Tag: may 2018

robertascroft: I am obsessed with music and everyone who knows me knows this. Edgar Ramirez who I have worked with three times steps onset and asked me if he can play his own music for his solo shot during our ACS cast shoot. I oblige and he puts on @arca1000000 who I had been listening to non-stop since his latest release and his production on Bjork’s new record. He and I could not stop talking about the videos and the music. It is really cool to see how music changes people in positive ways. I will forever equate the song Piel to this shoot. #edgarramirez#portrait – grooming by my amazing friend @sascha_breuer

dcriss-archive:

robertascroft: For this cast photo of ACS / Versace I wanted to create some distance between them metaphorically. I asked the amazing Edgar Ramirez to start walking and his movement created new meaning for each of the others performance in the photograph. I had photographed everyone at least once prior to this shoot and I find great pleasure when I have a report with a cast and they trust you to push the boundaries a little. #castphoto #acs #versace #rickymartin #edgarramirez #penelopecruz #emmy #darrencriss

robertascroft: Inspired by a vintage Versace campaign I photographed the cast of American Crime Story / The Assassination of Gianni Versace. I wanted to shoot them in a way I knew no one else was going to for this show. I wanted edgy rock and roll style. Leather, Jeans , Boots which are all a staple in my own personal wardrobe. I had imagined listening to CBGB’s type music onset but instead I was pleasantly surprised by a singalong by Penelope Cruz and Darren Criss doing “Father Figure” by George Michael… it was inspired and to be honest I wouldn’t have changed that moment for anything. #acs #versace #fx #emmy #penelopecruz #darrencriss #rickymartin #edgarramirez

Bret Easton Ellis and the future of fiction

NO: Are there any aspects of this softer, more empathetic culture that you do appreciate, particularly as a gay man?

BEE: Look we all would benefit from that, but I don’t believe that’s life. I don’t believe that’s in our DNA. I don’t believe utopia is in our DNA. I think we’re deeply flawed animals with a sort of sexual lawlessness, that we are violent, that we want to be on top, that we want to be in control of things. We obviously don’t want to be killing each other in the streets, but we’ve got to get realistic about who we really are and what it means to be a woman, what it means to be a man, what it means to be a gay man. This is a bit of a digression, but I was watching The Assassination of Gianni Versace, the Ryan Murphy show, and I was thinking oh God, what are they going to do with this? I know a lot about the case; I’d read all the books about the case. Andrew Cunanan had gone around saying that he had helped to write Less Than Zero. I never actually met him but he was obsessed with some of my work. Anyway, I was really impressed by the fact that it shone a light on truths about gay men that are really … well you would think they were not acceptable today: body fascism, objectification of other men, an obsession with youth, an obsession with beauty. I was very surprised that Ryan Murphy went there and portrayed it accurately.

Bret Easton Ellis and the future of fiction

‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘black-ish’ lead our 2018 Emmys buzzmeter

It’s the year(s) of Peak TV when there’s so much quality programming on the air that it seems there’s just never enough time to watch everything. All of which makes the Emmys a confusing time for many. How can you know what series might rise above the others come awards time if you haven’t seen them all? That’s exactly why we have a panel of professionals to guide you through it. Here, our Buzzmeter experts tell us what they think will stand out in 14 key Emmy categories come nomination day July 12. Have other suggestions? Let us know in the comments.

Our panelists:

Lorraine Ali/Los Angeles Times; Tom O’Neil/Gold Derby; Matt Roush/TV Guide; Glenn Whipp/The Envelope

Their picks in the key categories:

Limited series frontrunners: ‘The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story’ | ‘Looming Tower’ | ‘Godless’

“Ryan Murphy’s adventurous study of a gay psychopath, told in reverse chronology, was unexpectedly fascinating and unsettling. But in terms of pure entertainment, how I loved the female-driven Western shenanigans of ‘Godless.’” –Matt Roush

Critics’ Picks

“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

“Twin Peaks: The Return”: Glenn, Matt, Tom

“Looming Tower”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

“Howards End”: Glenn, Matt, Tom

“Godless”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

“Genius: Picasso”: Lorraine

”Alias Grace”: Lorraine

”The Terror”: Lorraine

Limited series actor frontrunners: Kyle MacLachlan, ‘Twin Peaks’ | Darren Criss, ‘Versace’ | Al Pacino, ‘Paterno’ | Michael B. Jordan, ‘Fahrenheit 451’

“Traditionally, this category is claimed by big movie stars like Al Pacino, who won twice (2004, 2010), but recent champs have been appealing newcomers like Riz Ahmed and Courtney B. Vance. That’s good news for Darren Criss.” –Tom O’Neill

Critics’ Picks

Kyle MacLachlan, “Twin Peaks”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

Darren Criss, “Versace”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

Al Pacino, “Paterno”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

Jeff Daniels, “The Looming Tower”: Glenn, Matt, Tom

Benedict Cumberbatch, “Patrick Melrose”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine

Michael B. Jordan, “Fahrenheit 451”: Glenn, Matt, Lorraine, Tom

Antonio Banderas, “Genius: Picasso”: Lorraine, Tom

‘Game of Thrones,’ ‘Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘black-ish’ lead our 2018 Emmys buzzmeter

In May Emmy Magazine Ryan Murphy Talks Casting of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and Why Darren Criss Was Preordained for His Role

[PRESS RELEASE]

The role of serial killer Andrew Cunanan in season two of the FX anthology series American Crime Story was more than a challenge for actor Darren Criss— in a sense, it was his destiny. In the latest issue of emmy magazine, the series’ creator Ryan Murphy describes how Criss and the rest of the hand-picked, all-star cast embodied the real-life characters in The Assassination of Gianni Versace. 

The award-winning official publication of the Television Academy hits newsstands May 22.

In the emmy cover story “American Tragedy,” Murphy shares his fascination with Gianni Versace and how the murder of the renowned fashion designer became the focus of the highly anticipated second season of the popular anthology. Murphy took great care to ensure the project was as authentic as possible, from gathering all related law-enforcement files as source material to casting appropriate actors in each role. 

In Murphy’s mind, Criss was destined to play Cunanan, who shared a similar Filipino-American heritage. “I didn’t want to whitewash that part,” says Murphy, aware of Hollywood’s tendency to cast Caucasian performers in Asian roles. “I had been obsessed with the Cunanan and Versace story for years and years and years. And I remember when I first cast Darren on Glee back in 2010, just filing it in the back of my head. Like, ‘Well, there’s your Cunanan.’”

Filling out the ensemble cast, Murphy secured his preferred actors for each role—Édgar Ramírez as Versace; Penélope Cruz as the designer’s sister, Donatella; and Ricky Martin as Versace’s lover, Antonio D’Amico.

Martin and Cruz reached out to D’Amico and Donatella Versace, respectively, to help them approach their roles. In Martin’s case, his conversations with D’Amico provided important social context and helped him better understand the LGBTQ experience in Versace’s era. 

“Gianni struggled with coming out because people were like, ‘You’re going to destroy your career,’” Martin says. “So it was a flashback to my reality, my story.”

In May Emmy Magazine Ryan Murphy Talks Casting of The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and Why Darren Criss Was Preordained for His Role

televisionacad: American Tragedy, The cross-country murder spree of #AndrewCunanan leading to the 1997 killing of designer #GianniVersace — is “a very American story,” says #RyanMurphy, executive producer–director of the FX anthology series that brought the real-life tale to
television. A distorted desire for the good life and the pain of hiding in plain sight are just two of the themes explored by stars #DarrenCriss #EdgarRamírez#PenélopeCruz and #RickyMartin. Written BY#TATIANASIEGEL in the new issue of #emmymagazine
#ninajacobson #bradsimpson@mrrpmurphy @darrencriss@edgarramirez25 @ricky_martin@penelopecruzoficial
Photographed by @robertascroft
lead stylist @jolene.nava

#Kindramann grooming for Darren
#AshleyWeston wardrobe for Darren
#SaschaBreuer grooming for Edgar
#DaniMichelle wardrobe for Edgar
#DouglasVanLaningham wardrobe for Ricky
Ricky hair #joeyNieves
Ricky face #hanicarias
#CristinaEhrlich wardrobe for Penelope
#PabloIglesias hair nd makeup Penelope