Feb 1
'10
Vanity Fair’s “Hollywood Issue” cover: young, hot actresses

vfcomplete

Finally! The Vanity Fair annual “Hollywood Issue” cover has been revealed, and I’m happy to say this looks like a return to the Hollywood Issues of yore (like, six years ago). For the past few years, VF has been doing crazy, stupid, and ugly things with their Hollywood Issue, and I hope they keep this one to the old standard, where breakout stars, great performances and comebacks each got their own separate page and description, rather than some sort of dumb photo essay (we get it, Penelope Cruz as a showgirl… now, let’s try something else). Anyway, I digress. The new cover (done by Annie Leibovitz) shows off some of the best young actresses of the year, many of whom are up (or have been up) for significant awards. Just glancing at the spread, I’m liking it. No one ghostly pale with ghoulish grey skin and vampire red lips (as they’ve been styled in past years). Everyone looks fresh and pretty, albeit a little overly-Photoshopped in some cases. Here are the descriptions for the girls:

The Cupid’s-bow lips, the downy-soft cheeks, the button nose: 27-year-old Abbie Cornish has those Ivory-soap-girl features we’re so familiar with, and yet hers is a face it’s hard to stop staring at—testament to the intelligence, vulnerability, and sensuality she brings to her characters. Her breakthrough for American audiences came with fellow Australian Heath Ledger, as a junkie in 2006’s Candy, free-falling from invincible heroin highs to soul-seizing anguish. Kimberly Peirce’s Stop-Loss saw her fleeing the law with Ryan Phillippe’s character. (Enter some real-life drama: Phillippe, then the husband of Reese Witherspoon, would soon become her boyfriend.) She may have been her loveliest in Jane Campion’s Bright Star, playing John Keats’s muse, the flirty and forthright Fanny Brawne.

With her patrician looks and celebrated pedigree—she is the daughter of American operatic soprano Maria Ewing and legendary British theater director Sir Peter Hall—one might assume that Cambridge-educated Rebecca Hall, 27, waltzed into an acting career on her name alone. Well, O.K., it didn’t hurt in the beginning, when she starred, at the age of 10, in her father’s television adaptation of the British novel The Camomile Lawn, or 10 years later in his production of George Bernard Shaw’s Mrs. Warren’s Profession. But her pitch-perfect realization of an indignant, tightly wound American in Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) proved she had the chops and the charm, and her sophisticated wit landed her the role of David Frost’s delightfully fabulous girlfriend in Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon. Next up is Nicole Holofcener’s Please Give, and Ben Affleck’s Boston crime drama The Town.

At just 24, Anna Kendrick has already shown impressive range, from Bella Swan’s twit friend Jessica in the Twilight saga to George Clooney’s buttoned-up colleague in Up in the Air. At age 12, the Maine native was nominated for a Tony Award, for her role in the 1998 musical High Society. After she auditioned for the role of Natalie in Up in the Air, she thought she’d tanked, given director Jason Reitman’s utter non-reaction. Turned out he’d written the role for her, after having seen her in the small high-school film Rocket Science. Next, she’ll star with Michael Cera and Jason Schwartzman in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.

Carey Mulligan’s first movie role was as Keira Knightley’s giddy sister in Pride and Prejudice. A moment later, the former Catholic-boarding-school student was the buzz of Sundance, thanks to her exquisite performance as a 1960s English high-school senior in An Education. Big-league directors haven’t wasted any time in filling up the 24-year-old’s dance card. Mark Romanek chose her as the lead in Never Let Me Go, while Oliver Stone cast her in Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps, as the daughter of Gordon Gekko and the fiancée of trader Shia LaBeouf—who also happens to be her real-life love.

She was more dippy than mean in her 2004 film debut, Mean Girls, announcing vacantly that her breasts could predict the weather. But it took a most unlikely confection—the movie musical Mamma Mia!—for the world to see Amanda Seyfried in her full, dewy, wide-eyed loveliness. Since then she has become the go-to girl for modern fairy tales, including Lasse Hallström’s Dear John and the forthcoming Letters to Juliet. But watch for a 180-degree turn in this month’s Chloe, Atom Egoyan’s artsy sexual thriller, in which 24-year-old Seyfried plays the alluring, troubled complication in a failing marriage.

In an era in which every teen star has a stylist and a bland pop record, 19-year-old Kristen Stewart is the tough-minded, no-frills anomaly. Stewart played Bella Swan not as a cartoon but as anxious and complicated—making the predicament of being torn between a vampire and a werewolf seem … well, almost plausible. The daughter of a television-producer father and an Australian script-supervisor mother, the L.A.-bred Stewart has been consistently drawn to melancholy over flash. Between Twilight installments, her edgy trajectory will continue with Welcome to the Rileys, about the friendship between a stripper and a married businessman, played by James Gandolfini, and The Runaways, about rocker Joan Jett.

Emma Stone, 21, emerged from the Judd Apatow comedy crew, having held her own in Superbad, as Jonah Hill’s way-cool, super-smokin’ home-ec partner, and she struck gold with Zombieland. But her comedy credentials go all the way back to Arizona, where she grew up idolizing Gilda Radner and Molly Shannon and cut her teeth with a local theater troupe. At age 15—after giving her parents a PowerPoint presentation about ditching high school for a career in acting—she left with her mother for Hollywood, where she grew into that alluring raspy voice and the Jessica Rabbit looks.

Mia Wasikowska, 20, is the daughter of a Polish photographer mother and an Australian painter-and-collagist father. Her breakthrough on the HBO series In Treatment, as the fragile and yet fierce gymnast Sophie, suggested a deep intelligence and a reservoir of talent. Director Edward Zwick cast her in Defiance, about a group of Polish Jews banding together to escape the Nazis. Next she will play the title role in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the love interest in Gus Van Sant’s next film, and the daughter of Julianne Moore and Annette Bening, two gay moms, in Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids Are All Right.

Evan Rachel Wood, 24, got her start locally, playing Helen Keller opposite her mom in a North Carolina production of The Miracle Worker. When her parents divorced, she moved to Los Angeles with her mom and soon mesmerized audiences in Catherine Hardwicke’s Thirteen, a tour de force of teenage angst. This tightly wound rebel soul attracted the likes of Woody Allen, who cast her in Whatever Works, Julie Taymor, who picked her for the lead in the surreal Across the Universe, and Darren Aronofsky, who chose her as Mickey Rourke’s estranged daughter in The Wrestler—and rocker Marilyn Manson, to whom she is engaged. Given that her interests lie anywhere but on the beaten path, is it any wonder her upcoming superhero project is Spider-Man … the Broadway-musical version, directed by Taymor and set to the music of Bono and the Edge?

[From Vanity Fair]

Now that I’ve gotten a closer look, it’s kind of cracking me up how Evan Rachel Wood is like the only one who seems to have been caught off-guard. All of the other girls are doing their sexy pouts or their I’m-so-sexy-I’m-panting look. ERW looks like “WTF?” Anyhoodle, Gawker has a good breakdown on which of these girls will stand the test of time in Hollywood, and it’s worth a quick review. Man, now I can’t wait for the whole issue!

Oh, here’s the behind-the-scenes video too, from VF:

Vanity Fair photos courtesy of Just Jared.

vfcover1

vf2

vf3

Written by Kaiser

Share

Posted in Vanity Fair


- TV Shows that outstayed their welcome [Pajiba]
- Goopy and Cameron Diaz went to a Coldplay concert [Lainey Gossip]
- The bacon milkshake! [D-Listed]
- Ashanti looks... good? [Go Fug Yourself]
- 20 great songs under 2 minutes [Fark]
- Snooki and J-Woww on notice [IDLYITW]
- Jennifer Aniston through the years [Popsugar]
- Kirsten Dunst looks so pretty here [Evil Beet]
- Mila Kunis without makeup [Celebslam]
- The awful cover letter all of Wall St. is mocking [Gawker]

76 Responses to “Vanity Fair’s “Hollywood Issue” cover: young, hot actresses”

  1. whatever says:

    is it just me or is that carey girl cute

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  2. shorty30 says:

    @ bite me: really? That’s your comment to this? Get a life.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  3. Sumodo says:

    No women of color and every one of them has had some sort of tweaking done–natural beauty? Maybe the foreign girls.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  4. JohnnieR says:

    Mmmm, this reminds me of the old Life Magazine pictorials/articles about up-and-coming Hollywood starlets in the 1940′s and 1950′s, and how the majority of them never attained stardom. But best of luck to these gals; the odds are stacked against you.

    Mind you, it’s rather refreshing to see un-botoxed cheeks, foreheads, and lips (for now, anyway), and also not seeing Aniston’s squash on the cover.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  5. daysmom says:

    I love the group of girls and the photos, they look great! The only thing I think that sticks out for me, is that if this is a “fresh faces” what’s Evan Rachel Wood doing there? Most of the actresses in that group are still relatively new to “big” Hollywood, but EVR has been around the block a few times at this point..and did anyone else not even recognize her in the first photo, or it just me?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  6. Lady Nightshade says:

    breederina….my thought exactly!

    They could at least add some colorful clothing to add some interest in these girls =(

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  7. Mimi says:

    OH MY GOD MY EYES I CAN NOT SEE

    DOCTOR I ONLY SEE WHITE

    I CAN SEE NOTHING,NADA, only a BLANK screen.

    Ahhhh THOSE LIGHTS IN MY FACE, IT’S hurts

    YEAH WHITE PARTY

    To finish… COLOR IS NOT ALLOWED only WHITE.
    HAHAHAHAHA

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  8. Aggie says:

    Young, hot, white actresses. What else is new?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  9. Cath says:

    I guess Gabby Sibide is too fat to be on the cover. And too black. They call it Vanity FAIR for a reason.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  10. She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named says:

    @biteme,

    that was my first thought too. Not just NO women of color included, but women they chose just seem so BORING in this shoot.

    and yes, most of them have probably had plastic surgery or dyed their hair to look, shock: just like each other! (Yes, Europeans do plastic surgery too.)

    I really like Kristin Stewart and she actually stands out for me among this group, and not just because of her skinny chicken legs.

    The problem with this is that they all look milky and boring and the reason why they are all such good actresses (especially Abbie Cornish and Evan Rachel Wood) is because they have a spark to them, which is utterly lost in this photo shoot.

    Boo.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  11. naye in VA says:

    i think there could have been some color (ethnicity). So suck it shorty30. there a very good actresses of color around. the girl from Akkelah and the Bee, who by the way produces her own show on Nick or Disney, Rashida Jones who was totally cute and adorable on I love You Man and the Office. Gabourey Sibide is a toss-up becuase she has yet to release another film. Really. They recycled ERW for the cover. Wahts she doing with her life beisdes boning Manson and being a crappy actress

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  12. juiceinla says:

    Where is Dakota Fanning in this parade of pasties whites? Seems odd that the only one who can act would get snubbed.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  13. ,,,, says:

    Someone on Gawker made what I believe to be a very poignant comment regarding Gabby Sidibe that I will repost here:

    “Agree with everyone decrying the absence of Zoe Saldana, But Gabourney Sidibe? Seriously? I’m sorry, but how many roles do you think are out there for a woman her size? This article isn’t about women who had that one perfect role; it’s about women who are the future of Hollywood, and if you’re idealistic enough to think that Sidibe has a real future in movies then you haven’t been paying attention to how life works.”

    And however unfortunate it may be, that poster is right.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  14. alex says:

    I am not surprise that there is no women of color in that piece after all this is HW and although they would claim they don’t see color they do. There are up and coming women of color in HW that should be in VF but I guess they are not Vanilla enough

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  15. sarny says:

    @juiceinla. Dakota Fanning has already made it.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  16. alex says:

    Zoe Saldana who is in the highest grossing movie of all time is not on that list. I guess she is not vanilla enough

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  17. hmm says:

    This is typical for Vanity Fair to hardly ever put a person of color in this issue and it is beyond ridiculous in 2010. No Zoe Saldana, who is the biggest movie ever (Avatar) and Star Trek in the same year and we’re supposed to take this seriously? No.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  18. heb says:

    And ofcourse Amanda’s paragraph doesn’t say anything about Big Love, don’t bite the hand that feeds you girl!!! Drives me nuts when she disses them!!

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  19. bite me says:

    the real question is, which one of these girls will be relevant 10 years from now…

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  20. daisyfly says:

    Zoe Saldana is a goddess. To not see her in this list makes me ill.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  21. hatsumomo says:

    I was a little surprised by the list. ERW has been around for a while and despite what you think of her, she can get some prety meaty roles in Hollywood and make them memorable. I can still remember thirteen and Pretty persuasion. And I cannot stand and I mean CANNOT STAND Amanda Seyfried. Thank god she left Big Love, i love the show, hate her character.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  22. This is lovely. Annie shows knows what she’s doing. Cannot wait for more photos.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  23. Samantha says:

    Where is Dakota Fanning in this parade of pasties whites? Seems odd that the only one who can act would get snubbed.

    That was my first thought as well.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  24. lucy2 says:

    Zoe Saldana would be an excellent choice to replace ERW, who I agree is already long established. As is Dakota Fanning, who I agree is a good actress.
    And while I totally get the point Gawker made about Gabby Sidibe, why not break the cycle and put her on there? She went from an unknown to showered with nominations. Maybe if she weren’t so quickly dismissed for only having done one major role, other roles would open up for her.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  25. danielle says:

    I couldn’t believe they didn’t get Zoe either.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  26. georgiagirl says:

    Yawn!
    Where’s the Black, Latin and Asian actresses?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  27. Sigh. says:

    Yaaaaaawn.
    Pale/a little washed out.
    Non-descript.
    One-dimensional/flat.

    Evan Rachel Wood is “established” as well, so the argument against Saldana depends on their archaic criteria (she might be too “old”). And KStew looks rough and awkward, not fresh ‘n’ pretty.

    What about Friedo Pinto? Or use their millions in resources to hunt down someone known OUTSIDE of the US who is being primed to make it big here.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  28. nikki says:

    Carey Milligan looks alike Mike Myers for me!!!
    Evan Rachel Wood looks different(photo shop?)
    Above all :where are black/hispanic/asiatic/idian girls?!

    this pix is too boring and vanilla

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  29. Snarf says:

    Chill out people, Vanity Fair will have somone of colour on the cover in the next issue.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  30. daisyfly says:

    Oh, one more thing. There’s nothing “new” about this cover. The 2008 “Hollywood” issue featured Kristen and Amanda as well. Something tells me that in 2010, they’ll be there again. Third time’s the charm?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  31. Rosalee says:

    *YAWN* sorry but none of these young women give me pause..what number of sun screen do they wear 45? Vanity Fair doesn’t matter anymore..Dominick Dunne was the only reason, I read it each month. I stopped taking it seriously when they put Paris Hilton on the cover.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  32. michellllle says:

    Is it me or does red look like Lohan b4 the drugs & drama?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  33. bros says:

    seriously, what is up with caucasians-only cover? boo to vanity fair who could have done better and with very little effort.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  34. Carrie Thompson says:

    WHERE IS ZOE SALDANA??? She’s the hottest young actress around, and this year broke out in a real way- I can only hope that VF is saving her for a cover all of her own!

    Of those listed, I too think that Anna Kendrick is the only one I see having a good adult career- she’s both pretty enough and yet not too pretty, is good at both drama and comedy, and stands out in some pretty blah films (Twilight, anyone?).
    Carey Mulligan has a good shot if she chooses her films very, very carefully- she could reach a Keira Knightley level of fame/acclaim.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  35. Annie says:

    Definitely agree on the Zoe Saldana comment. She’s had an amazing year and thankfully doesn’t have to be “that girl in that Britney Spears movie” or “the black girl in that ballerina movie”. Carey Mulligan is adorable and a nice, but expected addition.

    I am very surprised and very pleased Rebecca Hall was included! She’s been doing fantastic work and is a wonderful actress. She acted the pants off Scarlett Johanson in The Prestige. You know, not that ScarJo wore pants in that.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  36. Ally says:

    @bite me: My first thought, too. Pathetic antebellum worldview for VF. Zoe Saldana is an obvious choice. (As for her being included before, so have Amanda Seyfried and Kristen Stewart — yet they’re reused here, even though Saldana is the one who appeared in two of the biggest movies of 2009.)

    In fact, they seem to have been so subconsciously thrilled with their peachy whiteness at VF, they even emphasized it with the clothing choices.

    Lame & shame, VF. You’re apparently stuck in 1910.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  37. Allie says:

    Can someone please tell me, who’s the girl to the far right with the long dark hair with the headband? TIA.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  38. couiny says:

    I love carey, mia, emma and anna they are so cute!
    Agree about Zoe Saldana but she is maybe too “old”, not in her twenties anymore. And dakota, she is maybe too young, only 16. And I think saorise ronan is more talented, she has also good chance to pursue a serious acting career.

    It’s nice to see actresses like Abbie and Carey get a cover, they were amazing in bright star and education.. But kristen stewart is the weakest link here, she doesn’t deserved to share the cover with these two more talented and brillant young women.
    Evan seems odd in this picture(she is way more beautiful than that), I love her as an actress since thirteen. And rebecca hall is so overrated, she was far better than scarlett in VCB.

    But kristen is mediocre in twilight, and she always seems so miserable even in into the wild or avendtureland.
    Why not put actresses like emily blunt (nominated for a golden globe for young victoria)or ellen page, zoe deschanel, romola garai, michelle williams on the cover? Oh, yes I get it !
    Vanity wants to sell more copies,thanks twihards!
    But now, I don’t hate kristen, I just think she’s overrated like emma watson thanks to harry potter (or natalie and keira before her). Emma was my favorite in HP1&2 but she made me cringe since HP4. But she was cute in ballet shoes,she can be natural on screen (and can act sometimes) when she doesn’t seems so forced and when she stop to overact: her eyebrow need an agent!!! XD
    Kristen she just looks plain and soooooooo serious. She is an artist, you know, like taylor monsen and her raccoon eyes XD
    And that’s why the artist win razzies nomination, yeah I’m not the only one who think twilight and the young actors suck (hello ashley “budget megan fox” green! Not you dear anna)
    And yeah, it’s not easy for kristen with a character like bella swan but her co-star anna kendrick is the prove that if you are really talented, you can be good in a mediocre movie.
    And of course she will certainly win the bafta (not carey) thanks to the twihard, as they own internet!
    And abbie didn’t even get a nomination for bright star!?! It’s because they need more attention, more star power.
    Maybe they should date robert “sparkle” pattinson – oh, no I didn’t!! XD

    But, I think it’s already a good thing jessica biel and blake lively are not on the cover (like in 2008).
    Oh god I’m such a bitch !!!!
    and I write a long post to say nothing XD
    and sorry for my english)

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  39. buckley says:

    Would have love to have seen Romola Garai there, but perhaps she’s not well known enough.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  40. Kaiser says:

    Buckley – Have you been watching the Emma miniseries too?!? Garai is like the British Drew Barrymore. She even talks out of the side of her mouth!

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  41. buckley says:

    Kaiser:
    Nope, is that on now? BBC?
    Just love her. Can totally see the Drew in her.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  42. bros says:

    i thought about saldana, but she is over 30-im thinking they were trying to get ladies only in their 20s.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  43. Sigh. says:

    Couiny —

    Sorry. Jessica Biel was on one of these, too (2008). Same issue as future nominated/awarded Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt!

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  44. Dannni says:

    This mag is always very white. Who’s surprised and why are we looking at it??

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  45. errrummm says:

    Story of our lives, people. Funny thing is that Zoe Zaldana was an easy choice, but I bet Vanity Fair didn’t even consider her. It just didn’t occur to them – because people of color are pretty much invisible to these people.

    Nice enough cover btw.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  46. Bob says:

    And EBONY magazine always puts African Americans on the cover. So?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  47. anna says:

    @Bob– EBONY came into being and currently exists because of the lacking representation of women of color in mainstream media.

    Maybe to make an analogy for you to understand: Fox News says it exists to represent conservative views because of perceived liberal media bias.

    However, it’s not as simple as “So?” because EBONY does not have the circulation numbers that VF boasts, so to make a comparison between the two is a bit like a regional chain of stores vs a national chain. The two are not equal comparisons.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  48. lena says:

    @ Bob…you fail

    1. Look up the history of the magazine first before you comment.

    2. People are pointing out that VF is excluding women of color…that category does include, Latinas, Asians, etc…NOT just Black women.

    from another poster on jezebel….

    “What Hollywood has to do is start casting non-whites in roles that don’t require whiteness. Who says that a romantic comedy’s leading lady can’t be Asian? Or that a buddy movie can’t star an African-American and a Latino? Or that a mindless thriller can’t have an Indian or Caribbean person playing the world-weary detective or panic-stricken parent?

    This is like when someone writes a movie envisioning a man as the leading character, and then they cast a woman. Just take a script, don’t automatically cast white people, and ta da! Diversity!”

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  49. Rosalee says:

    Bob, Bob, Bob..the cover of Vanity Fair does not reflect young Hollywood. Vanity Fair is not exclusive to the Caucasian population, despite their cover choices.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  50. hatsumomo says:

    Anna: who really buys magazines now anyway? You can already see whats in it by looking online. So I say ‘So?’. I havent bought a glossy in years.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  51. anna says:

    @ Hatsumomo — haha, this is true, who does buy magazines anymore? The dying print publishing industry is becoming outmoded by technology, so I understand your “So?’

    But my reply was for Bob’s “So?” in trying to point out how EBONY and Vanity Fair are not competitors on equal ground and should not be compared similarly.

    Perhaps O Magazine vs. Vanity Fair would be a fairer comparison than EBONY vs Vanity Fair…. but, the woman of color that is always on the cover is always the same one and she also happens to own the magazine. It’s not like she’s representing any group except the world of followers of Oprah.

    And true, Vanity Fair did have Tiger on last month, (albeit for the worst reasons)…

    It still remains that Hollywood woefully overlooks promising young WOMEN of all backgrounds, sizes, types, etc that deviate from the ingenue types that were featured on this month’s cover.

    It WOULD have been nice to see women like America Ferrara, Zoe Saldana, Frieda Pinto or Lea Michele (of Glee) also in this group and praised as the being part of the next new wave of promising young actresses…and maybe just one of them could sit on the coveted LEFT side of the portrait than the right (that always ends up in the gatefold)?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  52. EB says:

    There is a reason why Vanity Fair is not doing so well these days. Their covers are completely uninspired, and The Hollywood Issue in the past few years is a mess. In fact, having VF name you an “it” girl actually spells the end for you – remember Gretchen Mol?

    This cover is terrible – it is a boring photo – it recycles many actresses, and is completely out of step with what is going on. No actresses of colour at all?? This is a problem. And truth be told, at least a couple of these people on cover will sink like stones.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  53. millie says:

    Dakota doesn’t need this kind of gimmicky publicity. She shines best in her own light.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  54. Yowsers says:

    VF jumped the shark years ago.

    They get a theme:

    It’s VF does ecology! It’s VF does global warming! It’s VF does 30′s Hollywood! It’s VF does Highway 66! VF does anti-landmine campaign!

    And then Annie goes in and shoots it:

    Look! There’s the publisher’s Hollywood BFFs with ecology activists. Look! There’s the publisher’s next set of Hollywood BFFs with global warming activists!

    And so it goes. Good causes, sure, but simplistic and predictable.

    Every issue like this (the Hollywood issue is one of the earliest manifestations of this) jumps the shark. The only thing worse is GQ’s “Women We Love” issue. All of it is catnip to celebs.

    The final shark-jumping moment for me? Brad Pitt “laying hands on” Desmond Tutu. Couldn’t take it anymore after that, and could barely take it before that.

    The articles were excellent (unlike GQ which went stupid a full decade before that) — these allowed me to overlook the celeb-fetishizing of the publisher. I miss those. Altho Hitchens jumped the shark a few years ago, too, IMO.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  55. Phowie says:

    That is the most bland, plain vanilla group of actresses I have ever seen. Its like looking at mozzarella and milk and about as interesting. Since when do we all come in the same shade of ‘blah’.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  56. shadowd says:

    I agree with the rest of the posters, the VF shoot is simply White. Nothing more, and in a time when the printed word is in trouble VF should have expanded there search to encompass all women not just the pale white.

    There are so many actresses of different ethnic origins, for example Zoe Saldana, Lea Michele, Keke Palmer, Zhang Ziyi or Bingbing Li (though both may be to old for this), Yifei Liu, Jamie Chung, Maggie Q (once again she may be to old, but I love her so too bad she gets a mention), Bipasha Basu, Preity Zinta, Esah Deol, and Shilpa Sheety, just to name a few actresses who have done extra ordinary work.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  57. Jazz says:

    They are pretty bland and boring, there’s nothing exciting about any of them. What is Evan Rachel Wood doing on there, she’s been around for quite a few years already.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  58. Exiled2hp says:

    What about Mila Kunis, she is really coming into her own…

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  59. Scarlet Vixen says:

    I may be a little late on the Zoe Saldana posts-forgive me. But she’s not up and coming! I’ve been a fan of hers for 10yrs. She was in Center Stage in 2000 (LOVE her in that, even tho at 30yrs old I’m embarassed to admit I adore that movie ;-) ). She was also in Crossroads (lameass Britney Spears movie), Drumline, Pirates of the Caribbean, Vantage Point, etc….So while I agree that women of ‘color’ would be a nice addition, she’s perhaps not the best choice. Sadly, I can’t think of any other suggestions… :-(

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  60. Ally says:

    @Scarlet Vixen: Yes, but this was a breakout year for Zoe Saldana. She’s a new “star” at a whole new level of fame, and therefore part of any “new Hollywood”. If some white chick had been in both Star Trek and Avatar, she would not only be on this cover, she would be in the first part of the fold with Kristen Stewart. (I mean, Abby Cornish? Come on. She’s better known as Reese’s ex’s girlfriend than as an actress.) I can’t help but see it as deliberate White worldview exclusion. As to Saldana’s age, that’s hooey. She looks like she’s in her twenties, and no age limit has ever been established for this thing.

    This reminds me of years ago when Mike Leigh’s movie “Secrets and Lies” was sweeping awards worldwide, and one of its lead stars, Marianne Jean-Baptiste (now playing Vivian Johnson on “Without a Trace”) was not invited to be part of the (white and most barely recognizable) “20 hottest young British actors” flown over to the Cannes Film Festival by British Screen.

    It was clueless and lily-white then (over ten years ago, I think), and it’s even more clueless now.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  61. Jo 'Mama' Besser says:

    P.S. Remember when Halle Berry’s management angled for a VF cover the year she was nominated for an Oscar and they wouldn’t give it to her? I’m not really a fan of her work, but that’s just dull-minded. At any rate, an afternoon spent with THE PILGRIM’S PROGRESS is enough of a reason to stay away from anything labeled ‘VF’. Wouldn’t it make sense that– if for no other reason– they would want to widen their worldview in order to bring in more readers? I don’t know, I guess it and its sister in ennui, VOGUE are doing fine. Hey, what’s Marley Shelton up to these days?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  62. Jane says:

    ooo, let’s get some ethnicity up in this tableau.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  63. Jane says:

    whoa…and evan rachel wood was born in ’87…how is she 24?

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  64. mockey says:

    mmmmmm…. white white white…. i need some color, some chocolate, some mixed people some asian people… boring

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  65. whatever says:

    I agree with many of the comments here. Where’s the Latinas, Native-Americans, Asians and African-Americans? What decade are we in?

    Ok, I’ll say something postive–I do like the fact that the girls have decided not to do the “fake tan/orange skin” thing. And, I don’t see any obvious fake, plastic surgery. If only, it will stay that way–doubt it.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  66. CB Rawks says:

    The repugnant Kristen Stewart takes up almost the whole cover, and in an awful pose! I wish it had been focused on Emma and Amanda and so forth. But then, I would have left Kristen out entirely. That would have made her shred her lower lip.

    Wanted to add, I have a Vanity Fair from years back, and the big new stars were Sandra Bullock, Jennifer Jason Leigh etc,
    and Gwyneth Paltrow, and I was saying “Who the hell is Gwyneth Paltrow?” Ahhh the good old days.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  67. NicoleB says:

    Someone PLEASE explain to me the appeal of Kristen Stewart. I just do not get it/her AT ALL.

    This cover sucks big time. The fact that I only recognize 3 of those girls is laughable. Freida Pinto and Zoe Saldana should DEFINITELY be on the cover for sure….If they had put Gabby on the cover that would have been a mess b/c there is no way that I would have wanted to see gabby’s ass representing black actress next to all those skinny white girls perpetuating the big black girl myth…NO THANK YOU.

    Truth is Vanity Fair probably had no idea that they even made such a dumbass move b/c this is the norm in the media. Take for instance Jessica Biel being on the cover of Vogue (for what I don’t know) as oppposed to Zoe Saldana who created a whole damn language for a movie!!!!!!!

    Seriously, I just don’t get this now…seriously this whole lack of diviersity nonsense is just old. When are people going to realize that Americans are not all white with pale skin and “button noses”…nothing wrong with that but dammit there are others out here are just as talented and beautiful that represent and array of looks and talent.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  68. ViktoryGin says:

    lol. Well, if it’s any consolation Rebecca Hall is a quarter black, but of course you wouldn’t be able to tell. I think she’s fantastic, by the way, and I really appreciate the addition.

    See, what the studios would say that is that casting actors of color is not fiscally sound, and that if there were more actors of color who could carry a film they would cast them. The usual bullshit.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

  69. Chez P. says:

    Wow – the future of Hollywood is all white & the main comments are about their cute hair color & clothes? While this article was not meanspirited, it is great proof of the fact that we are NOT in a post-racial America and that we still need groups like LULAC, NALEO, NCLR, and the NAACP, – because when people of color are disregarded it is easily and often unnoticed by mainstream America or whites (until it is pointed out)- Nothing can be said to rationalize this photoshoot, we are in America not “white only America”.

    Report this comment as spam or abuse

Leave a Reply

Celebitchy aims to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy

Use the "Report this comment as spam or abuse" link to ask the moderators to delete a comment if it's offensive. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please e-mail cbcomments at gmail.com to get it retrieved.

Get an icon next to your name by signing up for a free Gravatar

 
 
 
Legal Disclaimer| Privacy Policy | Comment Policy