Tag: january 2018

evangelinethedreamer: Yep…this is me as Young Donatella Versace wearing this totally amazing brown hair wig that they custom made for me for one of the scenes we shot before Donatella “goes blond”…I’m with Wolf Fleetwood-Ross who is playing Young Versace…new #episode of #americancrimestory tonight at 10pm on #fx

American Crime Story: What We Know About Gianni Versace’s Mysterious Illness

*Spoilers: Scene descriptions for episode 2 below

In the second episode of The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, the fashion designer is shown in a Miami hospital in 1994, trying to hide his identity as he watches two sick men lie in bed next to each other in a room. He then speaks with a doctor, which is partially overlaid on a shot of blood being drawn, who tells Gianni that the drug therapies are complex and difficult. The show never comes right out and says what illness Gianni has been diagnosed with, and this is a major point of contention between the show’s version of events and what the Versace family claims is true.

The show seems to be implying that Versace was HIV positive, established by the shot of the two very gaunt men in their side-by-side hospital beds. But the family has always denied that was the case. Their explanation for Versace’s illness and recovery is always that he had cancer. In a 2006 interview with New York Magazine, younger sister Donatella said that Versace’s reclusiveness in the mid-1990s was because of ear cancer.

“He was sick with cancer in his ear before he was murdered. The last two years of his life, Gianni was hiding — hiding up in his apartment in Via Gesù — because his ear was so big,” said Donatella. “It was impossible to do a surgery because of the position, because to do a surgery, part of his face was supposed to drop… . But then it was declared cured six months before he was murdered. We celebrated; we drink Champagne and everything. Six months later, he was killed.”

However, in Maureen Orth’s book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History, on which the FX series is based, the author maintains that she was told on the record by a Miami Beach detective that Versace was HIV positive.

“I was told on the record by the lead detective on Miami Beach that he had heard from the medical examiner who did the blood work that he was [HIV positive],” Orth told The Hollywood Reporter. “And it also goes along with other people who told me that he was very weak at one time and he needed [partner] Antonio to help him walk, and they came over to his house when he was having breakfast and he had 27 bottles of pills in front of him. Now, does that mean they’re for HIV? But the blood thing from on record from the Miami Beach, that’s pretty [solid].”

But the Versace family said in a statement that Orth’s book is “a sensational story” full of “contradictions” and “hearsay.”

“In making her lurid claims, [Orth] ignores contrary information provided by members of Mr. Versace’s family, who … were in the best position to know the facts of his life… . Of all the possible portrayals of his life and legacy, it is sad and reprehensible that the producers have chosen to present the distorted and bogus version created by Maureen Orth,” the statement reads.

Either way, Tom Rob Smith, who wrote the scripts for The Assassination of Gianni Versace, says that the point isn’t what illness befell Versace; it’s that he recovered and was living life to the fullest when he was senselessly murdered.

“What I found most amazing about it is this is a guy that came so close to death and still clung on,” Smith told The Hollywood Reporter. “He really fought for life. Life was very important to him. Contrast it with someone who gave up and someone who was beaten by circumstance. And what’s interesting in some of the reactions was, ‘Oh, he’s the killer. He must have AIDS.’ Actually, Andrew [Cunanan] didn’t have it.”

American Crime Story: What We Know About Gianni Versace’s Mysterious Illness

Holy Schmidt! Max Greenfield Is Nearly Unrecognizable In ‘The Assassination Of Gianni Versace’

Never underestimate the power of a mustache. While they’re often used as a joke when it comes to disguises, some of them truly do get the job done. Especially the one Max Greenfield grew for his role as Ronnie in The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.

In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him moment, he appeared for a few brief seconds in the first episode of the series when the police busted into his hotel room on a search for Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). But the second episode gives us so much more of Ronnie, and if you don’t recognize him at first, you aren’t alone. You’d think that after six whole seasons of New Girl, we would all be able to spot the man we now affectionately know as Schmidt, but with his hair trimmed up top and grown in over his upper lip, this is a whole new man we’re dealing with.

Greenfield sinks into the character, in his walk and his posture, and his cutoff jean shorts and half-unbuttoned shirt (what would Schmidt think?!), as he puffs on cigarettes and reluctantly strikes up a friendship with Cunanan. It took me two whole scenes of dialogue before I realized who I was watching. He keeps Ronnie casual, ambivalent, and a little chatty at times but nice enough, throughout an episode that not only sets the scene of Miami in the ’90s, but establishes the structure of the storytelling and episodes to come.

Not that this is the first time Greenfield has stepped away from the clean-cut, nice guy roles we so often see him in to work with Ryan Murphy: he also made our eyes widen in 2015’s American Horror Story: Hotel, with a bit of an appearance transformation there as well. And while the hair and the mustache and the clothes all add to the compelling character he brings to the screen for Versace, not everyone is a big fan. As he explained to Ellen earlier this month, his daughter was “just furious” about the mustache. With New Girl‘s seventh and final season airing this spring, it will be interesting to see if Greenfield reteams with Murphy for future projects, and if so, his daughter, and audiences, should plan to brace themselves.

Holy Schmidt! Max Greenfield Is Nearly Unrecognizable In ‘The Assassination Of Gianni Versace’

“The Assassination Of Gianni Versace” Is Riveting Television! – Canyon News

HOLLYWOOD—Ryan Murphy has a tool when it comes to storytelling. This is the guy behind the hit series “Glee,” and the FX series “American Horror Story” and the recent “American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson.” Murphy has returned with another crime story, one that people know about, but may not be 100 percent aware of all the madness that occurred behind the scenes of slain fashion designer Gianni Versace. Yes, nowadays many are aware of the household name because of his sister Donatella, who is a portrayed by Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz.

Let me say, Cruz is a stunning depiction of the fashion icon, but we got a very small slice of the character in the premiere episode. The bulk of the narrative really unfolded on the actual assassination of Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez), by obsessed fan and possible secret lover Andrew Cunanan portrayed with brilliance by Darren Criss. For those who haven’t done much research on the death of Gianni Versace and Andrew Cunanan, it might not be a bad idea to do so. Why? The limited series, while noted is inspired by interviews and actual events, we all know things are fictionalized to a degree to heighten the level of drama for the small screen.

I thought the opening sequence was pure brilliance. I had this fear this flick would work in chronological order similar to Murphy’s last outing with the story of O.J. Simpson. Not quite. This flick seems to be playing with the time element a bit utilizing the present and the past to convey its story. I’m never the biggest fan of any TV show or movie that alters the element of chronology unless it’s a vital element of storytelling. While we’re only one episode in on the series, at this point I’m ok with the jumps from the past and the present between the 1990 and 1997.

Now, with that notion out of the way, the bulk of this first episode really focuses on Andrew. This is a guy who is a closeted gay, who seems to be more focused on the world of dramaturgy. If you’re not aware what that means, it’s where one puts on a performance to stage an image of themselves to appease to others. We see this right off the bat, when Andrew has a conversation with a pal about meeting Gianni Versace. His pal is skeptical, and that later turns to a question about Andrew’s sexuality. The dialogue was utterly poignant as the friend revealed Andrew was free with his sexuality around gay people, but pushed his heterosexuality when he was around straight individuals. That scene transitions to an interesting set-up where the audience interacts with Andrew who is staying at the home of another friend. He is seen entering the bedroom of a husband and wife in just his underwear as he begins to fondle himself, while staring at the husband. Out of nowhere, the wife awakens, not able to fully grasp what is transpiring before Andrew immediate alters his behavior to throw off any suspicion.

The show is presenting Cunanan as a trouble individual, one who is mentally unstable, trying to explore or understand his sexuality, all while attempting to present himself in a light where he is accepted not only by his peers, but others where he hopes to become a part of the focal group. Some might ask the question rather the show is attempting to get the audience to sympathize with this serial killer who murdered a total of 5 people including Versace himself, and I’d have to argue I didn’t sense that. It’s more a testament about inviting the audience inside the mind of this troubled character.

I mean we see him walk up to Versace who is returning from picking up the local newspaper, and shot him several times in cold blood before fleeing the scene of the crime. After being chased by a member of Versace’s entourage he points a gun directly at the individual who backs away. He is not the least bit remorseful; he gets into a truck and screams in glee that he killed Versace. This is a complicated character we’re looking at here, and Criss is hands down a shoo-in for contention for awards season 2019. If this is what he has done with the character in just 1 episode, I can’t wait to see what other madness unfolds in coming episodes.

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace” is a series that has been so hyped, but it’s actually delivering on all fronts. We’ve gotten a slight glimpse of Versace’s personal life and the fact that he liked to visit gay clubs and have dalliances with young men behind closed doors. We got a very small tease into the world of his fashion empire, and what is certain to be a rivalry as Donatella aims to keep the company from going public. Oh, did I mention Ricky Martin is also part of the cast as Gianni’s lover. “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

“The Assassination Of Gianni Versace” Is Riveting Television! – Canyon News

TV Review: Ryan Murphy Scores Another Hit With ‘Versace’

Ryan Murphy has done it again. After the critical, commercial and awards season hit “American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson,” one wonders how Murphy could top himself for season one. Originally season two was supposed to look at Hurricane Katrina, with Annette Being at the lead. However, things fell apart and the creative team is currently going back to the drawing board. Yet, this pushed up “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” to be the second series in the anthology. In many ways, this appears to be the story most resonate with Ryan Murphy’s brand. Luckily, Murphy delivers with a pilot that is tantalizing, engrossing, beautiful and frightening in equal measures. Upon ending, one salivates for more.

Unlike the O.J. season, we know who the killer is. The episode begins with Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) gunning down Gianni Versace (Edgar Ramirez) on the steps of his Florida mansion. The show jumps back and forth to Andrew and Gianni’s first meeting seven years earlier in San Francisco to the aftermath of the murder. The FBI, led by Agent Evans (Jay R. Ferguson) and Detective Lori Wieder (Dascha Polanco), begins a manhunt after it is confirmed Cunanan is the killer. Meanwhile, Donatella Versace (Penelope Cruz) jets in to mourn her brother and dictate the direction his company will go in.

The show rests squarely on the crown jewel performance from Darren Criss as Andrew Cunanan. There’s something madly brilliant about his performance that makes it complete Emmy bait. Small moments, such as a horrifically joyous celebration in his car following Versace’s murder, unravel the sociopathic tendencies of Cunanan. Criss doesn’t rest on easy explanations for his character, which makes him even more upsetting. Future episodes promise to examine his murder spree that ended in Versace. As someone who “tells gay men than he’s gay and straight men that he’s straight,” it will be interesting to peer into the lies that led to the incident. Cunanan feels like a cross between Tom Ripley and a modern day social media influencer.

The rest of the cast delivers as well. From the moment she makes her grand entrance, Penelope Cruz reminds us why she’s an Oscar winner. Her Donatella expresses grief but doesn’t let that get in the way of her decision making. This marks a nice contrast between the more ethereal passion exuded by Edgar Ramirez as Gianni Versace. He makes him a figure easy to fall in love with and sidesteps making him a caricature. Ricky Martin reeks of stunt casting as Gianni’s lover Antonio D’Amica. However, he equips himself better than expected. Future episodes promise to delve into the battle of coming out for Gianni and how that impacts his company. Much like how O.J. dramatized racial and sexist tensions, this show will excel the more it contextualizes homophobia during this time.

The episode radiates with visual splendor. Gianni Versace regales Andrew with the story of how he fell in love with a sculpture of Medusa. Just as this sculpture influenced Versace’s brand, Versace’s brand influenced the production design and costume design of the show. Versace’s mansion bursts with color and splendor. This contrasts well with the apartment of Andrew’s friend, Elizabeth Cote (Annaleigh Ashford), which is well put together but grey and modern. Who wouldn’t be attracted to the glamorous lifestyle of Versace? Even his gruesome murder, which includes shots of bullet wounds in his head, retains some beauty. One tourist takes a page out of Vogue and dips it in his blood at the scene of the crime. Andrew’s wardrobe also exemplifies his contradictions. He dresses well put together to attract people to him. His clothes are equally unhinged, such as his baggy T-shirt and hat following his murder.

“The People vs O.J. Simpson” ushered in a new era of exploring famous murder cases from the past. Documentaries like “Casting JonBenet” and series such as “Law and Order True Crime: Menendez Brothers” reek of copycat syndrome. Yet, the story of Gianni Versace feels fresh. That’s because its a different approach. We aren’t solving a murder. We’re entering the mind of a sociopath. Combining the psychology that makes “Mindhunter” a success and the soapy entertainment value of Murphy’s other work will pay off in dividends for the show.

GRADE: (★★★1/2)

TV Review: Ryan Murphy Scores Another Hit With ‘Versace’

American Crime Story’s second season underwhelms | The Journal

I truly hope the second season of American Crime Story will serve as a successful follow-up to the first season’s success. But after seeing this first episode, I find myself left with more questions than answers.

I’ll admit I was already skeptical before watching the second season premiere of Ryan Murphy’s American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace.

The show’s debut season People v. OJ was a cultural phenomena, retelling the infamous story of OJ Simpson’s trial and completely changing the public’s perspectives of several key figures in the case. As a worried fan, I wasn’t sure if Ryan Murphy could replicate that success.

Murphy is notorious for producing phenomenal inaugural seasons of television, only for their follow-ups to leave something to be desired. He coupled two stellar seasons of American Horror Story with four subsequent seasons that could only be described as a hot mess.

He famously took his early critical darling Glee from a heartwarming show about high school outcasts belting out their feelings to Journey songs to a still unclear mess with a new cast talk-singing “What Does the Fox Say?” Murphy’s quality downfalls are usually a result of his ability to push the boundaries of television to the point of illogicality.

So after watching the premiere of ACS, airing on FX, I can confidently say Ryan Murphy has followed his own trend, albeit with a significantly larger budget than ever before.

There’s no denying Murphy has crafted a visually stunning premiere episode of television, so it’s a shame the caliber of writing has paled in comparison to both the episode’s aesthetics and the writing of the first season.

Murphy chose to take creative risks with the season, telling the story of serial killer Andrew Cunnanan in reverse, starting the season with Cunnanan’s final murder of fashion mogul Gianni Versace. The episode works backwards to show how Cunnanan’s life led him to such lows. However, within the first episode alone, several timelines are introduced and it becomes unclear how the rest of the season can coherently progress.

While at the very least this will probably be an entertaining — if not entirely historically accurate — season of television, Murphy uses narrative cop-outs that can typically be found in the most generic of CBS procedurals.

An example of these typical plot conventions includes a police chase of Cunnanan that ends in a takedown of the suspect, only for it to be an unrelated man wearing the same coloured shirt as the killer.

Another example is when Versace’s lover, played by Ricky Martin, remains covered in his boyfriend’s blood twelve hours after finding his body, because his lavish lifestyle apparently doesn’t afford him with a shower or a towel. These moments stand out as events that would never happen in the real world upon which this is all supposedly based.

Despite these shortcomings, the decision to film the show in Versace’s actual house gives viewers a connection to the fashion designer that’s necessary for such a one-note character. The architecture, clothing and decor of the home tells us all we need to know about his lavish life. The contrast of having Versace leave his home in a simple black t-shirt with white shorts to walk to the local newsstand in what would be his final outing humanizes him in a way that allows viewers to properly sympathize with his untimely end.

I don’t know that the time-hopping storytelling device used will portray a coherent narrative, but I still find myself eagerly anticipating the next episode — if not for a well written show, then at least for a visually pleasant one.

American Crime Story’s second season underwhelms | The Journal

American Crime Story Producers Talk Versace, Hurricane Katrina and More

Brad Simpson and Nina Jacobson are executive producers on American Crime Story. After the captivating and award winning first season, The People Vs. O.J. Simpson, there were some hold-ups. The next season was supposed to be about Hurricane Katrina, followed by the Gianni Versace murder. The Assassination of Gianni Versace became the second season, but Hurricane Katrina is still up next. Then they are developing a season about the Linda Tripp and Monica Lewinsky sex scandals of President Bill Clinton.

/Film spoke with Jacobson and Simpson at an FX party for the Television Critics Association. They described how each season has a different tone and therefore needs a different writer, and what we can expect from future seasons.

Since Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski weren’t available, how did you find new writers to tackle Versace?

Simpson: Ryan [Murphy] had Maureen [Orth]’s book and Nina and I had to think about who would be the perfect writer for this. It was tonally going to be different. O.J. was a drama. It had a sort of Sidney Lumet/Paddy Chayefsky inserted into it. This needed to be something out of the vein of Silence of the Lambs or David Fincher with a political bent. Tom Rob Smith is a writer we love. I tried to option his book, Child 44. When it came out, I lost the option battle for that. I think he’s one of the premier thriller writers as a novelist. We loved his series London Spy. He writes about all these things: Ripley-like characters, mysteries, people who are liars and also sexuality. It felt like his voice was the right voice for this. We knew we needed somebody who had as strong a reputation as Scott and Larry. He got the book and loved it and signed on instantly. Except for cowriting one episode, he’s written every episode of the season.

Do you think you’ll have a different writer for each season?

Simpson: I would love to stumble upon a writer who’d do a couple seasons with us. It’s tough because I love Scott and Larry. This wouldn’t have been a show that would’ve been right for them to write. Tom’s voice was perfect for this. It’d be easier for me if we could find somebody who would stay on, but somebody said earlier today, “We’re doing genres within genre.” True crime can mean many different things. If we did a kidnapping story, I guess we won’t because FX has their kidnapping story [Trust], but if we did a bank robbery story, we would probably find a very different type of writer.

Jacobson: The truth is that Tom wrote some amazing scripts early on. So we had a lot of very strong scripts while we were still struggling with Katrina, so we had plenty to get started because he was on a tear. He knew exactly what he wanted. We had the usual dramaturgical process of the back and forth, but he was writing great material and had a lot of them. At a point we were like, “Very clearly, we should be doing this first. It’s ready and we’re not ready on Katrina.” Better to get it right and do justice to your stories than to try to hit a deadline. Even though you wish you could hit a deadline, you’d rather not screw it up.

If Scott and Larry wouldn’t be right for Versace, how is the tone different from People Vs. O.J. Simpson?

Jacobson: It’s a different kind of story because of the fact that so many of the episodes cover different people. So you have all of the victims to explore. I don’t think people knew these people to begin with so they don’t have a lot of predetermined ideas because they didn’t know who these figures were. For me, I was impressed and surprised by what a cutting edge figure Versace was. I don’t think I realized that. You think of Versace clothes, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous kind of signifier of wealth. I didn’t realize what a visionary he was, how courageous his coming out was, the fact that he was really one of the first designers to come out. The others who had been forced out by having AIDS, all of that stuff really surprised me and the degree to which his work came from the inside, from his background and his history, his family, childhood. I really feel like I didn’t understand who he was until we dove into the research.

…

Did you think you could at first?

Simpson: O.J. took us a year and a half to write that. What we learned is with a new writer and new subject, you really have to put the time in and O.J. set a high bar. We didn’t expect to ever achieve what O.J. achieved which was this amazing universal acclaim, awards, ratings and everyone talking about it. We want each show to have integrity and exist and work on its own merits and bring something different to people. We’re never going to try to repeat O.J. That’s the reason this season is very different. If you’re showing up thinking it’s going to be O.J., you’re getting something very different this season. I hope it’s pleasurable. It’s scarier. It’s more intense but it’s also I think an important story.

American Crime Story Producers Talk Versace, Hurricane Katrina and More