Robert Miano - Tumblr Posts

What’s interesting is that the ‘98 film has the “Lago di Como, no?” dialogue that’s the closest to what Maureen Orth reported in Vulgar Favors (her nonfiction book on Andrew Cunanan), the ‘08 film excludes the line, and ACS drastically alters the line.

In the book, Orth reports that Gianni Versace would use the “Lago di Como” line when he wanted to strike up conversation with someone, with the implication being that Versace approached Cunanan. None of the scenes go for this interpretation. The ‘98 film has the right line, but doesn’t know what to do with it. The ‘08 film falls back on easy cliches: Versace is the arrogant celebrity, Cunanan the starstruck fame-hungry striver.

ACS’ scene is the deftest of the three and a tidy bit of characterization. The “Lago di Como” line is repurposed to show how smoothly and opportunistically Cunanan operates - how he looks for openings in the conversation and wedges himself in, how he leverages social niceties to his benefit. We see how important family is to Versace, which will be a theme throughout the season. The scene neatly illustrates how just having conflict doesn’t always equal good drama. Starting Versace and Cunanan off at odds with each other and then having them form a rapport creates a more dynamic scene than having them begin and end on the same antagonistic emotional tenor with no changes in the dynamic throughout.

Andrew Cunanan in the Media → Andrew’s and Gianni’s First Meeting