As Twilight’s reluctant bloodsucker, Vanity Fair’s December cover star has made teenage girls (and their mothers) swoon. To accompany Evgenia Peretz’s profile, which addresses Pattinson’s relationship with co-star Kristen Stewart and Hollywood’s doubts about casting him as Edward Cullen, VF.com presents the second of five slide shows featuring outtakes from his epic session with photographer Bruce Weber.

Yeah, yeah … we read excerpts from the interview last week and, most likely, many of you already have this magazine in your possession. So let’s get to the outtakes, shall we? Check ‘em out after the jump …

LOL … these photos are SOOOOO dramatic. The piano pics? C’mon … hilarious. While many of these pics are kinda sorta a’ight, I guess I expect a little more from Bruce Weber. After all, he is the photographer that kinda sorta got the Abercrombie & Fitch catalog yanked from publication for photographing nude models in compromising positions … why couldn’t he have used some of that flair in these photos?

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It’s welcome news that Charles Ad­dams—“the van Gogh of the ghouls”— and his perfectly defective American family are coming to Broadway later this season. The immortal Addams family has been a macabre musical waiting to happen ever since the classic 1960s TV series. Besides, the show has at least two assets that make it a neat fit for Broadway: it’s about a dysfunctional family and it’s a cartoon. The Addams Family stars the undisputed king of Broadway musicals, Nathan Lane, as the gallant, dapper layabout Gomez. (The irrepressible Lane even looks like a living cartoon.) The smashing Bebe Neuwirth makes for inspired casting as the slinky matriarchal goth, Morticia. The haute creepiness of the fun-house world of the adorable Morticia and Gomez is, as the jingle goes, altogether ooky. Yet it seems that the utterly nonconformist Addamses are, in their blissfully weird way, timely apostles of acceptance.

I’ve been a fan of The Addams Family since I was a kid … something about the macabre feel of the show (which felt more palpable than, say, The Munsters which is another dark TV series that I loved to watch as a kid) really resonated with me. Fun story: My mom put out a vase of thorny roses and I got the scissors and cut off all the rose buds just like Morticia did on the show … needless to say my mom was pissed as hell and I couldn’t understand why. I was even a fan of the movie versions of these characters. I cannot even express how excited I am to learn they are making a musical production out of The Addams Family. Bebe Neuwirth as Morticia and Nathan Lane as Gomez are PERFECTLY cast. I’m also a fan of Jackie Hoffman (who I fell in love with once I saw her in Xanadu: The Musical) and I think she will make an excellent Grandmama. After the jump, check out a fun behind the scenes video from this photoshoot and get introduced to the entire cast of The Addams Family: A New Musical …

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 …

Pattinson’s first role in a major film was a bit part in Harry Potter, which ended up bringing him to the attention of Twilight’s producers. But if he had his way, he’d stick to playing awkward, tortured outsiders. [Pattinson’s director from the indie film How to Be, Oliver Irving,] recalls, “he’d make his eyes water and get himself all worked up … slapping himself and doing everything he possibly could to make him feel ill,” while passersby wondered what the hell was the matter with this guy. When you play a weirdo, he explains, “You can always have an excuse… He’s a weirdo!” But Pattinson’s behavior was far from antisocial during the filming of Twilight. In the evenings, director Catherine Hardwicke remembers, Pattinson was “always drunk,” entertaining Stewart and other members of the cast in his hotel room with his guitar. A “nervous attraction” was brewing offscreen. “What Rob and Kristen had is a multitude of feelings for each other. Complex feelings for each other,” says Hardwicke. “It was what we needed. Complex, intense fascination.” Pattinson, for his part, says of Stewart: “She’s influenced how I’ve done all the Twilight stuff. It’s quite nice to have someone who is genuinely indifferent to the whole spectacle of everything.” For the record, however, Pattinson says the rumors of a love affair are false: “It doesn’t make any difference what you say [to the tabloids]. I’ve literally been across the country [from Kristen], and it’s like ‘Oh, they were on secret dates!’ It’s like ‘Where? I can’t get out of my hotel room!’ ” Stewart is even more emphatic: “It’s so retarded,” she says. “We’re characters in this comic book.”

Interesting … so Pattinson and costar Kristen Stewart have “complex feelings” for one another, you say? While I am pretty convinced that the couple have never been romantic with one another, I think I can understand what Hardwicke is trying to say. These two young actors were thrust into a worldwide phenomenon that inspires INSANE amounts of fandom, which is heady biz for anyone put in that same situation. I bet Pattinson and Stewart really only have one another to look to and share the insanity with … because each totally understands what the other may be feeling/dealing with. If you want to see more photos and read the entire Vanity Fair article/interview then you’ll have to pick up the December issue when it hits newsstands this week.

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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 …

Love. “No I don’t date, no. I like girls and everything, but [laughs] … Oh, you think I’m one of those? No! I’m just not that interested right now.” — Jackson in February 1977

Family. On conflicts with family: “I’ve always tried to do everything first-class. Use people who are the best. But it was a different story with the family. And the fact that it was the biggest tour that ever happened, and my success had been so overwhelming, it’s as if they’re wanting to throw darts at you, too.” — Michael Jackson in 1984 after the Jacksons’ Victory Tour
On Michael’s accounts that he was not allowed to participate in sports and dating: “We all rehearsed constantly, we rehearsed together, and that’s how we got to where we are today.” — Brother Marlon Jackson in an October 1987 interview

To be honest, none of this is new to me and I’m sure it’s not new to many of y’all. This tribute issue to both Farrah and Michael seem to be just the latest in a string of magazine tributes that are being marketed as collector’s issues. I do commend Vanity Fair for giving equal treatment and coverage to both stars … while there have been no shortage of tribute magazines to the late Michael Jackson, it’s nice that VF decided to treat Farrah’s death with the same coverage. I’m prolly gonna pass on this issue but I’m sure there are many folks out there who will be wantin’ to pick up their copy … or two.

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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 …

Mia Wasikowska as Alice Kingsley:

Johnny Depp as The Mad Hatter:

Helena Bonham Carter as The Red Queen:

I am so in love with this movie already … based on just the promo photos. Is that wrong? Meh, who cares … I’m just so excited. I can’t wait to see more. While the movie doesn’t open in theaters until next year, there’s bound to be more fun promo stuff coming our way in the months leading up to the film’s release. Woot!!

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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 …

It is really wonderful seeing him look so happy … so vibrant. I’m gonna make sure and pick up this issue of VF mag … if only to be reminded on what a gift we had when Heath Ledger still lived.

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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 …

Johnny Depp is just cool as hell. I am really looking forward to this VF piece as well as the release of his film Public Enemies this Summer.

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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 …

Snoozeville. I have to say that I am very surprised that Vanity Fair magazine would devote so much coverage to someone who really doesn’t have anything going on right now. No offense to Jessica but what about her life right now is coverstory worthy? If you are at all interested, you can read Jessica’s VF interview online HERE … mebbe you’ll find something of value in there. I couldn’t find anything worth writing home about. The whole thing is just … meh.

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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 …

She’s deffo the hotness. These pics are pretty sexy yet classy. Tom Brady is a very lucky man to wake up to a beauty like this everyday. Wouldn’t you agree?

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Le sigh. In addition to this Spring’s Fighting, Tatum will also appear alongside Christian Bale, Johnny Depp and Marion Cotillard in the gangster flick Public Enemies (natch, Channing Tatum plays the infamous Pretty Boy Floyd) and, of course, will portray the live-action version of Sgt. Duke Hauser in the Summer blockbuster G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra. Yes, there is a lot of Channing to look forward to in theaters this year. After the jump, check out a few more outtake photos of Channing from this Vanity Fair photospread — there is more dreaminess to be had …

Ha … he looks really happy in that last pic. I kinda don’t want to say that I think it looks like is going on in that pic ;) But, I digress … Channing Tatum may look a bit like a hunky meathead and, unfortch for all, he’s engaged to be wed but … that doesn’t mean we can still swoon over him, right? Who’s with me?

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