The Gianni Versace biopic has been on the table for a little while, with Spanish actor Antonio Banderas (Mask of Zorro, Spy Kids) cast in the lead role, as Versace.
Now, news has it that Danish director, Bille August has confirmed that he will be directing the biopic, simply titled Versace which will start filming in March. It will be produced by Italian production company Oberon, and co-produced by Svensk Filmindustri’s Jesper Morthorst.
Not much has been said about the storyline, but what has been revealed, is that Versace will detail the designer’s rise to global infamy from the late 70s until his untimely murder and his relationship with sister Donatella, who currently runs the billion dollar fashion empire.
Banderas has reportedly enrolled himself as a fashion student at London’s Central Saint Martins university; his reasoning, “Knowledge. I’m here to gain knowledge, basically. I got to a point where I’ve done 92 movies – I am not going to stop – I’m going to continue doing movies and producing. I want to direct more but there were other things in my life that I was interested in.”
Now, why we’re so interested in this biopic is that a certain Supermodel / actress Ms. Naomi Campbell was once known as ‘Goddess of the catwalk’ due to her association with Versace. The model met the designer when she was just 16 years old and was described by Versace himself as being ‘part of his family’ during the 11 years they were acquainted up until his death. Campbell was Versace’s go-to, if not, favourite, model of choice for his flamboyant fashion line.
Campbell herself once gave an extremely emotional interview after hearing of the designer’s death, and mentioned that if it wasn’t for Versace, she may not have been the global phenomenon she had become. She credited and still credits Versace for supporting her and taking her under his wing. She says he was a humble man who treated her with absolute respect.
So there is no doubt, that Ms. Campbell will have to feature in this biopic. No. Doubt. The only doubt here, is WHO!?
I mean if she can act, then I’d go for British model Leomie Anderson. If we’re going to go colourblind then Willow Smith can sometimes give off air of Campbell, but she is a tad on the lighter-skinned side and with all the shady miscasting going on… may not be the most politically correct choice. A British actress, I wouldn’t mind being considered is Adelayo Adedayo (Girls, Gone Too Far), although she is absolutely tiny… I don’t know if they can do height adjustments in post, but she’s definitely got the face-esqueness of Campbell.
Watch this space.