Tag: maureen orth

American Crime Story: Author Maureen Orth On the “Fact-Based Reporting” of Her Book Vulgar Favors

Before Andrew Cunanan shot designer Gianni Versace on the front steps of his Miami home in July 1997, Vanity Fair contributor Maureen Orth was already steeped in the mind of the serial killer. That murder is portrayed in the upcoming FX series American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, which is based on Orth’s book Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in U.S. History. At the time of the murder, Orth had spent two months reporting for Vanity Fair on Cunanan and the events that might have led to him to kill four other people before finally targeting Versace. Even before law enforcement announced that Cunanan was a suspect, Orth and the fact checkers at Vanity Fair had a hunch they knew exactly who had pulled the trigger at Ocean Drive.

In a new interview for Vanity Fair’s American Crime Story companion podcast, Still Watching: Versace, Orth reveals that once the authorities had released Cunanan’s name, “I think I was the only person in America who understood he had met Versace before. So that’s how that all started.”

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, which premieres on FX January 17, was written by Tom Rob Smith the author of Child 44, who had previously combined crime and romance in the compulsively watchable 2015 miniseries London Spy. And while the title checks Versace, the show itself—following Orth’s lead—is more focused on the mentality of his assassin: serial killer Andrew Cunanan, played by Glee alum Darren Criss. The Versace family is where FX dishes up a The People v. O.J. Simpson-worthy dose of star power, with Penélope Cruz as Gianni’s devastated sister, Donatella Versace, and Ricky Martin playing Antonio D’Amico, a model, designer, and Gianni’s longtime partner. Thanks to the reverse timeline of the story, Édgar Ramírez, whom Orth described as the “tanned, adored idol” of the late-90s South Beach scene, also gets a chance to shine as Versace himself.

Vanity Fair critic Richard Lawson and senior writer Joanna Robinson have launched a 12-episode companion podcast, Still Watching: Versace, filled with exclusive interviews, insights, and a detailed examination of not only the series itself but the cultural impact of the 1997 crime. In Episode 2 of the podcast, Orth details the genesis of her book and the challenges of getting inside the disturbed mind of a killer. The interview was conducted early Wednesday morning, before the Versace family had specifically named Orth in its latest complaint against the FX series and its treatment of Gianni’s legacy. The Versace family has long denied a number of the points covered in Orth’s book, including both the notion that Cunanan and Versace were previously acquainted and that Versace, before he died, was sick with HIV/AIDS. “The Orth book itself is full of gossip and speculation,” the Versace family’s latest statement reads. “Orth never received any information from the Versace family, and she has no basis to make claims about the intimate personal life of Gianni Versace or other family members. Instead, in her effort to create a sensational story, she presents second-hand hearsay that is full of contradictions.”

Although Orth declined to comment directly on the Versace statement, she emphatically covered precisely the same territory when speaking with Still Watching on Wednesday morning. Detailing exactly the who, what, when, and where of how Cunanan and Versace knew each other, Orth said, “There is no doubt in my mind that those two met. That all is absolutely fact-based, on-the-record reporting.”

Orth’s main concern in seeing her book adapted was how the families of Cunanan’s victims, including his former friends Jeff Trail and David Madson, Chicago businessman Lee Miglin, and cemetery caretaker William Reese, might take it. “I didn’t want it to be sleazy and exploitive. I cared very much about the families of the victims, that they not be hurt again.” But Orth said she was “reassured” that titillation wasn’t American Crime Story’s aim.

This isn’t the first time Orth’s book has bumped up against criticism and scrutiny. In 1999 Frank Bruni of the The New York Times reviewed Orth’s book and concluded, among other things, that “the book’s journey into a sybaritic gay demimonde is a risky adventure, guaranteed to flout political correctness and court charges of homophobia, and Orth often loses her footing.” Nearly 20 years later, Orth defends herself, calling Bruni’s characterization “intellectually dishonest.” His reaction and others like it “surprised” her. “I felt, my God, I talked to over 400 people. You see how detailed the book is. I have a reputation for being an accurate reporter. I am reflecting the life Andrew lived.”

During the Still Watching discussion, Orth digs into some of the fake news on the Versace-Cunanan case that emerged at the time and is cropping up again today, including a “bizarre,” “completely false,” and “irresponsible” story involving Cunanan and Tom Cruise recently republished by The National Enquirer. But for all the facts in her book, which come from interviews with hundreds of sources, the FX American Crime Story adaptation is a dramatic series, and it takes creative license with the timeline and some of the more unknowable elements of the Cunanan case. “Yes,” Orth explains, “there are a few places where things didn’t happen at all.”

Orth’s full interview comes at the conclusion of the latest episode of Still Watching: Versace. In the first half of the episode, listen to a discussion between Robinson, Lawson, and Katey Rich, deputy editor of VF.com, on Vulgar Favors, the Versace statement, and what to expect when the FX series launches next week.

American Crime Story: Author Maureen Orth On the “Fact-Based Reporting” of Her Book Vulgar Favors

Ryan Murphy Responds to Versace Family Calling ‘American Crime Story’ Fiction

Ryan Murphy has responded to the Versace family calling his anthology drama “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” a work of fiction, by saying he doesn’t believe that to be true.

“We issued a statement saying that this story is based on Maureen Orth’s book, which is a very celebrated, lauded work of non-fiction that was vetted now for close to 20 years,” Murphy told Variety at the premiere event for the FX anthology drama in Los Angeles, Calif. “That’s really all I have to say about it, other than of course I feel if you’re family is ever portrayed in something, it’s natural to sort of have a ‘Well, let’s wait and see what happens’ [stance].”

Murphy also pointed out that on Sunday Donatella Versace, the fashion icon’s sister and vice president and chief designer of the Versace Group, made a complimentary gesture towards series star Penelope Cruz, who portrays her in the show and has long been acquainted with her.

“Donatella Versace sent Penelope Cruz a very large arrangement of flowers yesterday when she was representing the show at the Golden Globes,” Murphy said. “I don’t know if she is going to watch the show, but if she did I think that she would see that we treat her and her family with respect and kindness. She really is a feminist role model in my book, because she had to step into an impossible situation, which she did with grace and understanding. I think that she really loved Penelope and knows that Penelope would never do anything to represent her in a negative light. Hopefully she’ll read what I’m saying to you.”

Executive producer Brad Simpson said he feels that the Versaces are certainly allowed to have their own opinion of the series and fully expected a reaction from the “real victims and real families.”

“This isn’t authorized, and we don’t make any pretense at it being authorized,” Simpson said. “This is based on Maureen Orth’s book. She’s an incredibly respected journalist. It’s a non-fiction bestseller. And also, we’re not just telling the story of Versace. We’re telling the story of all the lives that were affected by the murders of Andrew Cunanan. They’re entitled to feel how they want to feel, but we stand by the veracity of the show.”

Orth, who also attended the premiere, had been working on the Cunanan case in advance of Versace’s shocking murder in July 1997. The spree killer had already left behind a string of at least four other victims.

“I had done two months of investigation for Vanity Fair because I just thought he was a very interesting, killer suspect – because here’s a guy who went to Bishop in La Jolla. He had a 147 IQ and he had tons of friends, he was extremely witty and well-read. What the heck is he doing being a suspect? Then, when he killed Versace, I was the only one who really knew that they had met before, and so then the whole media circus took off,” Orth said.

Executive producer Nina Simpson feels the way the show portrays all of the victims – including but not limited to Versace – will emphasize “the value and meaning of the lives lost.”

“There’s nothing casual about our portrayal of these folks, and I think that people will feel their loss even more,” Jacobson said.

And screenwriter Tom Rob Smith said that while the Versace family’s statement referenced their objections to Orth’s book, he wasn’t sure “if they were referencing the show directly.”

“I think there’s always this question of when you’re making and writing this kind of material – you feel like you want to support the fundamental truths,” said Smith. “And you are going to get some of the details wrong, or you’re going to have to fill in a gap at some point, where you don’t have access to the reality. I think the only way you are allowed to do that is if you’re supporting the bigger truth.”

For Smith, and therefore the show he set out to make, that bigger truth is that Versace was an amazing man. “The show is full of love for him,” Smith said. “I’m sure there are points where they could correct some of the smaller details, but I think the bigger picture is that this is a figure that we’re celebrating and a figure that we all fell in love with.”

Ryan Murphy Responds to Versace Family Calling ‘American Crime Story’ Fiction

Why ‘American Crime Story’ took on murder and manhunt in ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’

The latest iteration of FX and Ryan Murphy’s anthology drama “American Crime Story” differs in a dramatic way from its predecessor, “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

This time, we see the murder.

Murphy calls “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” a “manhunt thriller.”

The iconic fashion designer was gunned down in front of his mansion in Miami’s South Beach neighborhood in 1997 by 27-year-old Andrew Cunanan. Described at the time as a “gigolo” by Martha Orth, whose book the series is based on, Cunanan had already been on a killing spree that landed him on the FBI’s most-wanted list.

Since Cunanan would take his own life before authorities were able to arrest him, “ACS” tries to examine why Versace became a target. Murphy insists the term “assassination” is accurate, although some would label Cunanan a psychopath and serial killer.

“’Assassination’ has a political overtone, and I think it denotes somebody who is taking the life of somebody else to make a point,” Murphy says. “And I think that’s exactly what Andrew Cunanan did.”

The series begins with the crime. To the strains of Albinoni’s Adagio in G minor, we see Cunanan – played by Darren Criss – as he makes his way up the beach toward the designer’s compound. Almost by happenstance, Cunahan encounters Versace (Edgar Ramirez) returning from a local trip to buy magazines, and he shoots him.

The story then goes back in time, following their lives before their fateful encounter, subsequent manhunt and the fallout for the designer’s empire. Most immediately affected are Antonio D’Amico, Versace’s longtime partner played Ricky Martin, and the designer’s sister Donatella Versace (Penelope Cruz).

As Orth wrote, Versace’s “flamboyant clothes virtually defined ‘hot,’” that he “tarted up the likes of Princess Diana and Elizabeth Hurley” and whose gowns also made “Madonna and Courtney Love more elegant.”

Ramirez observes that Versace’s influence is still evident today. “He could see the sexiness of the ’70s, and then all the opulence of the ’80s,” said the actor, adding that the designer combined those elements “and everybody went crazy.”

Seven years before the killing, Cunanan met or imposed himself upon Versace at a party when the Italian-born designer was creating costumes for the San Francisco Opera.

“Versace looms over the series as a symbol of success. He is not just a person. This is the reason for the assassination,” says Tom Rob Smith, who wrote the script for the nine-episode series, “He is, in a weird way, in every moment of Andrew’s life.”

As producer Nina Jacobson points out, the series contrasts the two. “One character is an authentic, honest creator drawing on his heritage, his background, his family,” she says, “and the other goes on a path of destruction because he wants the fame without the work or the talent.”

No one really knows what went on between Cunanan and Versace or the killer and his other victims. So the series tries to fill in the details.

“You have these tiny points of truth, and you then try to connect the tissue between it,” says Smith, novelist of books including “Child 44” and screenwriter of “London Spy.” “But I would never use the word ‘embellishing’ or ‘making up.’ It’s trying to join those pinpoints.”

Orth says a lot of people knew Cunanan “was an inveterate liar, but they didn’t care because he was very witty about it, or he was able to charm people.”

“We’re not just following what we would assume to be a murderous, horrible person all the time,” adds Criss. “We see him at his best; we see him at his worst; we see him at his most charming; we see him at his most hurt. And it’s all over the place. We really do get to know him as a person.”

Cunanan spent two months in Miami before killing Versace. Before that, he killed both his closest friend and his lover.

“Once he crossed a line and became a killer, he then started to kill to pursue ideas,” says Smith. “Once he realizes he lost everything, either you build something that impresses someone, which takes a lot of work, or if you don’t want anonymity, you can try to rip something down.”

The FBI was already pursuing Cunanan in Miami, but thinking he preyed upon older men they didn’t look in the youthful South Beach area.

Orth’s 1999 book is called “Vulgar Favors: Andrew Cunanan, Gianni Versace, and the Largest Failed Manhunt in US History,” and Murphy feels that Cunanan was able to make his way across the country and pick off his victims because many of them were gay.

There was “homophobia, particularly within the various police organizations that refused in Miami to put up wanted posters,” he says.

Not surprisingly, the Versace family is not behind the project and issued a statement this week: “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,” it said.

Criss says that the most difficult part of playing a killer was thinking “about the people who are still alive and are affected. And wanting to do right by them is my hope.”

Brad Simpson, one of the other producers of “Versace,” says that is the basic quandary for anybody who is making true crime story.

“By recreating these murders, are you giving the murderer what they want? Are you hurting the victims again?” he asks. “In ‘O.J.,’ we didn’t show O.J. committing the murder. We never come out and say that O.J. killed Nicole and Ron even though you can really take that inference from the show. In this case, we are showing the real devastation of what Andrew did.”

Why ‘American Crime Story’ took on murder and manhunt in ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace’