"Night Train to Lisbon" helmer Billie August is set to direct "Versace" biopic with "The Expendables 3" actor Antonio Banderas. He will next direct the English-language biopic of the late legendary Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace.
According to Variety, Banderas is attached to play the titular character in "Versace." He is helping finance it, possibly as a co-producer. He runs his own production vehicle, Green Moon Producciones which is based in Spain.
Spanish actor Banderas is to bring his enthusiasm for fashion to his craft in "Versace," The Independent reported. He is a keen follower of fashion having recently launched his first collection in collaboration with high-street label Selected. He also enrolled in London University Central Saint Martins' MA Fashion course.
"Versace" will also mark August's follow up to "55 Steps" drama, starring Helena Bonham Carter. Carter played a hospital mental patient Eleanor Riese, who championed a class action suit that sought to allow hospitalized mental patients to refuse or have a say in their medication.
Revealing some plot details, August said that "Versace" will be a family saga chronicling the designer's rise to fame in the late 1970s, when he launched the brand, and depict his relationship with his sister Donatella. He also revealed that he has been in touch with the Versace family to discuss the film and the cast will include high-profile actors who will be announced during a press conference early this year.
Italy's Oberon Prods will lead produce "Versace" alongside Jesper Morthorst at Svensk Filmindustri as co-producer. Morthorst's credits include the Netflix original drama "Rita." August's past film credits include "Pelle the Conqueror" and the 1988 version of "Les Misérables," and Banderas previously directed in 1993's "The House of the Spirits."
Filming on the "Versace" biopic is said to be starting in Milan before heading to the fashion designer's birth city of Reggio Calabria as well as the city of his death, Miami, where he was shot dead by serial killer Andrew Cunanan in 1997.
The "Versace" biopic is expected to start shooting in March.
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