[EERIE MUSIC PLAYING]
Welcome to the world premiere of "The Assassination
of Gianni Versace, an American Crime Story."
[GUNSHOT]
No.
[GUNSHOT]
This anthology series examines the events leading up
to the murder of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace,
and the nationwide manhunt that captivated the country.
Shortly before 9:00 AM, fashion designer Gianni Versace
was shot on the steps of his villa.
The suspect's name is Andrew Cunanan.
We asked about bringing this true crime story to the screen.
Well, I think that he keeps exploring
the underbelly of a country, and he
keeps exploring this zeitgeist.
I think it's a cool second step
from where they were in the first season,
which was a courtroom drama.
And this is a little different, it's more of a manhunt
and a character piece.
It's much more epic in scale.
I mean, it goes all over the country, all over the world,
even, a little bit, and it's a story that most
people don't know about.
[SPEAKING ITALIAN]
This is my friend Andrew.
Hi.
American Crime Story is really about more than just the crime,
it's about a larger social issue to hang the crimes on.
I was interested in OJ because it dealt with racism, sexism,
and misogyny, and I was really interested in Versace
because it dealt with homophobia in the 90s, themes
that still resonate today.
Gianni Versace was one of the few out gay celebrities.
This was before Ellen.
It was basically Elton John and Gianni Versace,
and he was murdered for that.
True crime stories, the ones we explore in the series,
are ones that say something about who we are as a country.
I was his partner, not his pimp.
By partner, you mean--
What-- What do I mean?
It's very troubling, because Andrew Cunanan was a killer.
For many people he did not represent a public threat,
because basically he was killing gay men,
and up until he killed the famous gay men, then
people started to pay attention because everyone
else's interests were affected.
But more than that, the show answers the question,
how does one young boy become a creator,
and how does another young boy become a destroyer?
I swear, I really do have a date with Gianni Versace.
We're back with the world premiere
of "The Assassination of Gianni Versace, American Crime Story."
My hope is that when people wear my clothes,
they will get to know me a little bit,
you know, they will get to know my character, my--
my love for life.
Speaking of Gianni, can you tell us about the research
you did to bring him to life?
I was very lucky, not only to have amazing access
to great documentation on Gianni,
but also people who were very close to him, who were open
and generous enough to share their stories
and their experiences with me.
So that gave me a very close, direct heartfelt insight
on who Gianni might have been.
Comes from here first, from here, and then you hire
the photographers, and then you throw the parties,
and then you ask celebrities to wear our clothes,
but that comes second.
I'm worried, Gianni.
Our shows were the future, once.
So I just got a little bit obsessed with her,
I watched hours and hours of interviews
with her from the '80s, '90s, from
hours every day for months.
I worked with my dialect coach because it's
English with her Italian accent which is very particular.
That was the most important thing for me,
to find the voice.
There's the Andrew--
the real-life Andrew who unfortunately I will never have
any contact with, there is the Andrew we can glean from
Maureen Orth's book, and we have the Andrew that is in the pages
written by Tom Rob Smith, and the role
created by Ryan Murphy, and at the end of day,
that's sort of my--
my guiding light.
So what do you do?
I'm a serial killer.
What?
I said, I'm a banker.
Why are people fascinated with true crime stories?
Because I think it's the best of human nature,
because I think there's always the people who are trying
to help the victims, the first responders, the people who are
trying to solve the crimes, and then
it's the worst of human nature, the people who perpetuate
these sort of heinous acts, and I
think anytime you have good and evil together,
it's biblical, right?
True crime stories give us a mirror
in which we see ourselves, and what we see in the mirror
isn't maybe who we want to be, but
there's a truth to who we are.
Because it is a reflection of our fears,
our shortcomings I think that we're all
capable of great things, beautiful things,
but also horrible things.
You're handsome, clever.
I'm sure you're going to be someone really special one day.
For FXM, I'm Tava Smiley.
Thanks for watching.
[EERIE MUSIC PLAYING]