. At approximately C$ 829 million, the Calgary Games were the most expensive Olympics ever held at

5580-644: The Canadian Olympic Association (COA) delegated officially all Olympic responsibilities, including staging the Winter Olympics under the Olympic Charter , to the newly formed OCO'88 in February and September 1983 respectively. However, conflicts within OCO'88 grew in the public eye and a review of the entire management structure was conducted after Ralph Klein threatened it with a public inquiry in 1986. Thus, Frank King remained as CEO, but with

5704-883: The Dream (2008) and The Cutting Edge: Fire and Ice (2010), each with mostly different casts. The first sequel, which involves the couple's daughter, moves the timing of The Cutting Edge from 1992 back to the 1984 Winter Olympics so that their daughter could be 21 at the time of the sequel. 1988 Winter Olympics The 1988 Winter Olympics , officially known as the XV Olympic Winter Games ( French : XV Jeux olympiques d'hiver ) and commonly known as Calgary 1988 ( Blackfoot : Mohkínsstsisi 1988 ; Stoney : Wîchîspa Oyade 1988 or Wenchi Ispase 1988 ; Cree : Otôskwanihk 1988 / ᐅᑑᐢᑿᓂᕽ 1988 ; Sarsi : Guts’ists’i 1988 ; Kutenai : ʔaknuqtapȼik’ 1988 ; Slave : Klincho-tinay-indihay 1988 ), were

5828-486: The Games and were planned to become the home of several of Canada's national winter sports teams. The record-breaking cost of the Calgary Olympics came in stark contrast to the original projections during the 1981 bid, which estimated a total cost of CA$ 218 million, split between CA$ 126 million in capital costs and CA$ 92 million in operating costs. The significant growth in capital expenditures came despite

5952-499: The Games were awarded to Calgary, the cultural and community aspects of the bid were pushed aside by the newly formed Calgary Olympic organizing committee called the Olympiques Calgary Olympics '88 (OCO'88). It then proceeded to take on a "vigorous, resilient, and impersonal corporate business strategy" based in the work made by Los Angeles 1984 Organizing Committee (LAOCOG) toward the planning and operation of

6076-399: The Games were lengthened to 15 days from the previous 12 to ensure three weekends of coverage. However, a significant downturn in advertising revenue for sporting events resulted in ABC forecasting significant financial losses on the Games. Calgary organizers appreciated their fortunate timing in signing the deal. King described the timing of the contract with ABC as "the passing of the sun and

6200-485: The Games. Bill Pratt was a former general contractor who took over as OCO'88 president in 1983. He was the main manager that oversaw the construction of the Olympic megaproject . Donald Jacques, a former general manager of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede , once said, "Because of him, everything was built on time and on budget." However, Bill Pratt was controversial by rubbing many of his colleagues

6324-515: The IOC. The Calgary Herald headline after the announcement negatively reflected on the "bargain" the European network received, and OCO'88 chairman Frank King publicly expressed his disappointment with the IOC. Samaranch's argument for providing for a privileged negotiation with EBU was ensuring European viewers had equal access and coverage of the games, something he did not believe would occur if private networks from each nation were provided with

SECTION 50

#1732798175978

6448-399: The Jamaican team into worldwide fame. The pair, along with Devon Harris and Chris Stokes, crashed in the four-man event, but were met with cheers from the crowd as they pushed their sled across the finish line. Their odyssey was made into the 1993 movie Cool Runnings , a largely fictionalized comedy by Walt Disney Pictures .   *    Host nation (Canada) All of

6572-510: The Olympic cauldron was one of the Organizing Committee's most closely guarded secrets. The relay began at St. John's with Barbara Ann Scott and Ferd Hayward representing Canada's past Olympians and ended with Ken Read and Cathy Priestner carrying the torch into McMahon Stadium representing the nation's current Olympians. They then stopped to acknowledge the contribution of parathlete Rick Hansen and his "Man in Motion" tour before handing

6696-408: The Olympics were Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen and Dutch speed skater Yvonne van Gennip as they each won three gold medals. Italy's Alberto Tomba won gold in two skiing events, his first of five career Olympic medals en route to becoming the first alpine skier to win medals at three Winter Games. East Germany's Katarina Witt defended her 1984 gold medal in women's figure skating, capturing

6820-534: The Sarajevo 1984 Winter Games at the IOC's president residency at the Lausanne Palace were held to negotiate the Calgary television contracts with American broadcasters. The negotiating committee was represented by Dick Pound for the IOC, Bill Wardle for OCO'88 and consultant Barry Frank. The co-negotiating committee designed a new tender process for the television rights bid with an emphasis on creating

6944-401: The U.S. Nationals, despite strong performances in the short program and long program, they seem to place third, shattering their Olympic dreams. However, when one of the leading pairs falls during the competition, they advance to second place, earning their spot on the Olympic team. However, their potential is threatened by their growing attraction to each other. Kate attempts to seduce Doug after

7068-402: The Winter Olympics. At the bidding documents,the city was marketed with a capitalist, oil-driven and vibrant economy that also had mountain playgrounds, extensive wilderness , and a rodeo culture. When the two images of Calgary and Alberta were brought together,they seemed to be contrasting; however, they complemented each other as part of extensive and intense bidding lobby process. Calgary

7192-486: The addition of more full-time staff. Also, more than 9,000 volunteers were registered who were allocated to the most diverse areas. Despite these changes, there was still some animosity within OCO'88. Kevin Walmsley noted that Bill Pratt and Frank King continued to have a very tense relationship and that any movement caused sparks with each other. Some members of the media commented that the changes made further alienated

7316-465: The arena. During the game, Doug suffers a head injury that permanently damages his peripheral vision, costing him a shot to play in the NHL and forcing him to retire from ice hockey. During Kate's event, her partner apparently accidentally drops her, albeit with little sign of regret or concern, during their program, costing them a chance at the gold medal . While training for the 1992 Winter Olympics over

7440-641: The audiences' reactions to them. Prior to the launch, CinemaScore results had been published in Las Vegas Review-Journal and Reno Gazette-Journal . CinemaScore's expansion to the Internet included a weekly email subscription for cinephiles to keep up with reports of audience reactions. In 1999, CinemaScore was rating approximately 140 films a year, including 98–99% of major studio releases. For each film, employees polled 400–500 moviegoers in three of CinemaScore's 15 sites, which included

7564-416: The cheering crowd. The original music score was composed by Patrick Williams . The film's theme song "Feels Like Forever" was performed by Joe Cocker and written by Diane Warren and Bryan Adams . The soundtrack album was originally released by Rykodisc in 1998; in 2004 it was reissued by Varèse Sarabande with 20 minutes of Patrick Williams ' score (tracks 11–22). The following songs are heard in

SECTION 60

#1732798175978

7688-406: The cities Las Vegas, Los Angeles , San Diego , Denver , Milwaukee , St. Louis , Dallas , Atlanta , Tampa , Phoenix , and Coral Springs . In the summer of 2002, CinemaScore reported that the season had the biggest collective grade since 1995. In the summer of 2000, 25 out of 32 films received either an A or B grade. Twenty-six of the summer of 2001's 30 films got similar grades, while 32 of

7812-591: The city in January 1985 estimated the games would create 11,100 man-years of employment and generate CA$ 450 million in salaries and wages. In its post-Games report, OCO'88 estimated the Olympics created CA$ 1.4 billion in economic benefits across Canada during the 1980s, 70 percent within Alberta, as a result of capital spending, increased tourism and new sporting opportunities created by the facilities. The 1988 Olympic torch relay began on November 15, 1987, when

7936-609: The city to construct a new multi-use arena that would later be named the Olympic Saddledome , demonstrating to the IOC Calgary's determination to host the Winter Olympics. The Olympic bid itself emphasized the unique cultural and natural characteristics who mark the Calgary Metropolitan Region and the Alberta Province and also canadian prairies landscapes, as a perfect places for hosting

8060-439: The coin-flip, although he remained silent on the first flip, so a second coinflip was required, and NBC won with a choice of "heads", and after 30 minutes of deliberation submitted a $ 304 million bid. ABC's representative Arledge made a quick phone call to executive Fred Pierce, and ABC submitted a $ 309 million bid, exceeding NBC's bid by $ 5 million. ABC's record-setting bid was immediately controversial, first Arledge had exceeded

8184-656: The constant revisions of the project, the later addition of 4 more days in competition and mainly the gigantic demands for tickets, the Organizing Committee decided to move the closing ceremony to the Stadium which held twice the capacity of the Saddledome. The last time that the two Winter Olympic ceremonies were held at the same venue was at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley , California . The 1988 Winter Olympics' five main all-purpose venues were created at

8308-468: The current management structure, were either fired or willingly resigned. Also, there were claims that some of the volunteers were verbally abused. As a result, David Leighton resigned as OOC President in 1982, after only five months on the job. Therefore, Bill Pratt, a former general manager of the Calgary Stampede , became the new OCOG's president shortly afterwards. The City of Calgary and

8432-410: The data to studios instead. By the mid-1980s AMC Theatres used CinemaScore data when choosing films for its locations. A website was launched by CinemaScore in 1999, after three years' delay in which the president sought sponsorship from magazines and video companies. Brad Peppard was president of CinemaScore Online from 1999 to 2002. The website included a database of nearly 2,000 feature films and

8556-560: The data. Ed Mintz, who majored in math at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and founded dental billing software company Dentametics, with wife Rona attended The Cheap Detective in June 1978. He had read a positive review by a movie critic but disliked the film despite being a fan of Neil Simon , and heard another disappointed attendee wanting to hear the opinions of ordinary people, not critics. Mintz had not worked with polls or

8680-399: The demographic down by age and sex and passing along information to video companies such as Fox Video Corporation. After employees of Mintz's dental company tested the survey cards at theaters, polling began in 1979. CinemaScore at first reported its findings to consumers, including a newspaper column and a radio show. After 20th Century Fox approached the company in 1989, it began selling

8804-598: The design for the Torch, the base of the torch is made of maple wood, the national tree of Canada, aluminum , and hardened steel, all 100% collected in Canadian territory. The torch was designed to remain lit despite the extreme conditions of Canadian winters. The Torch had to be light enough for relay runners to carry comfortably, and the final design came in at 60 centimetres in length and 1.7 kilograms in weight. The maple handle portion included laser-incised pictograms of

8928-423: The detailed data is proprietary, the grades become widely shared in the media and the industry. Subsequent advertisements for highly ranked films often cite their CinemaScore grades. Studios use the demographic data when marketing films. A studio might hope that a high grade helps the box office of a film with a disappointing opening weekend, or adjust a future film's marketing based on survey results for one with

9052-619: The entertainment industry, but decided to use his math and computer skills for a business surveying the opinions of hundreds of film viewers. A Yom Kippur donation card with tabs inspired the survey cards given to audience members. The company conducts exit polls of audiences who have seen a film in theaters, asking them to rate the film and specifying what drew them to the film. Its results are published in Entertainment Weekly . CinemaScore also conducts surveys to determine audience interest in renting films on video, breaking

9176-669: The events took place in Calgary itself. However, the snow events were shared by Nakiska ski resort in Kananaskis Country at the west of the city and the Canmore Nordic Centre Provincial Park in the town of Canmore . In 1988, a record 57 National Olympic Committees (NOC) sent a total of 1,424 athletes to these Games. These Winter Olympics would be the last attended for both the Soviet Union and East Germany NOCs. Just like

9300-548: The featured performers. Governor General Jeanne Sauvé opened the Games on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II as an estimated 1.5 billion people watched the ceremony. The weather was a dominant story throughout much of the Games, as strong chinook winds that brought daily temperatures as high as 17 °C (63 °F) wreaked havoc on the schedules for outdoor events. Events were delayed when winds were deemed unsafe for competitors and organizers used artificial snow making equipment to ensure skiing venues were properly prepared. It

9424-484: The few that already existed and were within the campus of the University of Calgary . McMahon Stadium , the primary outdoor facility used mainly by the Canadian Football League 's (CFL) Calgary Stampeders and inside of the University of Calgary and had originally been chosen to host only the opening ceremonies and the Saddledome was chosen to be the place of the closing ceremonies . But with

9548-748: The film a grade "A−" on scale of A to F. Of the leads, Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote "Kelly and Sweeney are evenly matched", and the Chicago Tribune ' s Gene Siskel said "the chemistry between the co-stars makes it work". Thomas added, "the entire cast and crew deserve full marks for their determination in making something special out of material that so easily could have been bland, predictable or sentimental". In another positive review, Stephen Holden of The New York Times said, "Ms. Kelly's uncompromising portrayal of

9672-474: The first time both the ski jumping and Nordic combined cross-country skiing events were contested in a single day. Despite using artificial cooling, the bobsleigh and luge events did not need to be rescheduled; however, several races had to be postponed because of the high temperatures recorded and also because of the dirt that was carried away by these winds. The Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA) Board of Directors had originally 25 members. It

9796-501: The general public, with a host broadcaster producer , Ralph Mellanby , describing it as "an oilman's and cattleman's Calgary thing." Long-time IOC member Dick Pound , on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), went on record to say that the IOC grew increasingly frustrated, as it saw the actions of OCO'88 as a refusal to collaborate with them. The 1988 Winter Olympic Games coincided with

9920-472: The host of an Olympic Games. Canadians won two gold medals in demonstration events, including by Sylvie Daigle as one of her five medals in short-track speed skating. Canada's top official performances came in figure skating where Brian Orser and Elizabeth Manley each won silver medals. Promoted by the media as the " Battle of the Brians "—the competition between Orser and American rival Brian Boitano —and

10044-619: The list four times: Jon Erwin (thrice with his brother Andrew (2015, 2018, and 2021) and once with Brent McCorkle (2023)), and Alex Kendrick (2011, 2015, 2019, and 2024). Two directors have made the list three times: Rob Reiner (1987, 1989, 1992), and Andrew Erwin (2015, 2018, 2021). The following directors have appeared on the list twice: Steven Spielberg (1982, 1993), James Cameron (1991, 1997), Robert Zemeckis (1994, 2004), Pete Docter (2001, 2009), Malcolm D. Lee (2013, 2017), Peter Berg (2013, 2016), Brad Bird (2004, 2018), George Tillman Jr. (1997, 2018), and Jon Gunn (2017, 2024). As of May 2024 ,

10168-456: The long track world (WR) and Olympic records (OR) that occurred during these Games were later broken at succeeding Winter Olympics and other world events. CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas . It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from

10292-518: The maximum allowable bid set by ABC's executives by $ 34 million, and in the coming weeks ABC's coverage of the 1984 Winter Olympics which cost $ 91.5 million returned poor Nielsen ratings . Early estimates speculated the network would lose $ 50-$ 60 million televising the games. The Wall Street Journal described the NBC agreement as the "biggest prize of the Winter Olympics ". The deal which

10416-399: The moon at the right time for Calgary". The revenue growth from broadcasting was significant for the Calgary Games, OCO'88 generated $ 324.9 million in broadcast rights, which was a significant growth over an eight-period (the 1980 Lake Placid Games generated US$ 20.7 million). ABC had net losses of more than $ 60 million, and broadcast rights to the 1992 Winter Olympics were later sold to

10540-471: The movie but not included on the soundtrack album: The Cutting Edge was released on March 27, 1992, and grossed $ 25,105,517 domestically. The film was met with mixed critical reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes , it has an approval rating of 57% based on 35 reviews, with the site's consensus: "Part contrived romance, part hackneyed sports drama, The Cutting Edge shows how difficult it can be to figure skate through cheese." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave

10664-719: The movie industry works — the name of a director alone not being enough to get most people to go see something — they tend to be marketed as more straight-ahead genre films, resulting in a whole bunch of misled and pissed-off audience members. Vulture cited as examples of such F-graded films Steven Soderbergh 's Solaris with George Clooney , Andrew Dominik 's Killing Them Softly with Brad Pitt , and Darren Aronofsky 's mother! with Jennifer Lawrence . In an essay for The Hollywood Reporter , Martin Scorsese strongly criticized this type of approach by writing: "The brutal judgmentalism that has made opening-weekend grosses into

10788-409: The movie, or they promoted it funny and the absolute wrong crowd got into it". Horror films consistently score lower; The Conjuring ' s "A−" was the first time a horror film scored better than "B+". CinemaScore's Harold Mintz said that "An F in a horror film is equivalent to a B− in a comedy". An "A+" typically predicts a successful box office. From 1982 to August 2011, only 52 films (about two

10912-778: The next two years, Kate drives away all potential skating partners with her attitude and perfectionism. Her coach, Russian native Anton Pamchenko, has to find a replacement, an outsider who doesn't know that Kate is spoiled and difficult. He tracks down Doug, who is back home in Minnesota , working in a steel mill and as a carpenter on the side, living with his brother, and playing in a hockey bar league . Desperate for another chance at Olympic glory, Doug agrees to work as Kate's partner, even though he has macho contempt for figure skating. Kate's snooty, prima donna behavior gets on his nerves immediately, and their first few practices do not go well as they antagonize each other. However, they develop

11036-460: The office of the organizing committee. At that time, the American dollar was trading 40 cents higher than the Canadian dollar, resulting in significantly higher than anticipated revenue through currency conversion. The ticket manager maintained his innocence claiming he was used as a scapegoat and sponsor credit card Visa was responsible for the error, despite his claims, the ticketing manager

11160-415: The opening night, to see if the film meets the expectations of the people who most want to see it. He further defended the accuracy of their data and the correlation to box office results. CinemaScore's forecasts for box-office receipts based on the surveys are, according to the Los Angeles Times , "surprisingly accurate" as "most of [the company's] picks...are in the ballpark", in 2009 correctly predicting

11284-559: The opportunity to bid. Dick Pound was also critical of the decision and argued more revenue could be brought in from BBC and RAI alone and the privileged status suppressed the willingness of the EBU to make a market-value bid on the games. The CTV Television Network won the bid to broadcast the Games in Canada in December 1983, paying CA$ 4.5 million for the exclusive rights. CTV also won

11408-509: The organization's leadership and revived CODA. King and Niven consulted former Olympic Sprinter and CODA founder, Ernie McCullough , and politician Arthur Ryan Smith , who had worked on previous bids, for guidance on the project. In October 1979, CODA secured the Canadian Olympic Association's (COA) support for Canada's official bid to host the 1988 Winter Olympics, winning over a competing bid by Vancouver with

11532-651: The outer wall in the first quarter of his heat. In the 1000 metre race four days later, Jansen was on a world record pace when he again fell. After failing again in Albertville, Jansen finally won a gold medal at the 1994 Lillehamer Games . One of the most popular athletes from the games was British ski jumper Michael Edwards , who gained infamy by placing last in both the 70 and 90 metre events finishing 70 and 53 points behind his next closest competitor, respectively. Edwards' "heroic failure" made him an instant celebrity; he went from earning £6,000 per year as

11656-509: The overall medal tally. The weather conditions were a problem facing OCO'88 during the Games, with temperatures ranging from −28 to 22 °C (−18 to 72 °F). After an unexpectedly freezing opening ceremony, the outdoor competitions scheduled to start the next day had to be postponed. This ended up affecting the men's downhill skiing event at Nakiska which was postponed for one day, due to Chinook winds blowing up to 160 km/h. The women's downhill event also experienced

11780-511: The previous three Winter Games combined. In the OCO'88's final report, the Committee admits the culmination of fraud charges, a large portion of premier tickets requested by Olympic insiders, and poor communications led to a negative public reaction to the ticketing process. For the first time in the history of the Olympics, both summer and winter, the Organizing Committee worked with a refund policy for returned or unused tickets. When an event

11904-601: The rights to host the 1976 Summer Olympics , and Vancouver made attempts to host the 1976 and 1980 Games. Calgary, alongside neighbouring Banff , under the leadership of the Calgary Olympic Development Association (CODA), submitted bids for the Winter Games in 1964 , 1968 , and 1972 . However, CODA went dormant in 1966 after losing three consecutive bids. In 1978, Frank King and Bob Niven of Calgary's Booster Club took over

12028-401: The same scenario. With the ski jumping venue facing north at Canada Olympic Park (COP), the same winds also disrupted those events, with the large hill event being postponed four times. It also disrupted the Nordic combined events, in which the ski jumping part had to be postponed as well. This situation ended up causing something unprecedented in the history of the Winter Olympics, as for

12152-556: The slopes in an action to cause bigger difficulties. These modifications were met with praise from Olympic alpine skiing competitors. Like at Canada Olympic Park, this venue also hosted some freestyle skiing events as a demonstration sport. Three other existing facilities served as secondary competition venues for the Games. The first one, was the Max Bell Centre hosted the demonstration sports of curling and short track speed skating . The Father David Bauer Olympic Arena and

12276-404: The stadium capacity was about two times bigger than the indoor venue. King also noted that the Calgary Games offered a then-record 1.9 million tickets for sale, three times the amount available at Sarajevo or Lake Placid and that 79 percent of them were to be allocated to Calgarians. By the start of the 1988 Winter Games, a record of over 1.4 million tickets had been sold, a figure that eclipsed

12400-584: The success of The Hangover and the failure of Land of the Lost . Hollywood executives are divided on CinemaScore's accuracy. Rob Moore , formerly of Paramount Pictures , said Ed Mintz had an "absolute connection with the pulse of moviegoers". Jeff Goldstein of Warner Bros. described CinemaScore as "essential ... for the entertainment industry", and Dan Fellman of Warner said that the studio discontinued its own exit polling because of CinemaScore. Another Hollywood executive said "It's not always right, but it's

12524-425: The summer of 2002's 34 films got similar grades, the latter being the highest ratio in a decade. Since July 2014, CinemaScore reports its results also on Twitter . Usually, to maintain comparable sample sizes, only films that open in more than 1,500 screens are polled and reported on CinemaScore's website and social media. The distributor of a film that opens in fewer screens can also contract with CinemaScore for

12648-487: The temporary rift is set aside as they attempt to train in a risky skating move invented by Pamchenko, which will assure them a gold medal if they can pull it off without serious injury. At the finals at the Albertville Olympics, they look to be one of the top pairs competing for the gold. However, another argument threatens their chemistry on the ice, and in the process Doug and Kate both discover that Kate

12772-475: The three levels of government taking over projects which constituted nearly half of the original budgeted capital projects. The primary source of revenue for OCO'88 was the lucrative television contracts, bringing in CA$ 325.9 million (58.3 per cent of revenue), the absolute majority coming from American broadcasters, followed by corporate sponsorships at CA$ 88 million (15.8 per cent of revenue), and ticket sales of CA$ 41.9 million (7.5 per cent of revenue). Of

12896-482: The time) in exchange for exclusive rights for the games. CBS exited the bidding process after the second round with a final offer of $ 257 million, while ABC and NBC both reached the fifth round with an offer of $ 300 million. In the sixth and final stage, the IOC and OCO'88 decided a coin flip would determine which of ABC or NBC had the right to submit the first bid or defer, a decision neither network supported. NBC's president of sports Arthur A. Watson elected to call

13020-494: The time, as all the necessary infrastructure was built from scratch. The facilities that were built for these Winter Olympics helped the host region to turn into the heart of Canada's elite winter sports program, under the tutelage of WinSport . After the Games, their legacy still standing and in constant use, as the five purpose-built venues for those Games are now used for training and hosting various winter sporting events every year. These policies helped Canada develop into one of

13144-607: The top nations in Winter Olympics competition. The climax of this effort was the overall first-place finish at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver , Canada. Calgary made its fourth attempt at hosting the Winter Games when it bid for the 1988 Winter Olympic Games, which also marked Canada's seventh bid for the Winter Olympic Games. Montreal made the first Canadian bid for the Winter Games in 1956 and won

13268-612: The torch to 12-year-old Robyn Perry , an aspiring figure skater who was selected to represent the future of the Olympic Movement three years before the IOC changed the year of the Winter Games, to light the cauldron. The design of the Olympic Torch for the Calgary games was a reproduction of the main landmark building of the Calgary skyline, the Calgary Tower . The National Research Council Canada developed

13392-590: The torch was lit at Olympia and Greek runner Stelios Bisbas began what was called "the longest torch run in history". The flame arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland on the Atlantic Ocean two days later and over 88 days, travelled west across the then 10 Canadian provinces and two territories. It passed through most major cities, north to the Arctic Ocean at Inuvik, Northwest Territories , then west to

13516-535: The total expenses for the Games ( CA$ 879.6 million), the Government of Canada contributed CA$ 200 million (22.7 per cent), the Government of Alberta contributed CA$ 130 million (14.8 per cent), and the City of Calgary contributed CA$ 43 million (4.9 per cent). The CA$ 320.8 million of government capital contributions not directly included in OCO'88's revenue statements included the Government of Canada constructing

13640-533: The west of Calgary, the other two main all-purpose venues were built at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains . First, the Canmore Nordic Centre was 90% funded by the province of Alberta , for C$ 17.3 million. It is located beside the town of Canmore and it hosted cross-country skiing , plus its men's portion of the Nordic combined, and the men's biathlon events.Was projected that the area could become

13764-437: The world, and others were renting their rooms or houses to those who could not stay in pay a reserve in a hotel. Klein was among those who felt it necessary that the event be community driven, a decision which allowed the city's welcoming spirit to manifest. The Games' mascots, Hidy and Howdy , were designed to evoke images of "western hospitality". The smiling, cowboy-themed polar bears were popular across Canada. Played by

13888-460: The wrong way. One former co-worker once predicted back in 1983: "He will get everything built. There may not be many (of us) left around to enjoy it, but he'll get it done." His relations with the news media were also strained at times. He had barely settled into his new position when the Calgary press media began criticizing OCO'88 for excessive secrecy and for awarding Olympic contracts to Calgary's PR firm Francis Williams and Johnson Ltd. Pratt

14012-441: Was a director of that firm, before accepting the organizing committee job. OCO'88 had insisted that there was no conflict of interest involved in the whole process. Therefore, Pratt declared: "I have been nailed for a lot, but that does not bother me. The record stands". After the 1988 Winter Olympics bid was won in 1981, OCO'88 made a new technical assessment and had to re-plan all the originally proposed competition venues except for

14136-582: Was added to the list. An Olympic biographer, Kevin Wamsley, noted that the CEO Frank King, President Bill Pratt , Ralph Klein, and former COA President Roger Jackson had collectively the most influence on all aspects of these Winter Olympics. This organizing committee took a hierarchical form for planning these Olympics, which caused consternation from some staff, volunteers, and people in executive roles. The original staff, who were at odds with

14260-498: Was at the time the highest amount ever paid for a sporting event, allowed OCO'88 to announce the Games would be debt-free. The negotiations with American television broadcasters were in sharp contrast to negotiations for Western European rights with the European Broadcasting Union quickly closing an exclusive deal with the IOC for US$ 5.7 million led by Juan Antonio Samaranch and Marc Hodler on behalf of

14384-460: Was chaired by Frank King, followed by former Mayors Ralph Klein and Ross Alger , and other prominent Calgarians. The executive committee president was Robert Niven. The Olympic Organizing Committee (OOC) was formed by utilizing many of the original board of directors members. It was initially started with 11 members and was grown to 25 members by October 1983. It grew further to 29 members by 1985, when former Alberta premier , Peter Lougheed ,

14508-443: Was convicted of fraud , theft , and forgery , and sentenced to 5 years in prison. Organizers attempted to respond to public concern by asking sponsors to consider reducing their orders and by paying $ 1.5 million to add 2,600 seats to the Saddledome, as well as increase capacity for ski jumping, alpine skiing and the opening ceremonies. This led to a change of the venue of the closing ceremonies from Saddledome to McMahon Stadium, as

14632-506: Was eliminated in the first round of balloting, Calgary won in the second and final round of balloting over Falun, by a margin of 17 votes. The announcement of CODA's victory sent the delegates in Baden-Baden and Calgary residents into singing and dancing. It also made then Alberta premier , Peter Lougheed , burst openly into tears in front of the cameras. Later, Ralph Klein sang a rendition of Mac Davis ' It's Hard to Be Humble . It

14756-620: Was later forced to admit that up to 50 percent of seats to top events had gone to insiders. The organizing committee, which was subsequently chastised by mayor Klein for running a "closed shop", admitted that it had failed to properly communicate the obligations it had to supply IOC officials and sponsors with priority tickets. These events were preceded by the ticketing manager for OCO'88 being charged with theft and fraud after he sent modified ticket request forms to Americans that asked them to pay in United States funds rather than Canadian and to return them to his company's post office box rather than

14880-474: Was one of three finalists during the 1988 Winter Olympics bid process. The other two were Falun , Sweden , and Cortina d'Ampezzo , Italy . The Italian town ( comune ) had before hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and was seen by many as the favorite. The vote was held on September 30, 1981, in Baden-Baden , West Germany , during the 84th IOC Session and 11th Olympic Congress . After Cortina d'Ampezzo

15004-486: Was paid to the United States Olympic Committee for rights to broadcast the Games in the United States, and CA$ 3 million was reimbursed to NOC's for accommodation fees at the Games. The Games were a major economic boom for the city, which had fallen into its worst recession in 40 years following the collapse of both oil and grain prices three years before the games. A report prepared for

15128-463: Was postponed by at least 24 hours, the ticketholder was eligible for a refund. Due to weather issues, the 8 events that were scheduled for the first 24 hours had to be rescheduled, resulting in 130,000 ticket refunds totalling CA$ 2.9 million, with transactions handled by the Royal Bank of Canada . The city of Calgary is world-renowned for the enthusiasm of its population for volunteer work which

15252-536: Was the first Winter Olympics awarded to Canada and the second Olympic Games overall, following the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal . Cortina d'Ampezzo, along with Milan , would get to host the 2026 Winter Olympics . The town will be the fourth to host the Winter Olympics twice, along with St. Moritz ( 1928 and 1948 ), Lake Placid ( 1932 and 1980 ), and Innsbruck ( 1964 and 1976 ). Olympic historians, John E. Findling and Kimberly D. Pelle noted that once

15376-462: Was the first time in Olympic history that alpine events were held on artificial snow. The Games were also marred by the death of the Austrian ski team's doctor, Joerg Oberhammer, on February 25 after a collision with another skier threw him underneath a working snow grooming machine at Nakiska, crushing and killing him instantly. The incident was ruled an accident. The top individual competitors at

#977022