VANITY FAIR

FOR DETAILS, SEE CREDITS PAGE

October 2003

no. 518

FEATURES

270 THE ADMIRABLE CLOONEY As he wraps up work on the Coen brothers' Intolerable Cruelty, George Clooney is balancing professional risks with his usual pranks. Visiting the actor at his new villa on Italy's Lake Como, Ned Zeman learns how Clooney copes with paparazzi (point them at Brad Pitt), tyrannical directors, and amateur burglars. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

276 LIBERIA'S SAVAGE HARVEST Peacekeeping forces have arrived. Rebel turned president Charles Taylor has departed. But after a 14-year civil war, Liberia has been brutalized beyond measure, prey to diamond smugglers, arms dealers, and al-Qaeda. In the nightmare landscape of random death, Sebastian Junger witnesses the agony of a forsaken people. Photographs by Teun Voeten.

282 A CLASSIC LINE Nathaniel Goldberg and Francesca Stanfill spotlight the fashion force of Carolina Herrera and her daughters, Carolina junior and Patricia Lansing.

284 GOYA'S FIERCE LIGHT Francisco Goya y Lucientes is called the father of realism, but his formal innovations were just one aspect of a genius that plumbed human pain and pleasure. In an excerpt from his latest book, Robert Hughes uses Goya's paintings as windows into the Spanish master's impulsive, independent psyche—and tells how they opened the mind of an Australian teenager.

290 HOOKED ON SUPERSONICS The era of superchic, supersonic air travel ends this month with the Concorde's final flight. David Kamp reflects on its 27-year history: the famous frequent fliers, the engineers and executives who made Mach Two thrills available to anyone with $ 12,000, and an eleventh-hour bid to keep the fleet aloft.

296 THE RETURN OF QUENTIN TARANTINO In the mid-90s, Quentin Tarantino defined Hollywood heat. But a six-year directing hiatus prompted whispers that he'd blocked his last ultra-violent action sequence. No fear, Peter Biskind reports: Tarantino sees Kill Bill, a two-part kung fu thriller starring Uma Thurman, as his true follow-up to Pulp Fiction. Portrait by Annie Leibovitz.

300 LASTING VALOR Art Streiber and Scott Gummer spotlight that increasingly rare breed of heroes—the ace fighter pilots whose bravery lit the skies in World War II.

302 HIGH BOHEMIA For an international circle of artists, writers, and celebrities—Colette and Tallulah Bankhead, Truman Capote and Alec Guinness, Tennessee Williams and Jean Renoir—Karl Bissinger was the photographer on the scene. With images from Bissinger's new book, Gore Vidal recalls their post-World War II idyll.

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OCTOBER 2003

FAN FAIR

97 31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Like Mother, Like Son—Sophia Loren stars in her son's directorial debut, Between Strangers. Bruce Handy reviews Matchstick Men and The Station Agent. Elissa Schappell's Hot Type. Patricia Bosworth on Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin: Amy Fine Collins on Audrey Hepburn, an Elegant Spirit: A Son Remembers. Krista Smith with hen mom Sloane Tanen; Henry Alford on Olivia's hero, Ian Falconer. Lauren Tabach-Bank and Punch Hutton stay up after hours. Michael Hogan on the Rapture; A. M. Homes on artist Jim Sanborn. Helen Schulman on author Tamasin Day-Lewis; Mike Sacks labors at The Office, on the BBC. My Stuff: fashion diva Steven Cojocaru; Hot Looks; David Colman cleans up the Femme Fatale sisters.

COLUMNS

128 A LIBERATING EXPERIENCE Mainstream-media coverage of postwar Iraq has been unrelentingly gloomy. But watching America's "smart army" work with Iraq's best and brightest to conquer the forces of chaos, Christopher Hitchens gets a very different picture.

140 MSNBC'S FOX HUNT Third in the ratings behind CNN and Fox News Channel, MSNBC is suffering from a cynical attempt to clone the competition. Scanning its recent lineup of talking heads—including the departed Michael Savage, the flag-waving Joe Scarborough, and the blustery Chris Matthews—James Wolcott argues that the cable-news network is ignoring its greatest asset: its news.

154 GALLERY FOR SCANDAL In this month's diary, Dominick Dunne investigates a blossoming New York scandal. Did the Upper East Side antiques dealer steal from his well-known former boss, or is he a victim of circumstance? Portrait by Snowdon.

162 SAVING THE SAUDIS In the days immediately following 9/11, when civil aviation was severely restricted, private jets began to hopscotch the U.S., picking up wealthy Saudis and Osama bin Laden's relatives before heading to the Middle East. The F.B.I. never interviewed the passengers. Craig Unger asks how the war on terrorism took a backseat to the Bush family's long, lucrative relationship with Saudi Arabia's ruling dynasty.

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202 HALL OF FAME David Friend nominates British filmmaker and activist Jeremy Gilley, who dared to dream of a global cease-fire day—and cared enough to make it happen. Portrait by Julian Broad.

204 WHAT WOULD FRANK SAY? Las Vegas was created as a desert Shangri-la. A. A. Gill, who went to see Celine Dion in her $95 million Caesars Palace Colosseum, found it took every ounce of irony he possessed.

210 PRINCESSES BEHAVING BADLY Both of Princess Grace's daughters have been gossip-sheet fodder from birth. But today Caroline is among Stephanie's harshest critics. Judy Bachrach explores the scandals and the heartbreak behind Monaco's royal feud.

SPECIAL REPORT

223 THE NEW ESTABLISHMENT 2003 V.F'.s annual roundup of the top 50 powers in media and technology reveals an infusion of Washington politics and a resurgence in deal-making energy.

VANITIES

261 GRINNIN' BARRETT Neal Pollack is home free, almost. George Wayne raps with music mogul Russell Simmons. V.F. Camera: the U.S.O. in the Middle East.

ET CETERA

64 EDITOR'S LETTER Fly the Friendly Skies ...

68 CONTRIBUTORS 84 LETTERS Tragic Choices

334 CREDITS

336 PLANETARIUM Let it go, Libras

338 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Joan Didion

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