From Dunkirk to Mad Bastards: what’s streaming in Australia in June

The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (US, 2018) by Ryan Murphy – new episodes on Thursdays

The failure of the American dream has always made for juicy storytelling. Now, in the follow-up to The People v OJ Simpson: American Crime Story, it gets the Ryan Murphy (Glee) treatment, spun through the tale of the assassination of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami in 1997.

Murphy’s American Crime Story series has always been pulpy, high-production melodrama; this season is no different, right from the luxuriously lengthy opening sequence that introduces Versace (Édgar Ramírez) and his agonised killer, Andrew Cunanan (Darren Criss). The rest of the season works backwards from there as a period piece and police procedural that emphasises trademark Murphy themes of queerness, wealth and celebrity, spun through the lens of 1990s fashion culture, as well as the homophobia that inhibited the investigation. It is as satisfying and schlocky as we’ve come to expect from a Murphy production, and features Penélope Cruz as Gianni’s sister, Donatella Versace, and Ricky Martin as Antonio D’Amico, his partner.

FX launches FX+ VIP streaming service just for Emmy voters

FX is making it easier than ever to ensure Emmy voters can watch all of its shows any time they want. The network has launched FX+ VIP, a commercial-free streaming service for TV Academy members that contains all seasons of its current series.

Academy members can sign up by downloading the app and entering the unique code that was sent to every member. The service is available to members until Aug. 31, four days after voting ends to determine the winners.

FX has lots of contenders in play this year, including Best Comedy Series favorite “Atlanta,” “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” “American Horror Story: Cult,” “Baskets,” “Better Things” and “The Americans,” which ended its six-season run on Wednesday.

As a bonus, if members join Thursday, they will get a special preview of the “Pose” series premiere on the app starting at 12:01 a.m. ET / 9:01 p.m. PT. “Pose,” Ryan Murphy‘s last new series for FX before he moves to Netflix, will debut on Sunday at 9/8c, but won’t be eligible until next year’s Emmys.

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Episode 6

In this week’s episode of WHO magazine’s TV podcast, Binge List, Matthew Denby, Clare Rigden and Gavin Scott discuss and debate true-crime drama American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace, ABC series Mystery Road and Netflix food doco The Magic Pill. Plus, we ask To Binge Or Not To Binge The Good Fight and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and delve into Hidden Gem Dead Boss. | 30 May 2018

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Ep. 8 The Stacks Book Club – Vulgar Favors by Maureen Orth

Choreographer Sam Pinkleton is back in time for The Stacks Book Club to take on true crime, with Vulgar Favors: The Assassination of Gianni Versace by Maureen Orth. Vulgar Favors examines the serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who murdered 5 men in 1997 culminating in the murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace. We discuss Cunanan and his victims, but mostly we focus on the tone of the book. We examine the term “gay crime” and why we find this and so much of the book to be problematic. While there are spoilers in this episode, this book covers a real life event, which means all of the information is out in the public. You can listen without ruining the book. | 23 May 2018

The Opposite of Genius: Netflix’s New Docuseries and the Limits of “True Crime”

[..] Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong indisputably had a condition. Probably several. But what hit me while I was watching the five episodes of Evil Genius was that there was something… boring going on. Not boring filmmaking—that’s not the issue. I was thinking about… well, I was thinking about Darren Criss, actually. Several of us here at Paste feel FX’s true crime drama The Assassination of Gianni Versace did not get its due in the court of public opinion and are scratching our heads at people who called it “disappointing.” Some of us think it was kind of a masterpiece. I’m one of those people, so I was weighing the shows against each other. Sure, one is a documentary and one a dramatization, with totally different styles and production values. But they’re both well-made and they’re both anatomies of sociopathy. Why did one fascinate me while the other left me faintly impatient?

The Opposite of Genius: Netflix’s New Docuseries and the Limits of “True Crime”

Judith Light, #TimesUp Leaders, Mayors of Compton and Oakland to Headline Power Women Breakfasts

TheWrap on Monday announced a lineup of speakers for three Power Women Breakfast events in Washington, D.C., New York and San Francisco.

On June 13, National Geographic Global Networks CEO Courteney Monroe will co-host a Power Women Breakfast in Washington, D.C.

The event, to be held at the W Hotel, will also feature a panel focusing on next steps in the #TimesUp Initiative with political strategist Hilary Rosen, National Women’s Law Center president and CEO Fatima Goss Graves and members of TimesUp Legal Defense Fund — an organization that helps individuals find legal representation after experiencing sexual misconduct including assault, abuse or harassment in the workplace.

Emmy- and Tony-winning actress Judith Light will be a featured headliner at TheWrap’s Power Women Breakfast New York on June 15 to discuss her longtime advocacy for LGBTQ issues as well as the goal of achieving 50/50 gender parity in the entertainment industry by 2020.

The star, who has received two Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for her role in Jill Soloway’s “Transparent,” and who is garnering critical raves for her powerful performance as Marilyn Miglin in FX’s “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” will join in conversation with TheWrap Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman at the event, held at the Time Warner Center.

Judith Light, #TimesUp Leaders, Mayors of Compton and Oakland to Headline Power Women Breakfasts

Twentieth Century Fox’s Gina Brogi – WORLD SCREEN

Gina Brogi has been working for Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution for nearly two decades, first as director of finance for the television distribution division and currently as president of global distribution. The division has 11 offices around the world. There are thousands of television shows and movies in the company’s vast library. This includes a diverse range of product, from network series This Is Us and 9-1-1 and animated fare such as The Simpsons to the cable franchise American Crime Story and premium content such as Homeland, as well as feature films Logan, Hidden Figures and Alien: Covenant. Brogi talks to World Screen about the growing complexities and opportunities in the international distribution business.

WS: Of your more recent shows, which are resonating internationally?
BROGI: I would say that 9-1-1 is performing the best this season. It is probably our biggest, most broadly distributed and widely accepted new television series globally. It’s the procedural that everybody wants, and our clients are excited about it. It’s doing exceptionally well in the U.S.—the number one new drama of the season on FOX—and we are quite proud of it. We also have The Resident performing for us internationally as another highly anticipated procedural. The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story is now launching in various territories, and it’s also doing well. It’s a thrilling, frightening and compelling show that is beautifully shot and very special.

WS: Broadcast networks usually want procedurals, while serialized shows are best placed on SVOD or pay TV. Do you continue to see that?
BROGI: Generally, the longstanding rules tend to apply—procedurals do well on broadcast networks, and serialized shows tend to do better on SVOD or basic outlets where it’s possible to binge or just go back and catch up. But now, more and more free-to-air broadcasters have that capability. We’ve had great success with our shows on the BBC. They’ve licensed The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story and are really happy with it, and that is in part because the combination of their iPlayer and linear network allows them to maximize the show and what it has to offer.

Twentieth Century Fox’s Gina Brogi – WORLD SCREEN

Seven Nation Corny: A Check-in on Prestige TV’s Questionable Music Choices

[…] In between vintage charm and current favorites you have the ’80s period pieces. The second season of Netflix’s Stranger Things at least broadened its Ready Player One–style fetishism to encompass Kenny Rogers and Metallica, while FX’s The Americans has been around long enough to develop an intimate and rewarding relationship with Peter Gabriel. If it’s classic ’90s jams you seek, the Billions hive will gladly tell you that the Showtime high-finance drama used Counting Crows’ “Round Here” to spectacular effect as the bookend to a recent third-season episode, further elucidating “the crumbling difference between wrong and right.” And FX’s grim The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story planted its feet in both decades earlier this year, depicting a string of lurid mid-’90s murders and including an American Psycho–style scene of the killer nearly duct-taping a potential victim to death while dancing to the 1984 Philip Bailey–Phil Collins classic “Easy Lover.” Maybe keep that, too.

Seven Nation Corny: A Check-in on Prestige TV’s Questionable Music Choices

Penelope Cruz on Time’s Up and spy thriller ‘355’

VERSACE ON TV

Another complicated character that Cruz recently had the chance to play was Donatella Versace, as part of true crime series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story. Though the TV show has been surrounded in controversy, due to objections from members of the Versace family, it has also been critically acclaimed, receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Cruz had reportedly asked Donatella for permission to portray her on screen, and proceeded with her blessing.

“I loved playing her. I did it with all my love and respect,” said Cruz. “Donatella is such a unique personality, so for me, it was one of the most difficult and challenging parts. I had a lot of months of preparation for that; I didn’t want to do an imitation, but I wanted to capture an essence in the way she talks, the way she moves. It’s so particular, so unique. But I’m very happy that I did it,” admitted Cruz.

Penelope Cruz on Time’s Up and spy thriller ‘355’

Conrad Ricamora stars in David Henry Hwang’s ‘Soft Power’ – INQUIRER.net USA

Honoring

“Soft Power” is produced by Center Theatre Group in association with East West Players (EWP).

On April 30, EWP will hold its 52nd anniversary Visionary Awards dinner and silent auction to recognize “the achievements of individuals who have raised the visibility of the Asian Pacific American community through their craft.”

Filipino American actor Jon Jon Briones is included in this year’s group of Visionary Award honorees.

Briones joined the original London cast of “Miss Saigon” in 1989 and went on to play the role of the Engineer in several countries, including the recent 2014 London revival and 2017–18 Broadway revival.

Credits with EWP include “La Cage Aux Folles” and “A Little Night Music.” Recent television credits include playing Modesto Cunanan, the father of Andrew Cunanan, the murderer of fashion designer Gianni Versace in “American Crime Story: Assassination of Gianni Versace.”

Conrad Ricamora stars in David Henry Hwang’s ‘Soft Power’ – INQUIRER.net USA