was difficult, but as the AP also said, he "appeared to just be going through the motions with it". It was the first time since 2003 that Weir did not qualify to compete at the Worlds championship. Despite his loss, Weir was chosen as favorite skater of the year by the readers of U.S. Figure Skating's Skating Magazine. 2009–2010 season In June 2009, Weir's documentary Pop Star on Ice premiered during the Frameline Film Festival in San Francisco and aired at film festivals around the U.S. In January 2010, it premiered in Manhattan and aired on the Sundance Channel, which funded its filming and production. Sundance also commissioned and aired, beginning in January 2010, an eight-episode documentary series, Be Good Johnny Weir, which depicted the "recent ups and downs of his career". Its promotional commercial aired during the U.S. Nationals; Weir later expressed his opinion that U.S. Figure Skating sent him to the Olympics because of the documentary and series' popularity rather than on the strength of his skating performances. Variety called Pop Star on Ice, which was directed by David Barba and James Pellerito and made over the course of two years on three continents, "a fascinating portrait" of Weir. Be Good Johnny Weir continued where Pop Star on Ice ended, following Weir as he attempted to earn a place on the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. After the previous season, Weir became depressed and was ready to quit figure skating before the 2009–2010 season, but his mother talked him into continuing to compete and try to make the U.S. team for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. He began the season with "something to prove"; despite his previous season's difficulties, he was ranked eighth in the world. At the Rostelecom Cup (previously Cup of Russia), he came in fourth place overall, after placing third place in the short program and sixth place in his "error-filled" free skate, with a cumulative score of 198.55 points. He later said that his Russian fans gave him the encouragement to continue and perform better at the NHK Trophy, his next Grand Prix slot. Despite a cold he caught on the flight to Nagano, Weir came in second place in Japan. He skated a clean short program and gave his best performance up to that point in the season, with 78.35 points. He successfully accomplished all his triple Axels in both programs. In his free