If you’ve been keeping up with the hit show The Murder of Gianni Versacé: American Crime Story on FX, then this tutorial is for you, darling.
But even if you haven’t followed the limited series, there’s something magical and glamorous about the world of Versacé. It’s a celebrity favorite fashion house (Lady Gaga and J.Lo are huge fans), the clothes are both opulent and gaudy, and it’s just one of those brands that has cultivated a cult following.
While the FX show follows Gianni’s life leading up to his untimely death in 1997, we can’t help but be charmed by the late fashion designer’s sister, Donatella. Penélope Cruz, who plays the fashion mogul, not only draws you in with Donatella’s sense of effortless style, but she makes her presence known.
Donatella’s fashion and signature makeup have stood the test of time, which is why I wanted to recreate her iconic smoky eye and super nude lips. Let’s get started on this Donatella makeup tutorial, so you have time to get all dolled up for the show’s season finale, which is tonight (March 21st).
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A Quick Chat With Tom Rob Smith, the screenwriter of The Assassination of Gianni Versace – American Crime Story
How did you get involved with The Assassination of Gianni Versace – American Crime Story?
It was never called that at the beginning. The producers Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson sent me the book which the series is based on by Vanity Fair journalist Maureen Orth, called Vulgar Favors. They said they were thinking about doing a mini-series based on it. Both Brad and Nina knew my writing from my novel CHILD 44, and the scripts for LONDON SPY. And that was how it began.
What was it about the project that attracted you?
The material was challenging, the main character – Andrew Cunanan – is intriguing and human in his early years, but gradually descends into addiction and murderous madness, so the challenge was how to structure the story because once Cunanan starts killing he can’t be the centre of the episodes.
Was the fashion world one you were already familiar with?
I knew a little, I guess. I read everything that had ever been written on Versace. I was surprised by how little attention and scrutiny he’d been given, considering he was such an amazing man.
How did you carry out research?
Maureen Orth is the journalist, so she provided the bulk of the research, I also read through all the FBI files, and as I said, everything that been written about Versace. I also travelled to San Diego and went to all the most important places in Andrew Cunanan’s life, just to get a feel for them.
During the writing of the drama did you warm to the principal characters, as you found out more about them? Did your preconceptions change?
The most unusual aspect of this show is that the victims are the central characters, they are the heart and soul of the piece. I have to admit, before I read the book all I knew of the case was that Versace had been shot on the steps of his Miami mansion, it’s remarkable to me that the entire story was in shadow. Those other victims were extraordinary people, their stories deserved to be told.
How different did it feel writing your first true crime story? How much did you have to fill in the gaps of existing material or ‘dramatise’ events?
There are gaps, but any dramatisation was only ever done to support the larger truths. We all knew that David Madson had nothing to do with the murder of Jeff Trail, we all felt that very strongly, so we needed to figure out how to convey that innocence to the audience, to show why David left with Andrew.
Do you think the title of the show represents what it is really about?
I actually didn’t choose the title so I can’t address that question but I don’t think the title of the non fiction source material would have been right.
We understand the Versace family are not happy with the show. Has this been very disappointing and how have you dealt with this?
Their position is the same as they had with the source material – their statement is very similar. In the end, this is a celebration of an amazing man, it was a tragedy that Versace was taken from the world, both from his family, and from a creative perspective. We set out to contrast why one man was so great, and one man became so despicable.
Do you think your background as a novelist help or hinders screenwriting?
Both! There are advantages and disadvantages, but mostly advantages I think. This series plays a long game, the lie that Andrew tells Versace in Episode One, seems like a piece of nonsense, but we reveal how much truth there is in it, how much sadness, in Episode Eight.
Is it very different working as a screenwriter in the USA from the UK? Are there key differences?
At the moment writers are considered more central to the process in the US than in the UK, but the UK model is in the process of changing.
What have you got coming up next?
A new show for BBC Two, called MotherFatherSon, an eight part original show.
What time is American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace on TV?
What can we expect from the next episode?
Writer Tom Rob Smith leads us to the very start of Andrew Cunanan’s killing spree, the one that would culminate in the murder of Gianni Versace.
In a tense, terrifying, almost Hitchcockian hour of the most awful suspense heralded by a murder of ferocious violence, Cunanan slips the few remaining bonds that tether him to the rest of humanity.
In Minneapolis, where he’s staying at the apartment of an architect friend David Madson, quite without preamble or warning, he slaughters an acquaintance of them both, Jeffrey Trail.
Cunanan, using his usual mix of guile, petulance and his terrifying presence, persuades Madson that they should go on the run, and that because the body is in Madson’s apartment he is heavily implicated.
Darren Criss as Cunanan is remarkable as a man who’s both charming and winning, but who is as unstable as dynamite.
What time is American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace on TV?
Do Ratings Still Matter? Ryan Murphy Argues There Are No Rules Any More
Ryan Murphy’s freshman series 9-1-1 is the most watched show on Wednesdays, and the most watched show on all of Fox, with 14.3 million viewers.
With more than 400 scripted shows vying for your time, let’s just give you the highly scientific data here: Those kind of numbers are about as easy to come by as a unicorn crapping gold on your front lawn.
For Murphy, whose shows are often adored by fans and critics, but aren’t always necessarily heavy-hitters in the Nielsens, this kind of ratings bonanza, right out of the gate, feels a little surreal.
“I really did 9-1-1 as an experiment with [Fox Television Group Chairman] Dana Walden,” Murphy tells E! News. “Like, what’s not on network television? I had no expectations of it, but I just wanted to surround myself with people that I’d worked with and loved. And then when those live numbers were coming in, they were so high, comparatively, and it won every night during its run, and I was pleasantly surprised.”
And perhaps a little conflicted, given that 9-1-1’s numbers were coming in at the same time as the second installment of Murphy’s American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which appeared to underperform compared to the series’ first installment, The People vs. OJ Simpson, on FX.
(Both Versace and 9-1-1 air their season finales tonight.)
O.J. was clearly a ratings behemoth—and an awards-show beast. But while Versace hasn’t garnered quite as much buzz or live-viewing luster, it does seem well positioned for its own awards glory, and plenty of streaming clicks when it hits Netflix. (Not only is it a natural binge-watch series, you actually can watch it in reverse for a second go-around, to put the events in chronological order, if you so desire.)
So for perhaps the first time in his storied career, Murphy—who just signed a massive overall deal with Netflix—is re-evaluating the metric by which he measures his own success.
“What the past six months have taught me is, there are no rules any more,” Murphy tells E! News. “There are no rules of success. There used to be. You were a winner or a loser overnight, and you knew overnight exactly where you were. And I think that it’s not about that any more. I never feel that overnight ratings on anything tell the story. I feel like it’s just the tip of the iceberg. I don’t watch live television. In my life, I don’t do that. I watch things in delayed viewing. And Versace’s numbers have grown each week.”
More so than ratings, Murphy says he’s deeply invested in feedback from those who are watching. “Versace has been a show were it has elicited the most response of people coming up to me on the street or at award shows or on sets and saying, ‘I’m watching it and loving it.’ So I do feel people are watching Versace. Most people don’t know about Andrew Cunanan. Everybody knows about O.J. So right there, it’s just a different entry way, but I think that Versace is doing tremendous numbers in delayed viewing, it sold incredibly well overseas, and it’s going to be on Netflix were it will have a long life next to OJ.”
In the past five years, as Netflix has poured massive funds into original programming and sent the number of original series soaring, networks have fought hard to make linear TV feel urgent again. And that’s precisely what Murphy’s 9-1-1 has done, with its focus on first responders on the scene of some incredibly intense emergency calls.
“I’m interested in the Netflix model,” says Murphy, “because you don’t get the daily report card. But I’m also interested in the 9-1-1 experience, which proved to me that there is sort of an excitement and there is still an appetite for immediate water-cooler conversation shows. It’s still there.”
Murphy says it will be “business as usual” with the projects he already had in the works under 20th Century Fox (Pose, The Politician, American Horror Story and Ratchet are next in the pipeline) as he begins developing new projects for Netflix under his new deal.
“All I can ever do is try and do my best work and try and connect with an audience. I’ve just decided that I don’t have a judgment about anything, because the business is in such flux, that every time you think you understand how it’s going to be, there’s some new wrinkle and something has changed.”
Do Ratings Still Matter? Ryan Murphy Argues There Are No Rules Any More
Why Ryan Murphy Can’t Care Too Much What Donatella Thinks
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story comes to a chilling conclusion tonight on FX, and spoiler alert: Ricky Martin’s heartbreaking performance as Gianni Versace’s lover Antonio D’Amico may leave you in pieces.
“I want to give Ricky [Martin] his own show,” executive producer Ryan Murphy tells E! News. “He and I have been talking about that, so we are working on that. I feel the same way about Ricky as I did Sarah Paulson when I gave her Marcia Clark—which is, I knew Sarah was capable of anything. Ricky is, too. I knew that, given the opportunity, he could really surprise people.”
With Murphy’s massive new deal with Netflix, while maintaining his commitments to FX and Fox, it seems a safe bet he can find more work for Ricky.
And Ricky isn’t the only stand-out in tonight’s final episode, which shows the manhunt following Versace’s death for spree-killer Andrew Cunanan. In an exclusive chat with E! News, Murphy reveals how he knew Darren Criss, as Cunanan, could take the show to the depths it needed, his thoughts on the man behind the monster, Andrew’s father, Modesto “Pete” Cunanan, and why he can’t concern himself too much with what Donatella might think.
There was some skepticism when Darren Criss was cast as Cunanan that he could pull it off, and the finale feels like his most challenging work yet. Did you initially have any doubts?
I did not. It’s something Darren and I have been talking about for a long time and I was never going to make this show unless he did it. The stars aligned and I was proud of him. He showed up every day very prepared. He worked longer and harder than anybody. He sensed this could be really the role of a lifetime because they don’t write roles like this for young actors. This part is Shakespearean. It’s the most difficult, multi-faceted role of the year. It’s essentially nine hours of somebody having a nervous breakdown. He went for it. I knew he would.
The final two episodes shed a lot of light on Andrew Cunanan’s relationship with his father. Do you feel like his dad was the real monster behind this tragedy?
In no way did I want to glamorize what Andrew Cunanan did, because what he did was monstrous and horrific and took the lives of five people. I was interested in showing the trail of destruction that he left but also interested in… nobody is born a monster. Nobody is born a psychopath or sociopath and I thought, unlike OJ Simpson, where we never really went into OJ’s backstory or childhood in that way, here was an opportunity that we could.
And I thought that Andrew’s father being a Filipino man and chasing the American dream and having to win at all costs – were things that he passed down to his son. And I think the physical abuse, the sexual abuse, that Andrew witnessed his father hitting his mother repeatedly, the violence that he grew up with, he became desensitized to it and that was all in the water and part of the reason why he was able to kill so easily and with very little remorse.
What is known about whether Andrew was physically or sexually abused by his father? The show strongly infers it, but doesn’t actually go there.
It’s hard because it’s hard to substantiate that. We had people discussing his childhood, who claimed in Maureen Orth’s book that, look, any boy that’s given the master bedroom…you have have to question what those motivations are about. But obviously, we had a point of view, and Maureen Orth had a point of view, and eye witnesses and people who knew Andrew. But everybody was a victim in it. It’s such a dark, American story about identity and the quest for fame and all of that stuff, which are issues that I’ve always been interested in.
Have you heard anything from the Versace family in recent weeks? Do you know if their stance on the authenticity of the series has softened at all after seeing it?
I don’t know. I don’t know if they’ve watched it. I don’t know if they’ve softened. I think that Donatella is really connected in the world of celebrity, and everyone has remarked that the portrayal of Donatella and Gianni are beautiful. And you know, I think Penelope [Cruz] and Edgar [Ramirez] did an amazing job.
But I also think what [Donatella] did to Antonio was really sh–ty, and so, I really don’t care what she thinks, other than we were really truthful to Maureen’s book and we did our own reporting. But I also really admire [Donatella], because I think what she did was impossible. Her brother was gunned down, he was the love of her life, other than her children, and he was taken from her. And she was faced with an insurmountable position and she kept that business going in the face of great odds and she really accomplished something. And I think that Penelope portrayed her as such. I don’t know. I can never think about that because that would cloud how we created the work and I was just trying to find the truth.
Spoiler alert, and it’s a small thing, but … Did Darren Criss really eat dog food for the scene in tonight’s finale?
Andrew Cunanan definitely ate dog food. Darren did not eat dog food, although I don’t know what that stuff was, but whenever I would watch the edits, it would make me gag. It was wet and moldy. I wouldn’t recommend it.
Darren Criss, Ricky Martin Discuss The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story at Emmys FYC Event – Awards Daily
Emmy season kicks off with FX hosting the cast and crew of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story at the Director’s Guild of America with Darren Criss, Ricky Martin and Edgar Ramirez in attendance.
The gold Oscar dust has barely settled in Hollywood, but the Emmy campaigning is in full swing. Monday night, the cast and crew of FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story came out to attend a screening of the final episode of the series. Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin, Cody Fern, Max Greenfield, Judith Light, Jon Jon Briones, executive producer Brad Simpson, writer Tom Rob Smith, and Maureen Orth discussed working on the show and the challenges after the episode aired.
Hosted by Entertainment Weekly’s Kristen Baldwin, Criss who plays serial killer talked about the hardest scene for him to shoot. Criss said that it was easy to shoot the violent scenes, but what was difficult was shooting the scenes with Mike Farrell who plays realtor and millionaire Lee Miglin. “ It’s easy to get angry. But what is truly twisted and heartbreaking is looking into Mike Farrell’s eyes playing this deeply closeted man who loves his wife, and is truly a good man who is fighting a demon he can’t escape. Then me having to drive the car as somebody waging psychological warfare on this person.” He continued, “When I would leave those scenes, I’d feel like, Ugh”. I think people on set maybe thought it was because I was getting intimate with Mike Farrell, but it wasn’t that, it was having to penetrate a man’s soul who was trying so desperately to keep it together.”
Playing Versace’s longtime partner and lover, Antonio D’Amico was personal for Ricky Martin. He told the crowd, “it was very painful to be quite honest. When I was in the closet, I made a lot of my partners lie, so I was reliving that.” Martin took a moment to thank the cast, crew and creator/Executive Producer Ryan Murphy for the chance to tell the story. Actress Judith Light who plays Marilyn Miglin on the show added the the show talks about homophobia in the 90’s but it served as a reminder that we are still dealing with homophobia and “we are still not finished with it today.”
Simpson talked about the final episode which he said was the “hardest to figure out.” He added, “We had fragments and we had to put them together, but we didn’t have a plan on how to put them together.” The episode deals with the funeral of Versace, but also the manhunt for Cunanan coming to an end after the FBI close in on him.
Baldwin talked to the panel about their clothing. Longtime collaborator Lou Eyrich worked with Murphy once again on the extravagant costumes and wardrobe. Ramirez who plays the designer told the Television Academy audience that he kept the Medusa keychain used in the first episode. Criss joked he was wearing Cunanan’s pink speedos and Martin joked that he wanted the angel wings seen in the club scenes.
‘American Crime Story: Versace’ Finale, Welcome to ‘Krypton,’ Season Finales of ‘X-Files,’ ‘9-1-1,’ ‘Speechless’
A selective critical checklist of notable Wednesday TV:
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (10/9c, FX): The “making of a psychopath” flashbacks are over, and in the finale of this gripping docudrama, a desperately alone and increasingly trapped Andrew Cunanan (the electrifying Darren Criss) must come to grips with his murderous actions, even while losing his grip. The tragedy doesn’t end there, as the series’ subtext of cultural homophobia leaves the late Versace’s widowed lover (Ricky Martin) bereft of comfort, shelter and emotional support.
‘American Crime Story: Versace’ recap: ‘Creator/Destroyer’ – TheCelebrityCafe.com
Modesto sucks.
Growing up is never easy — especially when you have a father like Modesto Cunanan (Jon Jon Briones). That’s what we learned the in the eight and penultimate episode of American Crime Story: Versace, entitled “Creator/Destroyer,” as we journey back into Andrew and Gianni’s childhood.
Gianni’s is, not surprisingly, finished before the opening credits even role, as we’ve learned by now that the focus of this season is on Andrew. His backstory is mostly meant to contrast Andrew’s — Gianni always wanted to be a dress-designer and, despite his teacher calling him a ‘pansy’ in front of the whole school, he was supported by his mother, Franca (Francesca Fanti).
To be fair, Andrew’s father Modesto truly wanted the best for Andrew, at one point in time. Modesto also only wanted the very best, both for himself and his family. He moved his family into an incredibly expensive home (probably not the best move), banking on the fact that he was going to be hired as a stock broker by Merrill Lynch and that Andrew would get accepted into an exclusive private school.
And, once again to be fair, both of those things end up happening. While Andrew’s siblings are left on the sideline (Andrew is clearly the favorite and Modesto doesn’t bother giving any of them the time of day), Andrew makes it in and Modesto gets hired. Andrew is even gifted the master bedroom and then given a car, well before he can drive. Things, for the time being, are looking up.
Until they aren’t, of course, as Modesto’s true nature begins to reveal himself. He accuses his wife of not having enough faith in him, portraying an abusive relationship between the two of them. There’s also a slight hint that Modesto may have also been sexually abusive to Andrew, although we’re left to ponder just how far exactly this goes.
Fast forward to Andrew’s high-school years and things have gotten worse. Modesto no longer holds his job at Merrill Lynch, but now in a pretty small and cramped cubicle, trying to scam elderly people out of money (someone better call Saul Goodman!)
Andrew is trying to make the best of the situation, going around to parties in ridiculous red one-suits and all that, once again proving he’s never exactly been one to fit in.
That’s when the FBI shows up. Modesto has conned enough people out of their money for it to have been a crime. While Modesto escapes the office, runs home to grab his extra cash and still has time left to escape in the car his favorite son, Andrew and his mother are left to deal with the authorities.
Guess what: they don’t (surprise, surprise) get to keep the house.
Frustrated and confused, Andrew decides he’ll go find wherever his father ran off to and try to get some questions answer. That place just so happens to be Manila, so suddenly Andrew is on a plane that’s headed to the Philippines.
He doesn’t exactly find the reunion he was hoping for. While Modesto is happy to see him at first, the conversation quickly turns sour when he feels Andrew has been ungrateful for all he’s done. “You’re not upset that I stole; you’re upset that I stopped,” Modesto tells him before spitting in his face.
Returning home defeated, Andrew and his mother are forced to move out and find jobs. We see Andrew apply for at the pharmacy we then see him working at in the previous episode, which is when he’s asked by the owner about what his father does.
This is when we see Andrew get that ever so familiar grin on his face, as he conjures up a fable. He says that his father owns a pineapple business, making millions upon millions of dollars.
And we all know that the lies only escalate from there.
There’s only one episode of American Crime Story: Versace left, airing Wednesday night on FX!
‘American Crime Story: Versace’ recap: ‘Creator/Destroyer’ – TheCelebrityCafe.com
House of Cards’ final season is shaping up to be “phenomenal,” according to new star Cody Fern.
“[There’s] an exciting energy,” Fern tells ET. “Listen, everyone is just so thrilled to be supporting Robin [Wright], and I think that she is a powerhouse, and it’s been about Robin since season two, and anyone who’s in denial of that hasn’t been watching the show. So, we’re just thrilled to get behind Robin and she is a powerhouse. I mean, what she is doing with Claire Underwood is phenomenal. And, it’s only going to get more interesting.”
Season six of the Netflix hit fully shifts focus to Wright’s President Claire Underwood after Kevin Spacey, who played Claire’s husband, Frank, was fired from the series following allegations of sexual misconduct. Spacey has denied any wrongdoing.
As for Fern, his character is still a secret. What he will confirm is, his character’s not a good guy.
“No one’s a good guy on this show!” he notes. “No one. Uh… that’s what I can tell you.”
“I can’t tease you with anything, only because it’s so under wraps!” Fern adds. “It’s even under wraps for the cast. We find out right before we’re shooting what’s happening. So, everything is a surprise and it’s, every moment in House of Cards is anew. I will tell you, I work with everybody in the show, so my character gets to do a lot of backflips.”
Fern’s House of Cards casting comes after he’s received rave reviews for his portrayal of David Madson, one of spree killer Andrew Cunanan’s victims, on FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. ET caught up with the 29-year-old actor at a For Your Consideration event in Los Angeles on Monday night.
“I think playing David has been a particular treat,” he gushed. “Obviously, it’s incredibly tragic, but the material for an actor was just… second to none … it’s been a real journey for me and… I’m just so grateful to be a part of it, you know?”
(Source: https://player.vimeo.com/)
Paste’s Power Rankings: The 10 Best Shows on TV Right Now
4. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
Network: FX
Last Week’s Ranking: 4We use the word “ego” almost as if we’re describing a character flaw. In fact, the literal translation of the word is “I am.” To be completely egoless might be the ostensible aim of some religious philosophies, but there’s a big difference between relinquishing one and never developing one in the first place. People with broken or empty or malformed egos are miserable and very often highly dangerous. “Creator/Destroyer” is basically a primer on how to build a human being with no stable idea of who he is—in this case, Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss), by his father, Modesto (Jon Jon Briones). The pressure of that instability is like the seismic buildup between tectonic plates in a subduction zone. The longer the pressure builds, the more catastrophic the quake’s going to be when the ground finally gives way. —Amy Glynn
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