Tag: acs versace

dcriss-archive:

realdemeterstamell: Some stills from my interview with the lovely @darrencriss for #TheAssassinationOfGianniVersace. I saw him again later that night & he remembered how to pronounce my name, so he’s pretty much one of my favourite people now. That’s it. That’s all it takes. #DarrenCriss #Sydney #latergram

dcriss-archive:

sascha_breuer: FUN TIMES ON SET! Tunes, friends & laughter @edgarramirez25 @darrencriss @ricky_martin @penelopecruzoficial during the Cover shoot of Emmy Magazine shot by my talented fried @robertascroft #hair & #malegrooming for Edgar @sascha_breuer #hairbysaschabreuer using @baxterofca @starworksartists & @blossommanagement.gmbh #ACSVersace #edgarramirez #emmymagazine

Emmy Predictions 2018: Forecasting Nominations for Limited Series, Reality & Variety Categories | Film Trophies

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
American Vandal
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Godless
Howards End
Twin Peaks

It’s a tough year to call for limited series, since nothing really took the nation by storm like Big Little Lies or The People v. O.J. Simpson in years past. Even if initial critics were divided on Gianni Versace I think the final product was immensely powerful and will probably be the frontrunner as such. I also expect something as high profile as Twin Peaks to be nominated despite its divisiveness. From there it’s anyone’s guess, so I’m betting on two Netflix series that have earned acclaim, American Vandal and Godless, since they have both done fairly well in precursor awards. I’m guessing Howards End will round out the five, as the TV Academy loves prestigious British dramas, especially those written by legendary writers like Kenneth Lonergan.

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Darren Criss – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Benedict Cumberbatch – Patrick Melrose
Michael B. Jordan – Fahrenheit 451
Kyle MacLachlan – Twin Peaks
Al Pacino – Paterno
Evan Peters – American Horror Story: Cult

Darren Criss should be the runaway frontrunner for his stellar performance as Andrew Cunanan in Gianni Versace, but Kyle MacLachlan will ideally be hot on his trail for playing three different characters in the Twin Peaks revival. Al Pacino will likely get in for yet another HBO TV movie where he plays a controversial public figure, while Benedict Cumberbatch gets in every year for whatever he does, so why not Patrick Melrose, too? After the great year Michael B. Jordan is having I’m guessing he can sneak into this category, even if Fahrenheit 451 doesn’t have the best reviews. For the last slot I’m going with a passion pick, but Evan Peters gave his best performance on American Horror Story yet this past season and I’m going out on a limb and saying the remaining AHS fans in the Academy will push him through.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Jeff Daniels – Godless
Brandon Victor Dixon – Jesus Christ Superstar
Edgar Ramirez – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Jason Ritter – The Tale
Michael Shannon – Fahrenheit 451
Sam Waterston – Godless

No idea. Seriously, this category is an absolute mess this year and the winner could be anyone. For now I’m going with people associated with what I expect to be the limited series and movies Emmy voters will watch, so Jeff Daniels, Edgar Ramirez, Michael Shannon, and Sam Waterston it is. Tentatively adding in Jason Ritter as well. Then there’s Brandon Victor Dixon, who had extremely strong reviews for Jesus Christ Superstar and could angle himself into becoming the first actor from one of these recent live musicals to get an acting nomination.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Ellen Burstyn – The Tale
Penélope Cruz – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Laura Dern – Twin Peaks
Nicole Kidman – Top of the Lake: China Girl
Angela Lansbury – Little Women
Judith Light – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Hooray double nomination for Laura Dern! Like with Supporting Actor it’s hard to say exactly who will get in here, so it’s best to go with the seen contenders, like Ellen Burstyn in The Tale, Penélope Cruz and Judith Light in Gianni Versace, and probably Nicole Kidman for Top of the Lake. Then I expect there to be a big narrative for 18x Emmy loser Angela Lansbury to get a nomination that could even propel her to a win.

Emmy Predictions 2018: Forecasting Nominations for Limited Series, Reality & Variety Categories | Film Trophies

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story

Rating: 4½ out of 5 stars

The opening sequence of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is exquisitely presented.

Adagio in G Minor strings accompany the striking visuals of 1997 Miami (as used so dramatically in works such as Platoon and The Elephant Man).

It is a summer’s morning and Italian fashion designer Gianni Versaci (Édgar Ramírez) is enjoying the luxury of his lavish beachfront villa. Brimming in ornate interiors, classic furniture, artworks, flowers, pool, staircase and staff, there is colour bursting at every turn. It’s as if Tuscany has been transported onto American soil.

Meanwhile 27 year old Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) wades out into the ocean and screams at the top of his lungs. Clearly overwrought with feelings of anxiety, he soon throws up in a public toilet before -or possibly after- a catastrophic event.

Not long after Versace’s partner Antonio (Ricky Martin) readies for a round of sport and Florida tourists request Gianni’s autograph during his daily walk, Cunanan comes face to face with the designer at the gates to his villa and shoots him dead. It’s like a moment of high opera, and sets the scene for Ryan Murphy’s latest anthology series.

But how did the players arrive at this crescendo? The opening chapter of this 9 part series flashes back to Cunanan’s meeting with Versace in a heady gay disco in San Francisco. Ambitious, deceptive, handsome, Cunanan is determined to befriend the designer via whatever elaborate ruse he can fabricate. One gets the impression that nothing he says is real, so it becomes a question of whether he believes his spin or is knowingly lying through his teeth.

But Versace is entranced and the two forge the start of a 7 year friendship.

In the present -the narrative is constantly juxtaposed with the past- Cunanan is delirious with glee at his assassination but on the run from local police. Antonio is heartbroken by the death of his partner whilst Donatella Versace (Penélope Cruz) arrives to take control. Rigid and seemingly unmoved by the loss of her brother, she seizes control of the company, even displaying little sympathy for Antonio.

Tom Rob Smith’s script (based on the book Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth) highlights crass pop culture crimes with one quick-thinking observer snapping a Polaroid of a near-dead Versace being loaded into the ambulance and soon demanding top dollar from arriving media; another moment from autograph-hunters has to be seen to be believed….

Whilst The People v. O.J. Simpson spent far more time on the courtroom and the Prosecution, Versace is heavily invested in why Cunanan took such fatal action, and what ithe saga says about American society.

Darren Criss, whose romantic work in Glee saw him become a Ryan Murphy favourite, takes a dark detour as the complex, malevolent Cunanan. He has the lion’s share of the narrative here, wooing and extinguishing the relaxed, gifted designer played gently by Édgar Ramírez.

Initially Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin are chess players in the bigger game, so the series will need to develop them beyond the opening chapter -thankfully there is much to work with.

Visually this is a splendid piece. Some of the scenes, such as Cunanan sitting on the beach, are so artfully captured they resemble paintings. The canvas for such a heightened piece, including the actual Versace residence, gives cinematographer Nelson Cragg plenty to work with.

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story