On this Sight & Sound Bite, Ryan reviews the season premiere of The Assassination of Gianni Versace and pitches it to Jaye. They hope it can live up to the hype. | 22 January 2018
A new season with a brand new story, American Crime Story is back! This time the story centers on the death of Gianni Versace. This installment is pretty different from its predecessor as it actually shows the crime happening and the events leading up to it. This installment moves out of the courtroom and actually focuses on the major characters at play there were involved in the crime.
This installment has a lot of hype to live up to. First of all there is a whole new cast and it has been highly publicized that the story is not supported by the real Versace family. Whoever is the casting director for this show needs a major round applause because the resemblances between the actors and the real life people they are portraying is uncanny. The series stars Edgar Ramirez in the title role and Ryan Murphy protégé Darren Criss as murder Andrew Cunanan. Then we have Ricky Martin playing Versace’s boyfriend and Penelope Cruz portraying Donatella Versace, which I’m sure, will be a major player in future episodes.
The series opens up with the actual murder taking place and then flashes back to how Andrew and Versace met. Criss’s portrayal of Cunanan is so creepy and a major departure from his Glee days. Did he give anyone else nightmares or was I the only one? He is the definition of a pathological liar and it seems like the person he is lying to most is himself. After bothering Versace at the club, Versace invites Cunanan as his guest at the opera. Versace seems to have some sort of admiration for Cunanan and it seems that they are teasing that two were involved in some sort of relationship. Maybe he was one of the men that police were referring to when talking to Martin’s character? I know he denied it but hey anything is possible.
The episode then returns to the present and we get to see how Cunnan escaped. It turns out that he was wanted for five murders and the FBI was really doing nothing about it. That is until now he is the most wanted man in America and I’m sure he won’t be able to hide for much longer.
The press circus at the Versace mansion is insane, no one is doing damage control. That’s where Donatella comes into the fold, as she arrives at the mansion and goes into full on girlboss mode. She is more concerned about the fashion company than actually morning her brothers death. They are presenting a pretty stone cold Donatella if you ask me. No wonder the family wasn’t happy with the series, I wouldn’t be either if showed me more concerned about the company going public than being upset over my brother’s murder!
Overall the series looks promising and the performances have been pretty spectacular (especially from Criss). I was not really aware of this story, as I was only a year old at the time, so I am deciding to let this show inform me. After this installment wraps I’m going to do my research and see if the series was accurate as they say.
Side Notes:
-I wonder which gleek Murphy will bring into the franchise next? Lea Micheles show just got canceled so maybe we’ll be seeing her soon?
-How weird was it not seeing Sarah Paulson in this season? She’s usually in all Murphy’s FX shows.
-I wonder if Criss will be competing in lead or supporting actor when it comes to the award show season? I say he deserves lead.What were your thoughts on the first episode? Who do think gave the best performance? Do you miss any of the previous actors and actresses from the last installment? Comment below!
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story – The Man Who Would Be Vogue – Review
The star of the newest American Crime Story talks to GQ about playing a notorious murderer and the subtle ways homophobia led to one of the most notorious killing sprees of our lifetime.
The first thing you notice about American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace is that it doesn’t spend much of its time with the famous fashion designer in its title. The second thing you notice is the person the show does follow for most of its run: the man who murdered him. As Andrew Cunanan, the darkly charismatic and deeply disturbed man who killed Gianni Versace, Darren Criss is the unquestionable star of the show. Of course, he wouldn’t blame you for not knowing that from the start. After all, neither did he.
“I knew as much as most people know about it,” Darren Criss tells me during lunch while promoting Versace in New York. “But I’ve spoken to a lot of people… and they said, ‘I didn’t even know he was killed!”
At first, you might not know what to make of Criss’s performance as the notorious murderer. He spends much of the show’s premiere evading capture after having killed one of the most prominent figures in the fashion world and largely getting away with it. As the show stretches back into Cunanan’s history, the overwhelming completeness of Criss’s transformation becomes remarkable. He shifts from sinister gunman to a darkly enchanting boy genius, a guy who belts the lyrics to Laura Branigan’s “Gloria” as he arrives in Miami to kill Versace, wining and dining victims and cohorts alike with a chilling talent for cycling through whatever emotion or approach will get him what he wants.
It’s a huge shift for the energetic and irrepressibly pleasant actor who became an overnight teen idol for playing Blaine Anderson on Glee—a role that put him in the orbit of Ryan Murphy, who years later, would reach out to Criss with the role that will doubtless cause many Blaine fans great distress.
“Andrew is kind of the stuff of urban legend, especially in the gay community. I had a friend who told me, ‘Oh you’re playing the gay boogeyman?’” Criss tells me. “And I was like, really? This was a guy who was a young man in the ‘90s, and he was like ‘Oh yeah, we would joke about it, like, Oooooo Andrew Cunanan is gonna come get you,’ obviously very irreverently.”
ACSFX: Envy drove his obsession. #ACSVersace @DarrenCriss
Maureen Orth answers questions about the series The Assassination of Gianni Versace, inspired by her book Vulgar Favors. The author is happy with the work of Ryan Murphy. | 22 January 2018
In the opening scenes of American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, we are greeted with a sense of foreboding. We see the late fashion designer (Edgar Ramirez) beginning his day, leaving his mansion, greeting friends on the street. The sun is bright, the day looks warm, his life seems lovely. And it is in stark contrast to images of his killer Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss) who’s preparing to gun him down on the steps of his home; scenes in which Cunanan walks into the ocean and screams before vomiting in a public restroom. It is a juxtaposition that is unnerving, upsetting, and inescapably pulls you in. And then, with the sound of a gunshot and Versace’s quiet “no,” it comes to an end. And we’re transported to another time, another place, and a year even further back in time.
Period dramas are nothing new. Between PBS and the BBC, most of us have sought refuge in the comforts of Jane Austen adaptations and the trials and tribulations of Lord Grantham and his family. 11 years ago, AMC debuted Mad Men, and with it, an over-romanticization of the society and decade it was criticizing. From that sprung series like The Playboy Club, Masters of Sex, and Pan Am (only one of which surviving more than one season), as well as HBO series like Vinyl and Boardwalk Empire (again, only one of which earning critical acclaim). Our zest for the past has always existed, but our current cultural climate has seen an even deeper dive into history. Likely because it feels safer there.
1997, the year in which Gianni Versace was murdered by Andrew Cunanan, feels much closer than the two decades that exists between us and that fateful morning. But we still use those twenty years to fuel an odd sense of comfort. As Versace begins his day, it’s easy to break from the anticipation of tragedy to notice his era-appropriate outfit (white shorts and flip-flops), as well as one bystander’s instinct to grab a Polaroid camera so he could document the crime scene. The wardrobes stand out, the lack of technology, the way the public learned of his death through TV anchors, not smartphones. ACS becomes less a dramatization than a case study, giving us a false sense of wisdom we use to comb through an event that happened long ago. And then believe that through understanding it, we’re in control of … something.
Because that’s the merit of a period drama. We get to watch under the guise that we’re advanced, we see what they didn’t. During series like The Crown, we pat ourselves on the back for knowing better; for living through the Meghan Markle era (a wonderful era!) instead of watching a young woman be denied her true love. In The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel we watch as a woman navigates the hurdles that accompany the world of stand-up, as though comedians (and women in general) today aren’t dealing with as much sexism and scrutiny (just while outfitted differently). Meanwhile, Halt and Catch Fire took us through a journey of technological evolution, that was mesmerized, even if we were fully aware of how history would turn out. Period dramas give us the illusion of superiority, of being certified (armchair) sociologists. We tell ourselves that they didn’t know, but now we do, while escaping a reality that will fuel period dramas for years and years, decades down the line.
Why wouldn’t we escape someplace that feels comforting because it’s familiar (regardless of how problematic that time and era was)? Why would we willingly plunge into the present?
And who can blame us? Everything feels bad. The news is a tire fire. The American presidency gets worse by the day, and our weather’s proving how little control we have over our own planet and futures. Why would we want to spend our free time delving into more of the same? Why wouldn’t we want to escape into the arms of Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks and The Washington Post during the Nixon administration, where for a fleeting second we can remember what it feels to be motivated and inspired instead of wanting to curl up and nap all the time. Why wouldn’t we want to seek refuge in The Crown which is beautiful to look at and played out in a way that makes you feel equal parts angry, empathetic, and comforted? Why wouldn’t we tune into American Crime Story to lose ourselves in the late 1990s when everything felt so futuristic but was still so stuck and so limited and so small? Why wouldn’t we escape someplace that feels comforting because it’s familiar (regardless of how problematic that time and era was)? Why would we willingly plunge into the present?
So bring on the period dramas. Give me 1997, give me late fifties New York. Let me forget about the present by examining a very contained section of history and with it, the notion that with perspective comes a better understanding (or an end) to specific frustrations and pain. Let me tell myself that it’s different now, and that many of the same problems don’t exist in the same way — or better still, that we’re not regressing and ushering even more damage. Let me treat my TV like an escape vessel or a type of virtual reality. Let me think I’m at least slightly in control because it is 2018 and I don’t think anyone would use a Polaroid camera to document a crime scene.
Stands_on-21: Sure. It was filmed at the Avalon theatre/nightclub last June. About 200-250 extras. I estimate 80% of the guys were actually gay (I’m straight). They provide us with a general idea of what to wear and then, once on set, they dressed us up a little bit more (or in some cases, dressed us down). A few guys would come in a couple of weeks before to get dressed in specific costumes. The guys on the stage were in pretty crazy outfits. They were like wearing gas mSks and stuff. I, personally enjoyed the first couple hours of filming because, as a married/straight guy, this was a whole new world to me. We started filming around 8:00 am and worked straight through til about 6:00 pm. Crazy considering the whole scene only lasted a couple of minutes. The opening scene (of Andrew walking through the dance floor) was literally like the last thing we filmed. We could pretty much could’ve stood/danced wherever we wanted (as long as we weren’t blocking any specific camera angles). I chose to stand at the bar with my empty glass. When shooting starts, they play the music for the first 15-20 seconds so guys get the beat/rhythm down, then they shut it off so they can hear/record the dialogue. Everyone has to keep dancing but AlSO remain absolutely quiet. Very interesting sight. Although we were downstairs, we could still easily hear the dialogue between Andrew and Versace (I dont know the actors names but everyone said Andrew was on Glee). I don’t get star struck but sometimes I’ll see an actor and there is just something different/special about them. This guy from Glee was real good. However, hands down, the best actor who I ever “worked” with was the blond dude from American Horror Story. He played Kai this season. I was part of the political rally when he gave his “Trump-like” speech. Dude was fucking on fire! He had an iPod on between takes and you could tell he was practicing his lines to himself. Fucking professional all the way (plus he seemed like a cool dude). On the Versace shoot, everyone was pretty pissed the last few hours cause we hadn’t got any breaks. Those who are Union (SAG) made BANK that day because of overtime and stuff.
Season one of FX’s “American Crime Story” capitalized on last year’s O.J. craze with a gripping, well-acted depiction of one of the most significant events in American cultural history. Although the assassination of legendary fashion designer Gianni Versace is not quite as ingrained in the country’s mind as the Simpson saga, “American Crime Story” tells its story in an ornate, operatic and elegant way, much like the man himself.
The story starts with the titular murder, as Andrew Cunanan (University alum Darren Criss, “Glee”) shoots Versace (Édgar Ramirez, “Zero Dark Thirty”) in front of his Miami mansion. Through a series of flashbacks interlaced with the subsequent FBI investigation, the show pieces together the life of the enigmatic, troubled Cunanan and what led him to commit a crime of passion.
While the stories themselves are intriguing, much like season one, the acting breathes life into characters who have been endlessly analyzed, making the show less of a criminal investigation and more of a deep, powerful drama. Criss’s portrayal of Cunanan paints the picture of a man who lacks any sort of human empathy yet seems to also have a complex set of emotions bubbling at the surface. He is an enthusiastic and effective liar, able to draw the audience into the web of fiction he creates in his mind. Ramirez, on the other hand, portrays Versace as an intensely charismatic man with a true zeal for life, as well as the courage to live as openly gay during a much less progressive time. Even Ricky Martin’s portrayal of Versace’s boyfriend Antonio D’Amico is believable and effective, albeit a one note performance since he displays the same anguished expression every time he appears onscreen. Versace’s sister and eventual ruler of the Versace empire Donatella (Penelope Cruz, “Murder on the Orient Express”), arrives towards the end of the first episode, stylishly clad in black and more ruthlessly pragmatic than her romantic brother.
The opening scene is the episode’s most memorable, with stunning shots of Miami and Versace’s grand, opulent mansion and little dialogue. Strings play in the background, growing more and more tense as Cunanan prepares himself for the deed. Everything, from the details of the mansion to Versace’s dead body, is presented as channeling beauty — ranging from traditional to morbid. Yet one can’t help feeling that unlike season one, the show is choosing to sacrifice substance for style. While some scenes such as Cunanan and Versace’s conversation after an opera viewing are strong, the dialogue at several points feels stilted and cliché, failing to convey the true emotions the characters are feeling. Because of this, quite a few of Criss’s strongest moments come from entirely non-verbal actions, whether it is swimming fully clothed into the sea to let out a primordial scream or painfully trying to imitate human emotion.
The show also does a solid job of contrasting Versace’s unique romanticism and how his vision interacts with the capitalistic nature of the society he lives in. In one scene, he explains that he makes his clothes to make his subjects happy and how every dress he makes follows the first he made for his sister.
“American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace” is visually gorgeous and shaping up to be an intriguing character study. Hopefully, the series manages to truly analyze the crime and its impact on society, rather than exploit a set of dramatic clichés.
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