The Assassination of Gianni Versarce: American Crime Story
BBC Two, 9.00pm
The more time we spend with serial fantasist and murderer Andrew Cunanan, the more Darren Criss, who plays him, walks off with the series. Tonight sees Cunanan very much to the fore as we head back to April 1997 to examine how his murderous spree began. SH
Emmy nominations may be four months away, but the campaign season kicked off on Monday night, when the cast and producers of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story reunited for a For Your Consideration event at the Directors Guild of America theater in Los Angeles.
After a screening of the season finale, “Alone” (March 21 at 10 p.m. ET on FX), stars Darren Criss, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin, Cody Fern, Max Greenfield, Judith Light, and Jon Jon Briones, as well as executive producer Brad Simpson, EP/writer Tom Rob Smith, and Vulgar Favors author Maureen Orth, talked openly about the challenges of bringing the story of Andrew Cunanan and his victims to the screen, the most difficult scenes to film, and, of course, which wardrobe pieces they really wanted to steal.
Here are a few highlights from the event:
Playing Versace’s partner was ‘very painful’ for Ricky Martin
To portray Antonio D’Amico, Gianni Versace’s longtime partner, Martin had to revisit a time in his own life when he was not yet publicly out as a gay man, and the actor told the crowd that dredging up those memories was “very painful, to be quite honest.” Martin added that shooting episode 5, when Versace talks openly to a reporter about his sexuality for the first time, was particularly moving. “When I was in the closet, I unfortunately made a lot of my partners lie. So I was reliving that,” he explained. “I’ll always be so thankful to [executive producer Ryan Murphy] for allowing me to tell this story with everyone on this panel, because it’s been so therapeutic for me.”
The hardest scene Darren Criss had to film did not involve murder
Though he murders four people onscreen as killer Andrew Cunanan, Criss said the most difficult scene for him to film was the intense encounter in episode 3 between Andrew and his third victim, Chicago real estate mogul Lee Miglin (played by M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell). “People always ask me what the hardest thing to shoot was, and I think they want to hear the violence, the aggression — but those are simple things,” said Criss. “Violence is a base act from a very accessible place — it’s easy to get angry. But what is truly twisted and heartbreaking is looking into Mike Farrell’s eyes [as he’s] playing this deeply closeted man who loves his wife, and is truly a good man who is fighting a demon he can’t escape — and then me having to drive the car as somebody waging psychological warfare on this person. When I would leave those scenes, I’d feel like, Ugghhh,” the actor continued. “I think people on set maybe thought it was because I was getting intimate with Mike Farrell — it wasn’t that, it was having to, like, penetrate a man’s soul who was trying so desperately to keep it together.”
Jon Jon Briones might actually be the hardest working actor in Hollywood
Veteran stage actor Briones gives a star-making performance as Andrew’s father, Modesto “Pete” Cunanan, a fast-talking, truth-stretching Filipino immigrant who had big dreams for his favorite son. Maureen Orth, who wrote the book this season of Crime Story is based on, marveled at the accuracy of Briones’s portrayal. “I interviewed Pete Cunanan,” said the author. “And when I saw Jon Jon, I thought I was watching [Pete] on the screen.”
Briones’s performance is all the more impressive considering that during production on Crime Story, he was also working another job — all the way across the country. “While we shot that episode, Jon Jon was performing in Miss Saigon as the lead on Broadway in New York,” said exec producer Brad Simpson. “So often he would shoot with us, take a red eye, then arrive in New York and do a matinee and evening performance.”
Fortunately for the actor, he had a very supportive director: American Horror Story star Matt Bomer, who made his directorial debut with “Creator/Destroyer,” Briones’ breakout episode. “I would recommend it to every actor — on your first big break, get another actor to direct you,” Briones said with a laugh. “Because [actors] are the most insecure people in the world. And every single take we’d cut, and he’d come to me and go, ‘That was amazing. Let’s do another one.’ He kept telling me during filming, ‘You know, if you don’t succeed, I don’t succeed.’”
Everyone loved the wardrobe…
Naturally, a show about renowned fashion designer Gianni Versace is replete with beautiful costumes — and naturally, the cast and creators coveted some of those exquisite pieces. Exec producer Brad Simpson recalled how Ryan Murphy was so enamored of the long, flowing pink robe Versace wears in episode one, costume designer Lou Eyrich had a replica specially made for him to own. Ramirez told the crowd that he still has the keychain bearing Versace’s Medusa head emblem, which his character wore in the premiere, while Martin admitted that he considered sneaking off with another actor’s costume: “I wanted the wings on the male escort that was dancing at the club.” As for Andrew’s pink Speedo, which made its debut in episode 2, Criss joked, “I’m wearing it right now.”
…with one key exception
Martin, who talked with his real-life counterpart during production, said that Antonio D’Amico took issue with a “shocking green” shirt Martin wore during a scene where Antonio and Versace are walking on the beach. “I talked to Antonio, and he goes, [in thick Italian accent] ‘But Reeeky, Reeeky, you have to understand I would never wear a green shirt in my life! I wear black.’”
Darren Criss’ portrayal of serial killer Andrew Cunanan on FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story definitely isn’t going unnoticed.
While the show has garnered plenty of attention since its January premiere, Criss’ glorious, bare backside has been the recent topic of discussion, thanks in part to fans on Twitter and a recent article from TV Guide, titled, “Darren Criss’ Magnificent A** in The Assassination of Versace Deserves Its Own Emmy.“ So when we caught up with the 31-year-old actor at the Versace FYC Event held at the DGA Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, we obviously had to get his reaction!
“Well, that’s maybe the one thing we should campaign for,” he joked to ET’s Brice Sander. “Having [butts be] its own category.”
Although he’s totally game for awards shows to add a ‘Best Butt’ category to their nominations lists, Criss thinks he would lose to other notoriously more ripped TV actors.
“I don’t know. I’ve watched Game of Thrones,” he said. “I feel like I’ve got some stiff competition. Lots of rock hard competition.”
All jokes aside, however, he said a nomination for his portrayal of Cunanan in the series would “be nice.”
“I think those things are less about the performance and more about the moment that is created around it,” he explained. “If that was to happen, it would be very heartening for the work as a whole, I think for all the time and effort put in by everybody.”
“We put a lot of love and care into this,” he continued. “So, if that resonated with certain arbiters of taste and accolades, then that would be very encouraging and validating for our hard work.”
When Criss isn’t busy with his acting work, he likes to have a little fun, which we witnessed over the weekend when he was joined onstage by *NSYNC’s JC Chasez during his St Patrick’s Day ‘90s party at The Roxy in West Hollywood, California. The two performed plenty of classic boy band hits, like “Tearin’ Up My Heart” and “I Want You Back.”
“I threw a fun little St. Paddy’s Day party and I got some friends together and we played some music, and we had a lot of really fun guests,” Criss told ET of how it all came together. “We’ve thrown a couple of them, they’re always very DL, no social media. But when I found out who was going to be singing with us, I was like, ‘YEP! Get your phones out, this is the coolest thing ever!’”
“JC was so kind to us, but there was a bit of a backstory,” Criss added. “It’s around the 20-year anniversary of that first album that *NSYNC put out, so there was kind of a ‘90s theme to our party. We were celebrating a great ‘90s record, a great ‘90s artist and JC’s amazing voice.”
Criss continued on, telling us he still can’t believe that Chasez said yes to the idea.
“I was trying to be nice and have him sing something else,” he recalled, “because I didn’t want to put him in a corner and he was like, ‘No, I’d rather do something I know the words to,’ and I was like, ‘Fine! I’d be very happy and you’d make a lot of people at this party very happy.’ So, that was very cool.”
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story finale airs Wednesday on FX. In the meantime, watch the video below to see highlights from Criss’ collaboration with Chasez!
Episode 9, the series finale of The Assassination of Gianni Versace, title “Alone,” picks up seconds before the fatal shooting of Versace outside of his home. Viewers will see where Cunanan runs off to and his thoughts after. Though if you were expecting immediate regret, you’d be wrong. Predictably, if you know Cunanan by now, he’s unfazed and instead very proud of himself.
So what else can you expect to see this Wednesday? We’ve screened the series finale to bring you an advanced preview of what you’ll see! Avoiding all spoilers? This is your last chance to turn away now!
The second season of American Crime Story had a lot of potential. It could have focused on Gianni’s life (since, you know, the series is named after him), or his family in the aftermath of his murder. Instead, the light was directed at Cunanan and attempts to manipulate audiences into feeling sorry for the killer. “Alone” continues to do that, and tries very hard.
Marylin Miglin is featured in the finale, she’s the best thing about the episode. She won’t hesitate to show her anger or call the police out on not finding Cunanan time.
Here’s the official synopsis for episode eight “Alone” from FX:
The hunt for spree-killer Andrew Cunanan comes to a frantic end.
This episodes was written by Tom Rob Smith and directed by Dan Minahan.
Lines to look out for. Can you guess who delivers them?
How many more are going to die? How much more pain do you think I can suffer? Two months. You had two months. You had his name, his photo…
You provide whatever security you think necessary. I have never missed a broadcast in my life.
Hiding? He wasn’t hiding. He was partying.
Andrew is not hiding, he’s trying to be seen.
I’ll be there. 24 hours.
He was my life. And suddenly I don’t matter? I don’t have a home? I have no rights? I have nothing.
When the ninth and final episode effectually titled ‘Alone’ airs today, the snake in the grass will be found dead. Though not by being caught and killed, but like the ancient Egyptian symbol of the ouroboros, where the serpent eats its own tail. Viewers following the second season of the anthology series American Crime Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace on the online streaming platform HotStar would have guessed this spoiler in the first episode.
In a nearly wordless eight-minute opening sequence in the first episode, the two main characters, fashion designer Gianni Versace (a resolute Edgar Ramirez), and his killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) are shown stirring out of their lairs at sunrise. Cunanan is sitting on a deserted stretch of the Miami beach in Florida on the morning of July 15, 1997. He looks visibly distraught and is carrying a gun, making his motives clear. Versace, whose bedroom overlooks the beach, is shown getting dressed for breakfast in his Mediterranean-style villa that is fitted with sumptuous sights.
Both characters are alone and remotely together in their loneliness. Ominous stringed instruments take flight in the entire sequence and forecast terrible news on a sunny morning such as this. Cunanan shoots a bullet in Versace’s face, killing him instantly, and the title of the series surfaces right after it, setting the mise-en-scene for a chi-chi crime drama that works in reverse chronology, and makes it immediately evident that the victim is gone in the first episode, and the criminal will go in the finale.
The overture music is recreated from Adagio in G Minor — a neo-baroque Italian composition with a foggy history of origin, and is perfectly suited to the show’s defining moments and also its best bits. It will be no surprise if the same composition is played in the concluding episode when Cunanan takes his own life on a houseboat on the beach.
But despite the obvious narrative in subsequent episodes which proceed as a marker to count several dead bodies that show up in gruesome acts of violence by the serial killer Cunanan (Darren Criss in a breakthrough performance), it is through the show’s tinted lens, filming lush colours and stunning locales, and its perfect ensemble cast, including Penelope Cruz (in an ice-cold version of Donatella Versace), Ricky Martin (as Versace’s puppy-faced lover), Judith Light, Mike Farell, Finn Wittrock, amongst several others, that the show’s creators, director Ryan Murphy, and writer Tom Rob Smith open a window into a world of high fashion, glamorous people and hedonistic lifestyles, perhaps not entirely dissimilar to the strata the cast already inhabits in real life.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is about as insightful as a tour of a patisserie, delighting in screaming pinks tones and burnished yellows, reflecting the titular character’s ostentatious tastes in clothing and décor, but where is the man in the scenario? Crucial scenes are heavily glazed in rhetoric (or sinister silences) and Versace appears to be an onlooker watching Cunanan take centre stage.
The show’s villians are no doubt sexier and more worship-worthy than heroes, and Criss’s posterior is on ample display (one critic wrote a punny piece saying Criss’s “magnificent ass” deserves an Emmy trophy) but these parts (including fetishised models tied up in bondage-style dresses) don’t add up.
The series is adapted from Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History, and has been dismissed by the Versace family as moonshine, probably referring to Criss’s moony behind as he casually remarks in the seventh episode, “Oh if only everyone could see me now?” to which his gullible sugar-daddy partner Norman (Michael Nouri) asks, “Who?” Precisely.
He’s been knocking it out of the park lately on the style and grooming fronts, which makes this look a slight step down, in our opinion. The suit is nice enough, but more than a little bland. And the head could use a trim all around. He looks like a cult leader.
Edgar Ramirez
Joel Edgerton couldn’t make this suit work either, but at least he was smart enough not to pair it with a DadSweater, Edgar. This is just bad all around. Except for everything north of the neck, that is. That part is just dreamy.
Judith Light
It’s no surprise that Miss Judith is the only one giving us something to look at. A consummate show-woman with an edge. There’s a New Romantic sort of rocker chick vibe that just looks amazing on her. We wish the blouse integrated with the look a little better, though.
Matt Bomer
If he didn’t have Matt Bomer’s face hanging off the front of his head, we’d have assumed some publicist accidentally got his picture taken on the red carpet.
Ricky Martin
The shoes bring a little bit of style to what is otherwise a dull and funereal look.
Gentlemen, you have let us down. Judith, you remain a goddess, dear. We’re bowing.
Emmy: “Creator/Destroyer” is my choice for the week because I didn’t think anyone could be creeping and more repulsive than Andrew Cunanan but dammit, I was wrong. Jon Jon Briones’ Modesto matched Darren Criss’ Cunanan tit for tat in every way, and it was haunting to see how much alike father and son were.
Top Moment
Clare: The final scene between Darren Criss’ Andrew Cunanan and his father, Modesto, played by Jon Jon Briones in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’s “Creator/Destroyer” was electrifying. Andrew confronting his father over the discovery that his whole life was basically a lie is yet another example of why this series is must-see TV. The story is intriguing, the cast is perfect, the direction is amazing and the aesthetics as a whole are captivating. There was so much going on in this scene that lays the groundwork for the way Andrew behaves and reacts to things later in life. Criss and Briones just bounce off each other so well and take the viewer on their journey.
Top Quote
Clare: “I bragged to my friends about your success. You were everything to me Dad, but it’s a lie. And if you’re a lie, well then I’m a lie and I can’t be a lie. I can’t.” – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story
This spring FX’s “American Crime Story” returned for its second season, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace,” which explores the murder of the famous fashion designer (played by Edgar Ramirez) by serial killer Andrew Cunanan (played by Darren Criss). It’s the early front-runner to win Best Limited Series based on the combined predictions of hundreds of Gold Derby users who have entered their picks in our predictions center thus far. The first season of “ACS,” “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” also won top honors in 2016, so a victory for “Versace” would make this the first series since “Prime Suspect” to repeat as Best Limited Series.
Anthologies have had a TV revival in recent years. Ryan Murphy helped re-popularize the form with “American Horror Story,” which debuted in 2011. Since then we’ve seen other anthologies like “Fargo,” “American Crime” and “Black Mirror” earn acclaim and awards. But since that revival of the genre no show has won Best Limited Series multiple times. “Horror Story” lost all four of its bids in the top category: for “Murder House” (2012), “Asylum” (2013), “Coven” (2014) and “Freak Show” (2015). “Fargo” won on its first nomination in 2014, but then lost its subsequent bids in 2016 and 2017. And ABC’s “American Crime” lost twice in 2015 and 2016.
In fact, only two shows have ever won multiple times, and they predate the current anthology craze. The ratings blockbuster “Roots,” about the history of American slavery, won in 1977, and then its sequel “Roots: The Next Generations” prevailed in 1979. But “Prime Suspect” did even better than that, winning Best Limited Series three times out of five nominations. The British mystery series starring Helen Mirren as Detective Chief Inspector Jane Tennison won for “Prime Suspect 2” (1993), “Prime Suspect 3” (1994) and “Prime Suspect 5: Errors of Judgment” (1997). Tennison returned to the Emmys twice more, with nominations for “Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness” (2004) and “Prime Suspect: The Final Act” (2007).
“American Crime Story” is unlike “Prime Suspect” in that it follows an entirely different storyline every season and doesn’t overlap its characters. So it’s hard to know for sure if television academy voters will respond to the “Versace” series as strongly as they responded to “O.J.,” but we know voters love Ryan Murphy, who has won 4 Emmys out of 26 nominations, including Best TV Movie for “The Normal Heart” (2014) and Best Limited Series for “O.J.” So do you think “Versace” will follow in the footsteps of “Roots” and “Prime Suspect” by repeating for Best Limited Series?
A stylish episode that fills in the last gaps in Andrew’s story, hopefully.
The Assassination of Gianni Versace has been a detailed character study of the assassin and his victims. Andrew Cunanan has been so thoroughly explored over the past seven episodes, with an episode each for four out of his five victims, that I’m starting to wonder whether there is anything left that we need to explore. Despite being a huge fan of this season’s backwards structure, last weeks Ascent left me craving that the structure would be broken, and the manhunt begun. Then Creator/Destroyer comes along and reaffirms my faith and confidence in this show’s direction. As much as we already know about Andrew there is always that lingering presence of his father, who has been conspicuous by his absence up to this point. We have already seen that Andrew’s family has a history of mental illness (most families do, which rarely leads to murder despite what pop culture would have us believe) due to his mother’s fragile mental condition. She is possessive, but not abusive, so where has Andrew learned this behaviour?
Enter Modesto Cunanan, Andrew’s father from the Philippines who has amassed a great fortune according to his son. Considering the fact that we have had almost an entire season to get used to spotting Andrew’s lies, it’s obvious that his image of his father, used in an almost PR-like way by Andrew, is far from his true identity. Creator/Destroyer draws parallels between Gianni Versace and the man who killed him once again in an effort to rubber stamp its themes. Before we meet Modesto, we are given an introductory scene consisting of how Gianni, as a young boy, found his passion for design. His mother is a dressmaker, and Gianni is so fascinated by her work that he begins to sketch some designs himself. Despite his teacher calling him a pervert when she sees these drawings, and a fellow student call him a pansy, Gianni’s mother supports her son’s dream of becoming a designer. As she agrees to help him create a dress from these designs, she tells him that hard work and perseverance are the essential components of realising this dream. While he may have talent his Gianni’s mother instils a strong work ethic that he and Donatella showcase in later life.
While these scenes are essential in showing the contrast between Gianni and Andrew’s upbringing, they feel purely functional (as most of the Versace stuff has been this season) and don’t have the same skill and nuance that Andrew’s scenes have.
Still, they do serve a function, and through Gianni’s mother’s sound advice, we can see how Modesto Cunanan short-changed his son. Remember when Andrew told David that he was given the master bedroom when he was younger? Like David, I bet you thought that Andrew made that up. It’s true, Andrew, despite having two other siblings, was his parents favourite, especially his father. Andrew’s father taught him that success, despite how nebulous that term is, is the goal. It doesn’t matter what you do, as long as it gets you lots of money. This is obviously bad parenting, neglecting to teach your children the value of a dollar can blow up in your face many times down the line, but even Andrew’s ambitions (like writing a novel because he loves stories) are put through this financial filter.
How can a child learn about working hard when he gets the master bedroom, preferential treatment compared to his brother and sister, and a car before he is even old enough to drive. Creator/Destroyer smartly shows how destructive being the golden boy has been to Andrew’s sense of self. His father shows all of the characteristics of an abusive partner, to both Andrew’s mother and to Andrew himself. He baits his family with tales of bad news so he can find a reason to exert his power when he turns the tables. He separates Andrew from the rest of the family by telling him how special he is, and how much he loves Andrew more than the rest. This is emotional abuse that can crop up in romantic relationships. A person cuts their partner off from friends and family by telling lies and saying that they are the only one that their partner can count on. The script, and Matt Bomer’s tasteful direction hint at sexual abuse by playing up mood and a chilling performance Jon Jon Briones when he is alone with Andrew in Andrew’s room. While there is no proof of this abuse, it does make sense within the context of this show and goes a long way to explaining Andrew’s own intimacy problems.
It’s finally revealed that Andrew’s father is a fraud: an embezzler of money that must flee to his home country. Andrew’s vision of his father is so firmly in place that he believes that there is money stowed away. When he visits his father in the Philippines the truth finally comes out. Modesto is a weak man, that shatters his son’s image of him while also calling out the hypocrisy of his Andrew himself. Andrew was willing to believe that his father was a big shot as long as the money was coming in. This is ridiculous of course. It’s not Andrew’s fault at all, despite what his father has accused him of. What’s also telling is that, despite Andrew’s clear intent to hurt his father he, like many victims of abuse, chooses to hurt himself instead. Faced with a new reality, one in which his father has irreparably failed him, he decides to symbolically kill off this version and replace him with the big shot plantation owner that we are familiar with.
8/10 – A return to the quality we’ve come to expect from this show, with Jon Jon Briones the latest guest star to challenge Darren Criss for performance of the season.
John – “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace”
Coming off of its major coup of a first season — which dramatized the trial of O.J Simpson — the second season of true-crime drama “American Crime Story” focuses on serial killer Andrew Cunanan and his most famous victim, Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace.
Darren Criss’ portrayal of Cunanan — who killed five people, mostly gay men, in a cross-country killing spree in 1997 — is a spot-on characterization of a man so enraptured with acquiring money and notoriety that he has become alienated from his own humanity.
Along the way, the show spends time focusing on issues that have predominantly affected the gay community through the eyes of the show’s characters. Issues include the former ban on openly LGBTQ soldiers, the American HIV pandemic and coming out of the closet in an often-hostile society.
New episodes of “American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” are on FX every Wednesday at 10 p.m., but the previous episodes of this season are available for $2.99 each on Amazon.com — and while you’re there, don’t forget to check out the phenomenal first season about O.J.
ACS news 