Tag: january 2018

Penelope Cruz Talks Relationship With Donatella Versace as Family Labels Mini-Series ‘Work of Fiction’

Despite what the Versace family thinks about The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, Penelope Cruz says she’s remained on good terms with Donatella.

The Oscar winner portrays Gianni’s sister in the FX mini-series, and ahead of presenting with her co-stars at Sunday’s 75th Annual Golden Globe Awards, she shared with ET’s Nancy O’Dell how she became involved in the project and how Donatella felt about being depicted on the small screen.

“When [ACS creator] Ryan [Murphy] told me, I said to him, ‘This sounds really interesting, but I have to make this call and I have to talk to Donatella,’” she recalled. “I called her and we spoke, like, for an hour. I needed that conversation to say yes.”

Cruz insists that she and Donatella have no bad blood between them. “It was a conversation where, I cannot share everything we talked about, but we have a good relationship,” she disclosed. “She just sent me flowers before I came here.”

Doting on the 62-year-old fashion icon, the 43-year-old actress added, “She’s such a loving person, so I wanted to put out there the love and respect I have for her. It’s in my performance for sure, and I hope that when she sees, she will be happy about it.”

While Cruz feels confident in her portrayal of Donatella, the Versace family told ET in a statement that they do not see the mini-series as an accurate account of Gianni’s life or his murder in 1997. They also do not endorse Maureen Orth’s book, Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U. S. History, which is the inspiration behind the mini-series.

“The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace,” reads the statement. “Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.”

During the Golden Globes, ET also caught up with Darren Criss – who portrays Gianni’s murderer, Andrew Cunanan – and he admitted that he didn’t have a lot to work off of when cultivating his character.

“Unfortunately, there’s not a whole lot of material on him, so it gives me a lot of leeway to try and fill in the dots myself,” the 30-year-old actor said. “I guess the pressure is more to remain sensitive to the people whose lives are still affected by this 20 years later. So, we think about them and we try to shed some light on things that …a spotlight hadn’t been on before. Hopefully we can do the victims a bit of due justice.”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story premieres Jan. 17 on FX.

Penelope Cruz Talks Relationship With Donatella Versace as Family Labels Mini-Series ‘Work of Fiction’

Gianni Versace Family Denounces ‘American Crime Story’; FX Will “Stand By” Source Book – Update

UPDATED with FX statement, 12:16 PM: The family of slain fashion designer Gianna Versace has come out swinging against FX and Ryan Murphy’s upcoming installment of American Crime Story, calling it a “work of fiction” and saying it had not authorized and had no involvement in the anthology series.

FX responded with a statement this afternoon:

“Like the original American Crime Story series “The People Vs OJ Simpson,” which was based on Jeffrey Toobin’s non-fiction bestseller “The Run of His Life,” FX’s follow-up “The Assassination Of Gianni Versace” is based on Maureen Orth’s heavily researched and authenticated non-fiction best seller “Vulgar Favors” which examined the true life crime spree of Andrew Cunanan. We stand by the meticulous reporting of Ms. Orth.”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story bows January 19. The first season of ACS, 2016’s The People v. O.J. Simpson, was a critical and ratings success, scoring nine Emmys and a pair of Golden Globes.

“The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace,” the family said via the fashion house in a statement to media outlets today. “Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction.”

FX had no immediate comment when reached by Deadline this morning.

The book by Maureen Orth on which screenwriter Tim Rob Smith’s limited series is based, 1999’s Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianna Versace and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History, also was not authorized by the family.

The series from Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions delves into the events surrounding the murder of the iconic Italian designer, who was shot in front of his Miami Beach mansion in 1997. He was 50. The assailant was Andrew Cunanan, who killed five people in all during a spree that ended when he committed suicide as police were closing in on him a week after Versace’s killing. Edgar Ramirez stars as Versace, and Darren Criss plays Cunanan. Penelope Cruz and Ricky Martin co-star.

In November, Versace’s sister and Versace fashion house exec Donatella Versace told Deadline’s sister site WWD she had no intention of watching the series, in which Cruz plays her. “I spoke with Penélope,” she said. “She is a friend, she said she will treat me with respect — yes, but I don’t know what will be [shown], from a book that says incredible falsehoods.”

Murphy directed the first episode of ACS and executive produces with Nina Jacobson, Brad Simpson, Brad Falchuk, Alexis Martin Woodall, Dan Minahan, Smith, Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski.

Gianni Versace Family Denounces ‘American Crime Story’; FX Will “Stand By” Source Book – Update

In response to the rampant clickbait articles out there, here’s the Versace press statement for the 2013 House of Versace movie:

“Versace has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV movie about Mrs. Versace. Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is based, the movie should only be seen as a work of fiction.”

And the press statement for the now cancelled Gianni Versace biopic with Antonio Banderas:

“Versace has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming movie about Versace. The movie should only be seen as a work of fiction.”

Just business as usual, nothing to worry about.

Versace Releases Official Stance on American Crime Story’s Gianni Versace Season

The fashion brand Versace has released an official statement regarding their stance on the upcoming show, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, airing on FX this month.

“The Versace family has neither authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the forthcoming TV series about the death of Mr. Gianni Versace. Since Versace did not authorize the book on which it is partly based nor has it taken part in the writing of the screenplay, this TV series should only be considered as a work of fiction,” the statement, provided to Just Jared, read.

The show is premiering on January 17, and stars Darren Criss, Penelope Cruz, Edgar Ramirez, Ricky Martin, and more.

Versace Releases Official Stance on American Crime Story’s Gianni Versace Season