OH JOHNNY...

Never to be shut up...figure skating's bad boy, Johnny Weir, hits the big screen this weekend at the Seattle International Film Festival with a witty documentary chronicling his attempt to ascend to the top of the figure skating pyramid.

Popcorn please!

The film is entitled "Pop Star on Ice" and it comes as little surprise to figure skating insiders. Johnny Weir is just that, a pop star, in the world of figure skating. Sometimes people love him and other times,well...they hate him...but he's always interesting. Never afraid to critique his competitors couture, say exactly what he thinks on a topic (no filter), wear the most frivolous outfits on the ice, or burst into spontaneous tears, Johnny Weir was made for television.

In fact, later this year, Johnny will have a series on the Sundance Channel entitled "Be Good Johnny Weir" that will more closely follow his training as he prepares for the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.

Johnny has been all over the figure skating spectrum. After winning three consecutive U.S. National Titles, he bombed in the free skate at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy and his career spun a little out of control. The media attacked him, saying he was too concerned with skating fashion faux pas and what designer labels he was wearing and not training hard enough. The following season Johnny struggled in almost every competition he entered and relinquished his National Title to Evan Lysacek.

That's when Johnny ditched the dramatics, hired a Russian hardliner (Galina Zmievskaya) to coach him, and focused 100% on his training at it paid dividends. While he wasn't able to recapture his National Title (he lost in a bizarre tie-breaker), he was the only U.S. skater to win a medal at the 2008 World Championships.

This past season everything was going great for Johnny until he placed a disappointing 5th at U.S. Nationals and U.S. Figure Skating snubbed him for a spot on the World Team, despite having earned the spots for the U.S. Lucky for U.S. Figure Skating, they were able to justify their decision as the U.S. was able to earn all three available Olympic Berths as Evan Lysacek won the competition.

Johnny's name came up again recently as the debate on how exactly male skaters should present themselves's on ice has heated up. Johnny is definitely one of the more (if not the most) effeminate male skaters and many believe that is not the direction for men's figure skating. Johnny is unapologetic about his style and has basically told those who don't approve to 'kiss it.' See how he makes for such good television?

The big question facing Johnny this season is 'Can he deliver?' Perhaps, the insights we gain from 'Pop Star on Ice' will help us answer that question. Others think that this "screen-time diversion' will detract from his skating and drop him in the same trouble he found himself dealing with in 2006. Can we forgive Johnny Weir two Olympic disappointments (assuming we all forgave him the first one)? Stay tuned...literally.

(Photo: Getty Images)

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Needless to say Aaron Harris is crazy about figure skating! He eats, drinks, and breathes the sport! You can check out more of Aaron's figure skating thoughts at his blog, Axels, Loops, and Spins

Unless otherwise stated, no particular sexual orientation of anyone depicted is implied or should be presumed.