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Antonio Banderas On Gianni Versace, Fashion Design, And Filming In Chile

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 05:59 PST, Jul 21, 2016

Antonio Banderas is set to play one of the most challenging roles in his career: the legendary Gianni Versace. According to The Guardian, Antonio Banderas will headline the unauthorized biopic of fashion icon Gianni Versace, a film that Versace’s estate is calling a work of fiction.

A representative of Donatella Versace has said that the company has not authorized nor had any involvement whatsoever in the film. Billie August, the Danish filmmaker behind the 1998 version of Les Miserables and Smilia’s Feeling For Snow, is set to direct the film. Antonio Banderas will play the role of Versace as the narrative follows his life from Reggio Calabria, his place of birth, through to Miami where he was murdered by Andrew Cunanan.

Antonio Banderas fits the role of Gianni Versace very well as he also sidelines as a fashion designer. According to People magazine, Antonio Banderas enrolled in the famed art and design school Central Saint Martins in 2015 and just debuted his first collection with Selected.

Antonio Banderas spoke on his decision to enroll as a fashion student, saying that his primary motive for joining the famed fashion school was simply to gain knowledge about something other than movies.

“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.”

Banderas’ real life design work takes inspiration from Gianni Versace. In May, Banderas presented his first 30-piece collection with the Scandinavian label, Selected, which included a range of clothing from shirts, to chinos, and even motorcycle jackets. The motorcycle jackets took direct inspiration from Versace himself. Banderas incorporated gold metal embellishments into his biker jacket and said it was inspired by Versace’s early designs.

Antonio Banderas spoke on the gold embellishments incorporated into his biker jacket, and how it was his love of the 1980s that inspired him to create the jacket.

“Probably one of the happiest times of my life was the Eighties, and I remember Versace putting gold with leather. I had this in mind, so we wanted to add the gold color, it’s those little details.”

He went on to say that he loves riding motorcycles, and he personally wanted to have a jacket that he could use, and that others can use, confident in the knowledge that other people with bikes would also use a similar jacket for that purpose.

Antonio Banderas channeled his inner rocker for his latest role in Simon West’s new film Salty. According to Pop Sugar, Antonio Banderas posted a series of photos while on the film’s set in Chile.

The cheetah print pants and his trendy highlights are what stood out from the photos, with the actor’s unexpected look just one of the many reasons fans are filled with excitement as Antonio’s return to the big screen is just around the corner.

Antonio Banderas will be joined by Olga Kurylenko in Simon West’s action comedy. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Olga Kurylenko will star alongside Antonio Banderas as his character’s wife.

Sheila Enry, a pampered supermodel, is the wife of Antonio Banderas’ aging rocker and reformed sex addict character, Turk Enry. The film has been described as “The Hangover meets Spinal Tap,” was and co-adapted by Mark Haskell Smith from his own novel.

In the film, Banderas’ character takes his wife on a vacation to Chile only for her to be kidnapped by a group of pirates, which forces Banderas’ Turk goes on a rescue mission to save his wife. Simon West was delighted with the addition of Olga Kurylenko to the cast.

“I’m delighted Olga has joined Antonio and the rest of the cast. Her talents in both action and comedy make her the perfect Sheila.”

He went on to express his excitement about the prospect of shooting the film in Chile, both in terms of the local talent and the impressive locations available.”

“I know we’re going to make a great movie.”

[Photo by Gustavo Caballero/Getty Images]

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