When last we saw Twilight heartthrob Robert Pattinson inside the pages of Vanity Fair magazine, he was sharing the spotlight with some of his Twilight costars in order to promote the first Twilight film. R. Pattz wasn’t even showcased on the magazine’s cover! This time around, Pattinson has a new film to promote, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, and not only is he featured in the mag all by his lonesome but he is also featured on the magazine’s cover for his very own coverstory:

It’s been exactly one year since Twilight, the teenage-vampire book series turned film franchise, became a worldwide phenomenon, launching brooding, reluctant star Robert Pattinson into the celebrity stratosphere. Not since Leonardo DiCaprio’s Titanic era has there been a young actor so rabidly hunted by teenagers and paparazzi alike—enough that mere sightings of him with his co-star and rumored paramour Kristen Stewart make for international front-page news. For the cover story of Vanity Fair’s December issue, contributing editor Evgenia Peretz interviews Pattinson, Stewart, and a host of Twilight insiders for an intimate profile that describes how he landed the role of Edward Cullen, distills the essence of his appeal, and explores his discomfort with the hormone-fueled frenzy he inspires among his fans. Peretz, who, as it happens, profiled DiCaprio in 2004, follows the Byronic British actor from the Comic-Con convention in San Diego to the Waldorf Towers in New York City, as he prepares for the November 20 release of Twilight’s sequel, New Moon. There are no wild nights out at clubs—even if he could go out without being mobbed, Pattinson would prefer to curl up with a good book. Rather than working his way through supermodels, Pattinson, who’s been living out of three suitcases for the past year, has been feeling overwhelmed, self-conscious, and guilty. “I’m trying not to drown,” he says in his hotel room at the San Diego Hard Rock Hotel, which is littered today with beer bottles, old scrambled eggs, a half-eaten Twix bar, and a dirty pair of jeans on the living-room floor. And he notices that he hasn’t made his bed. “Oh, God. Sorry about that.” “I’m unbearably self-conscious about stuff,” he admits. To the point where, while filming scenes before the army of New York paparazzi that has been following him around, he is terrified that his “ass crack is showing.” Raised outside London in a small village, with a wavering desire to be either a musician or an actor, Pattinson is painfully modest about his talent and looks, and eternally confused by his fans’ devotion. Despite the fact that he is an exquisite beauty—with perfectly formed red, red lips and a face that might have been dreamed by the Romantic poets—he thinks he resembles “a cartoon character.” One of his legs is longer than the other, which makes him look, he assures you, “like an idiot.” He’s sure he’s driving people crazy by constantly talking about how he can’t leave his hotel room. And he sees his inability to relish his fans’ reverence as his own shortcoming. “I guess I’m not the type of guy cut out to do a franchise,” he says. “I’m not much of a crowd person.”

Yeah, thus far this sounds like the Robert Pattison that we’ve come to know and lurve … painfully shy, terribly awkward and absolutely unassuming even tho he is the hottest commodity in Hollywood right now … with perfect hair!!! After the jump, check out a few photos of R. Pattz in this issue of VF and read a few more excerpts from his coverstory interview …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

Vanity Fair magazine is paying tribute to the late Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett and the late King of Pop Michael Jackson on the cover and in the pages of the September issue of their mag (on newsstands August 11). Both Farrah and MJ will share equal coverage on the magazine cover as 50% of the printing run will feature Farrah on the cover and 50% will feature MJ on the cover, subscriber copies are also split 50/50 with random covers arriving subscriber mailboxes:

Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are getting equal attention in September’s Vanity Fair. Half of the copies will feature a cover photograph of Fawcett by Bruce McBroom; the other half will feature a cover photograph of Jackson by Annie Leibovitz. Subscribers will get one of the two at random, but the magazines, which will include the same content, will be on newsstands nationwide Aug. 11. USA TODAY runs down talking points from the articles on the two celebrities, who died June 25.

Here is Farrah’s VF magazine cover along with excerpts from the coverstory:

Love. About her relationship with longtime companion Ryan O’Neal: “She’s always been the real love of his life and he’s always been the real love of her life. She never stopped loving him.” — BFF Alana Stewart

Family. On O’Neal’s “devotion” to Fawcett: “My dad’s only goal was to make sure he would be in the will. It was so disgustingly transparent as soon as she found out she was terminal. I consider him a vulture presiding over a carcass.” — Griffin O’Neal
“I hate him! He knows I have money. I made a tremendous amount of money on real estate, more than I deserve.” — Ryan O’Neal’s response

After the jump, check out Michael Jackson’s VF coverphoto and read some excerpts from his coverstory as well …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

A couple weeks ago we got our first look at the amazing promo photos that have been released from Tim Burton’s new film Alice In Wonderland, featuring the beloved literary characters The Mad Hatter (played by Johnny Depp), The Red Queen (played by Helena Bonham Carter), The White Queen (played by Anne Hathaway) and more. The new issue of Vanity Fair magazine, the one with Heath Ledger on the cover, features another look at the full-size promo photos:

These photos are the same ones we saw previously but VF mag does publish the full-size photographs that the Technicolored promo pics were based on. After the jump, check them out for yourselves …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

The late Heath Ledger is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine whose coverstory is all about Heath’s last days alive. The article compiles interviews with friends of Ledger and is meant as a tribute to the late actor’s memory. Here is the cover of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine:

Why was Heath Ledger so ambivalent about his own stardom, and what happened at the end of his life? Vanity Fair contributing editor Peter Biskind sheds new light on these difficult-to-answer questions as he writes about the actor’s remarkable talent and untimely death in the August cover story, “The Last of Heath.” In his article, Biskind explores Ledger’s final movie role, his uncertainty about Hollywood, his devotion to his young daughter, and what happened in the days and weeks leading up to his death as he battled chronic insomnia, pneumonia, and exhaustion. Here are some of the revelations contained in Biskind’s story.

Ledger’s apathy for stardom: Ledger’s friend and agent, Steven Alexander, tells Biskind that Heath “was always hesitant to be in a summer blockbuster, with the dolls and action figures and everything else that comes with one of those movies. He was afraid it would define him and limit his choices.” According to friends of Ledger’s, one of the reasons he agreed to do Dark Knight was that the unusually long shoot would give him an excuse to turn down other offers. Alexander tells Biskind that Ledger had a pay-or-play deal on The Dark Knight—meaning he’d get compensated no matter what—so he felt he had the freedom to do whatever he wanted as the Joker. According to Pecorini, Ledger hoped his performance would be so far-out he’d be fired, and thus become the beneficiary of a lengthy, paid vacation. “He was ready to bust out of the gate, but he didn’t want to step on the gas and become something that he didn’t want to become: a matinee idol,” says Alexander. “He was a private person, and he didn’t want to share his personal history with the press. It just wasn’t up for sale.

Altho we’ve been forced to deal with so much new death in just the past week (Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson, Billy Mays) it is still very difficult to process that Heath Ledger has already been gone for more than a year now. The Dark Knight is currently playing on HBO on a daily basis and I cannot help but watch it over and over again … marveling at Heath’s amazing performance. He truly was an amazing actor. He is still very much missed. After the jump, check out a few photos of Heath that accompany this piece in Vanity Fair magazine …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

Johnny Depp, star of the upcoming film Public Enemies, is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Altho Depp’s interview with the mag has yet to be published online, VF teases that it was conducted by contributing editor Douglas Brinkley on his private Caribbean island and gives some info on how the whole thing came about. Here is Johnny’s Vanity Fair coverphoto and the deets made available about the interview:

Ever wonder what it would be like to take a vacation with Johnny Depp on his private Caribbean island? Vanity Fair contributing editor Douglas Brinkley, who, like Depp, was a close friend of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson, did just that. As he reports in the July cover story, “Johnny Depp’s Great Escape,” it’s pretty damn great. With no handlers or publicists in sight, Brinkley, Depp, and three of the actor’s best friends set off from the Bahamas on Depp’s yacht to a 45-acre tropical paradise called Little Hall’s Pond Cay. Here are some choice nuggets from Brinkley’s travelogue:

Depp also talks to Brinkley about the experience of filming his new movie, Public Enemies; his favorite Hollywood icon (and what she ordered when he had dinner with her); his approach to acting and the toll it can take on him; and which famous fictional character he’d like to play. To read the complete article, pick up the July issue of Vanity Fair, which is on newsstands in New York and Los Angeles on June 3, nationwide on June 9.

OMG … what a great opportunity for Brinkley and Vanity Fair — I don’t know that any other publication has ever been afforded this kind of opportunity. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have such access to Johnny Depp on his private island … insane! I must read this article when it gets released. In the meantime, we have a bunch of photos from this issue of VF to content ourselves with — check ‘em out after the jump …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

Jessica Simpson is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Unfortch for her, the cover is prolly the fuglist one that the magazine has ever published … ever. The fugness has nothing really do with Jessica Simpson herself (tho, I should confess that I don’t really like the picture of her that was chosen for the cover) and everything to do with the horrible, jumbled use of texts and graphics. It looks like a total confusing mess. Here is Jessica on the cover of the June issue of Vanity Fair along with a portion of her coverstory interview (which was shared by her Dallas Cowboys beau Tony Romo):

Having professed her love for Tony Romo – whom she’s been dating since Thanksgiving 2007 – Jessica Simpson now has the Dallas Cowboys quarterback speaking up about her. “We’re very similar in that we both appreciate the hometown feel to a lot of things, and live our life like that,” Romo, described as “big, easy, handsome,” tells the June issue of Vanity Fair (on sale in New York and Los Angeles May 6 and nationally May 12). “She comes to a ton of games,” he says. “She’s a supportive girlfriend.” Not that this has been unanimously viewed as an advantage. In what at the time was perceived as a curse – and, as Vanity Fair’s Rich Cohen points out, in Texas where the Cowboys are a religion, Simpson’s dating Romo is like she’s dating the Pope – the couple vacationed in Mexico before the Cowboys lost to the New York Giants in the 2008 NFL playoffs. The Giants, meanwhile, went on to win the Super Bowl. According to Romo, 29, between games, “A lot of people head to Vegas, go back to their hometowns, colleges, and stuff. I was just like, ‘Let’s rent a house and sit around and watch football.’ It seemed like a good decision. But when you’re in the public eye, things can be perceived differently.” He adds, “You know, it’s very hard when you lose, because games are important, and so many people put so much time and effort in. It’s nice to have someone to come home to and try and make you feel better.” Simpson, 28, concurs. “That’s how the story goes,” she says. “Can’t help it. But we don’t let it affect our relationship. If we did, we wouldn’t be together, because it happened at the very beginning. Dating the Cowboys quarterback comes with hype, the fans, the bloggers, but I’ve never dated a guy that was more simple. I’m always there for him after a game, and he knows he has me to come home to.” Home is definitely an important refuge, because, as the profile also chronicles, life isn’t always easy for Simpson. Her “sudden weight gain,” though apparently now under control, left her looking “less than slender,” the magazine reports. Then there are her professional highs and lows, which include a not particularly enviable movie box-office record and a musical identity that is anything but constant, prompting Sony Music head Tommy Mottola to say, “I think she absolutely needs to re-invent herself.” At the same time, Mottola (who signed Simpson to her first label, in 1997), warns Simpson against flip-flopping between pop, Christian rock and country music – and thereby confusing her audience. In the face of such challenges, Simpson, underscoring her spiritual self, says, “We all go through trials, but not one thing has ever made me question God. I have a great relationship with God. I can talk to him, get mad at him, frustrated with him. But, ultimately, my faith is what defines me.” Besides, she adds, “There will always be another opportunity, another door to walk through.”

Ugh, the cover is really bad … but good for her for scoring the VF cover in the first place. She really doesn’t have anything of interest to talk about with the mag. I guess I’m not entirely sure why she got the cover in the first place … she’s got no new movies on the horizon (nor any old movies worth talking about) and no new album about to be released (she actually just got let go from her Country music label) … AND it’s not even football season to make Romo’s participation in the interview relevant. The entire feel of her VF coverpiece is focused on her apparent shortcomings and setbacks. Is any of this really worthy of a magazine cover? Surely the magazine, at the very least, published a stunning photoshoot to offset the lackluster interview … right? After the jump, check out a few photos from Jessica Simpson’s Vanity Fair photospread and judge for yourself …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »

The newly wedded Brazilian beauty Gisele Bündchen is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of Vanity Fair magazine. Somewhere along the way, Gisele lost some of her clothing in a couple of the photos but … I think that the the point. Here is Gisele’s sexy VF mag cover and a portion of her coverstory interview wherein she talks about love at first sight and how she believes that hubby Tom Brady’s son with Bridget Moynahan is really hers:

When Gisele Bundchen met Tom Brady, it was love — or something like it — at first sight. “I knew right way — the first time I saw him,” she tells Vanity Fair recalling that she thought “That is the most beautiful, charismatic smile I’ve ever seen” when she first met him. They sat and talked for three hours. “You know that feeling of, like, you can’t get enough? From the first day we met, we’ve never spent one day without speaking to each other.” Sounds like love at first sight. “Love is something that grows, that comes from nourishment; it builds.” she clarifies. “But there is a great feeling that happens, that is telling you, I don’t want to leave this room! Whatever that’s called, that’s what happened.” Then things got complicated. Brady had recently broken up with his three-year girlfriend, actress Bridget Moynahan. Soon after he started dating Gisele, Bridget revealed she was having his baby. On her own. “It was definitely a surprise for both of us,” Gisele admits. “In the beginning you’re living this romantic fantasy; you’re thinking, This can’t be true, it’s so good! And then, Whoops—wake-up call!” Now Gisele says the challenge strengthened her commitment to her now husband. “I think it was a blessing, because otherwise I don’t think I would have known what he was made of, and he wouldn’t have known what I was made of…. It made me feel more in love with him; it made me realize who he was. Our relationship has become so much stronger, and I think I wouldn’t be as certain as I am today if it weren’t for that.” Still, she’s never met Bridget. Although she considers Bridget’s son to be, well, her son. “I understand that he has a mom, and I respect that, but to me it’s not like because somebody else delivered him, that’s not my child. I feel it is, 100 percent,” Gisele says. “I want him to have a great relationship with his mom, because that’s important, but I love him the same way as if he were mine. I already feel like he’s my son, from the first day.” What a lucky little boy! And lucky big boy too.

Truth be told, can you blame the woman for caring so deeply about the child of the man she loves. While it may not be an ideal situation (especially for Moynahan), I do think it’s great that Gisele would profess so much love for Tom’s son. I’m actually surprised that Gisele and Bridget have never met, I mean I get it but, I’m still surprised. I think it would really be in the little boy’s best interests if all of his parental figures got along … but that’s neither here nor there, I guess things will work out in the long run if they’re meant to. After the jump, check out the photos from Gisele’s pretty stunning VF mag photospread …

READ THE REST OF THIS POST »