The second season of
American Crime Story, "The Assassination of Gianni Versace", is
coming to Fox Crime in Italy on January 19.
The series tells the story of the tragic death of the Italian
fashion designer on July 15, 1997, on the steps of his Miami
home at the hands of Andrew Cunanan.
Cunanan was found dead a few days later of a self-inflicted
gunshot on a Miami houseboat.
The top-notch cast includes Edgar Ramirez as Gianni Versace;
Ricky Martin as his boyfriend, Antonio D'Amico; and Penelope
Cruz as Versace's sister Donatella.
"Versace mixed sexuality, glamour and opulence as no one ever
had before. He was a revolutionary," Ramirez said.
The second season is directed by Ryan Murphy, who also
directed the first season, "The People vs. OJ Simpson".
The Versace family dissociated itself from the production in
a statement, saying it neither authorised nor had any
involvement in the series.
"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 said.
Murphy, however, said he is sure the family will be happy
with the result.
"Our work isn't as much about why Versace was killed as it is
about why this assassination was able to occur," he said.
"American Crime Story doesn't tell just the story of a crime
but also tries to reconstruct the social conditions under which
the crime took place".
The most delicate topic is perhaps that of Versace discovering
he was HIV-positive.
Not long before his death, Versace had announced that he was
homosexual but the diagnosis was another skeleton in the closet.
"At that time, if you were HIV-positive, the world collapsed
around you: you'd lose your job, your company, you'd be
marginalised," Murphy said.
"His company was about to go public on the stock market and
Gianni was terrified. All of this will be told, but we will do
it with all the necessary sensitivity, and it couldn't be any
other way," he said.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
