Brian Boitano Interview Spectacular!

Watch Boitano skate as Barry Manilow performs ''I Write the Songs'':

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let's move on to the Battle of the Brians. SOMEWHERE wants to know if you have any comment on Brian Orser's recent retirement from professional skating.
BRIAN BOITANO: Good riddance. [Laughs] I know he's not skating anymore. Some different TV shows have asked us if we'd do a number together next year for our 20th anniversary. I was willing to do it, but he says he's hanging up the boots. He's lazy. No, it's sad that he's retiring, 'cause we were always very friendly competitors. We weren't friends, but we were friendly. The way I discovered the name ''Battle of the Brians'' was reading the cover of Time magazine. I'm like, ''Ooooh, s---. Battle of the Brians. I know who that's about.'' I didn't even pick it up off the newsstand. I sent Brian Orser this thing recently: Canada voted for the Top 10 sports moments in the century, and Battle of the Brians was No. 1. Can you believe that?

Another reader, ILLANA, would like to know if you'll be following Orser into coaching.
No. I've been mentoring this year [U.S. skaters Ryan Bradley and Alissa Czisny]. I like that, but coaching is a full-time job. I don't have the energy to do my own skating stuff and do that.

Here's a question from SMOOCHIE, whom you've apparently brought to tears multiple times with your skating: ''I would like to voice my displeasure, and ask if he agrees, that all the 'skating' has gone out of figure skating. It is rarely beautiful and is more like 'how many jumps can I fit in.'''
Yeah, but the amateur skating has always been about how many jumps you can fit in. The reason I won that night [in Calgary] is because I did more jumps than anybody else. I understand what they're saying. We don't have the Dorothy Hamills that are beautiful to watch, even in the simplest things. Kids don't know the language of figure skating. If you ask them to do a compulsory figure, they don't know how to, and that's so important for the edge quality. I think that's why the older skaters are still as popular as they are — because they have that quality that people are missing in this generation.

LYNN says she'd love to see you produce or judge a So You Think You Can Skate reality show. Thoughts?
I watch So You Think You Can Dance. Yeah, that would be okay.

What other TV do you watch?
I love The Amazing Race, 24, Prison Break, Ugly Betty. Things I don't like: Dancing With the Stars. I just don't like watching bad dancing.

Last question: When you were on the Blades of Glory set filming your cameo, Will Ferrell told you that skating was the hardest thing he'd ever tried to do. What did you think of Skating With Celebrities?Nightmare! They gave them like three weeks — they were marching around like beginners. But if they had more time, they still wouldn't be able to anything. When [Fox] announced that they were doing the show, I read stuff like, ''First we have celebrities doing the rumba and the cha-cha on Dancing With the Stars. What a great idea for them to do ice skating. We can see them doing scratch spins and double axels.'' I'm like, ''Double axels? You guys are crazy.''