VANITY FAIR

June 2005

No. 538

ON VANITYFAIR.COM THIS MONTH:

•STAR WARS, THEN AND NOW

•JAMES WOLCOTT'S BLOG

•THE ULTIMATE LIST OF GANNONGATE LINKS

FEATURES

154 SEX AND THE SINGLE MOM Angelina Jolie's powers of seduction have gotten some press lately, and she has admitted to having a couple of lovers on tap. But the most important man in her life, she says, is her three-year-old son. With the upcoming release of Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the romantic comedy in which Jolie plays opposite Brad Pitt (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), Nancy Jo Sales gets a surprisingly complex portrait of the 29-year-old star. Photographs by Annie Leibovitz.

162 WRONG MAN, WRONG PLACE An obscure reporter called Jeff Gannon seized his moment in the spotlight at a White House press conference by asking President Bush a stunningly softball question. Soon liberal bloggers had unmasked him as a former gay escort whose real name was James Guckert, and were crying conspiracy. David Margolick and Richard Gooding dissect Gannongate. Photographs by Nigel Parry.

166 LEE FRIEDLANDER'S DRIVING VISION In almost half a century as a dispassionate, ironic witness, photographer Lee Friedlander has dissected every aspect of America, re-assembling the landscape in startling new ways. As MoMA opens a massive retrospective of his work, Vicki Goldberg chronicles the journey.

170 STEVE WYNN'S BIGGEST GAMBLE With his wildly successful Mirage, Bellagio, and Treasure Island casinos, Steve Wynn became the closest thing to a sure bet on the Strip. As the developer opens his 217-acre, $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas, Nina Munk learns about the compulsive betting of his father, the loss of his sight, and the epic vision behind his latest gamble. Photographs by Todd Eberle.

176 ALPHA BROADWAY Lights, curtain, action! Norman Jean Roy and Michael Hogan spotlight the Hollywood stars who are gunning for Tonys this season on the Great White Way.

178 ROAD TRIP! Adrenaline junkies, start your engines. With the seventh annual Gumball 3000 about to depart London, V.F. has the scoop from the 2004 event, a six-day, two-continent cannonball run of 192 supercars and jalopies. Hitching rides from a motley crew of playboys, eccentrics, and speed freaks, George Gurley discovered the thrill of demolishing the speed limit and the horror of watching a crash unfold at 140 m.p.h. Photographs by Julian Broad.

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186 THE FULL TONY Annie Leibovitz and Sam Kashner spotlight Tony Curtis, who's celebrating his 80th as only he would dare—in his birthday suit.

188 SINATRA AND THE MOB Frank Sinatra always denied his ties to the Mafia, and neither government investigators nor the press could make the rumors stick—until now. In an excerpt from their new book, Anthony Summers and Robbyn Swan finally uncover the full extent of the immortal crooner's connections with Lucky Luciano and other infamous Mob figures.

FANFAIR

71 30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE

Good ol' boys—The Dukes of Hazzard are back. Elissa Schappell reviews Michael Cunningham's Specimen Days. Lisa Robinson charts the summer music festivals. Ingrid Sischy on Bryan Adams's snapshots for charity; Wayne Lawson on Jock Soto's last dance. John Brodie skates Venice with the Lords of Dogtown. Bruce Handy recalls My Summer of Love; Henry Alford on juicy beach reads: The Twins ofTriBeCa and The Washingtonienne; Martha's Vineyard celebrates the 30th anniversary of Jaws. Edward Helmore goes backstage at Jon Robin Baitz's The Paris Letter; Leslie Bennetts on the sexy trailer for Gore Vidal's Caligula; World Beat. My Stuff: Zac Posen; Hot Looks.

COLUMNS

92 CAUTION: WOMEN SEETHING Harvard president Lawrence H. Summers sparked an explosion by suggesting "intrinsic aptitude" might explain the shortage of top-ranked women in science and engineering. Then the L.A. Times's Michael Kinsley was savaged for the lack of female bylines on his op-ed page. James Wolcott predicts the battle of the sexes has just begun.

100 LONDON CALLING (AND DISHING) Finally free of legal nightmares, Dominick Dunne takes his diary to London, where he hears the royal scuttlebutt, shares high society's obsession with the shocking murder of financier Edouard Stern, and reflects on the deaths of Terri Schiavo and Johnnie Cochran. Photograph by Jillian Edelstein.

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106 NO JOKES, PLEASE, WE'RE LIBERAL If Fox News were truly fair and balanced, would it be as fun to watch? While the right enjoys a laugh, Michael Wolff argues, media liberals have become the new conservatives: a stodgy, humorless Ivy League elite. Illustration by Ross MacDonald.

114 FAUST IN THEIR CLASS John Huba and Wayne Lawson spotlight the male stars of the Metropolitan Opera's Faust, who look as great as they sound.

116 HE BELIEVED IN MIRACLES John Paul II's death was met with countless tributes and commemorations, but one aspect of his legacy got very little play. Focusing on his extreme faith in the supernatural, John Cornwell reveals the damage the late Pope's conservatism inflicted on the church he loved.

126 THE JOURNALIST AND THE MURDERER Days after Michael Finkel was fired from The New York Times for creating a composite character, he found himself with a scoop he could never have invented. In an excerpt from his upcoming book, Finkel describes his bizarre relationship with a killer, who impersonated him, then gave him back his life. Photograph by Christopher Anderson.

VANITIES

145 READY FREDDIE Intelligence Report: Secret Societies. George Wayne meets adman turned chat-show host Donny Deutsch. Ed Coaster's Catch-22.

ET CETERA

46 EDITOR'S LETTER The Forgotten War

50 CONTRIBUTORS

60 BEHIND THE SCENES Star Time

62 LETTERS The Ultimate Luxury Model

90 PLANETARIUM Get some sun, Gemini

220 CREDITS

222 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Sue Mengers

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