VANITY FAIR

DECEMBER 2008 NO. 580 | VANITYFAIR.COM

FEATURES

ISN’T SHE DENEUVELY? | 272

After five nominations, Kate Winslet may get the Oscar she deserves, doubling-down with back-to-back tours de force in The Reader and Revolutionary Road. Invoking France’s cinematic queen, Catherine Deneuve, for photographer Steven Meisel, the 33-year-old Brit tells Krista Smith about re-igniting the on-screen flame with Leonardo DiCaprio, life as a New York mom, and her continuing struggle with her self-image.

ONE KNIGHT AT BIRDLAND | 278

Bruce Weber and Bruce Handy spotlight jazz master Sir George Shearing, who is rifling toward his 90th birthday.

THE SECRETS OF HIS SUCCESSION | 280

Building an empire is one thing; founding a dynasty is another. At Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., all eyes and ears have been on the balance of power among his four older kids and the ascent of his third wife, Wendi Deng. In an excerpt from his new book on Murdoch, Michael Wolff profiles a family with issues. Portrait by Annie Leibovitz.

THE LAUGH SUPPER | 288

Peggy Sirota and Rich Cohen spotlight Judd Apatow, king of 21st-century comedy, whose next ensemble film, Funny People, stars one of his oldest pals: Adam Sandler.

THE TWILIGHT ZONE | 290

The phenomenal, Harry Potter-like success of Stephenie Meyer’s teen vampire book series, “The Twilight Saga,” and other bloodsucking best-sellers has Hollywood sharpening its teeth. From this month’s Twilight movie to the new HBO series True Blood, James Wolcott checks out the beautiful and the fanged of the Gossip Girl generation. Photographs by Peggy Sirota.

VOICE OF AMERICA | 294

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and Diane Johnson spotlight Toni Morrison, whose book A Mercy goes deep into the U.S. psyche.

THE NEW YORK TIMES’S LONELY WAR | 296

With most of the U.S. media withdrawn from Iraq, only The New York Times seems determined to stay the course. From inside the paper’s fortified Baghdad bureau, Seth Mnookin reveals the psychological and physical dangers that have faced the likes of John F. Burns, Dexter Filkins, and Alissa J. Rubin as the dramatic headlines of 2003 turned into a complex, difficult story that no one wants to read. Photographs by Benjamin Lowy and Jonas Karlsson.

FRANCO CUM LAUDE | 302

Doug Inglish and David Kamp spotlight James Franco, the sleep-deprived star of this month’s Harvey Milk biopic.

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DECEMBER 2008 NO. 580 | VANITY FAIR.COM

FOR DETAILS, SEE CREDITS PAGE

IT HAPPENED IN HITSVILLE | 304

Fifty years ago, songwriter and impresario Berry Gordy Jr. decided that the musicians he discovered should get paid, so he started his own label—Motown—which would change the racial and musical landscape of America. The men and women behind 100-plus chart toppers give Lisa Robinson an oral history of life at the Detroit studio known as Hitsville—and what really happened with the Supremes.

THE MONARCHS OF MOTOWN | 316

Berry Gordy Jr., Smokey Robinson, Martha Reeves, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, and other Motown legends pose for a historic portfolio by Annie Leibovitz.

FANFAIR

31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE | 153

Center stage: dancer Roberto Bolle leaps onto the American scene | 153

The Cultural Divide | 156

Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type | 158

A. M. Homes votes for Milk; Bruce Handy hits the jackpot with Slumdog Millionaire; Leslie Bennetts spotlights Horton Foote | 160

Mountaintop dining reaches new heights | 162

My Desk—Richard Meier | 166

Private Lives—the Webster heats up Miami’s fashion scene | 168

My Stuff—Mark Ronson; Damian Woetzel celebrates 50 years of Alvin Ailey | 170

Punch Hutton’s annual holiday Hot Gifts | 172

The season’s best beauty booty; John Ortved discovers L’Occitane’s leading ladies | 180

COLUMNS

WALL STREET LAYS ANOTHER EGG 190

Tracing the global financial system from its Renaissance origins, through the Great Depression, to 21st-century Detroit, economic historian Niall Ferguson makes sense of a senseless crisis, explaining how Planet Finance imploded.

BLOOMBERG WITHOUT BLOOMBERG | 206

With its ruthless competitiveness, its singular business model, and its bizarre editorial culture, Bloomberg News has continued to expand even as the media business shrivels. Under the new stewardship of former Time Inc. chief Norman Pearlstine, reports Seth Mnookin, the brainchild of New York’s mayor is poised to become the most consulted news source in the world. Photographs by Nigel Parry.

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FROM MAYFAIR TO DUBAI | 220

Over the past few years, Richard Caring has acquired a virtual monopoly on elite London dining establishments: Annabel’s, the Ivy, Le Caprice, and a dozen more. Can he turn their snob appeal into a global empire? Evgenia Peretz catches up with the increasingly high-profile restaurateur as his plans for a luxury franchise draw squeals of outrage from Mayfair society.

HALL OF FAME | 230

Amy Fine Collins nominates Dawn Russell, who has joined with Estee Lauder to give teenage girls a boost (and a spritz) of self-esteem. Portrait by Pamela Hanson.

HOUSE OF WAR | 232

In Kosovo’s fight for independence from Serbia, Ramush Haradinaj’s savage victories earned him the nickname “Rambo”—and the post of interim prime minister—before landing him in front of a war-crimes tribunal in The Hague. After an acquittal, William Langewiesche follows Haradinaj home, to learn the only law that he and his clan obey. Photographs by Jonas Karlsson.

THE MANSION TRAP | 254

Veronica DeGruyter Beracasa de Uribe swept publishing scion Randolph Hearst off his feet—and to the top of New York and Palm Beach society. Seven years after his death, her Hearst stepdaughters were astonished to find she was $45 million in debt. Vicky Ward traces a proud widow’s financial spiral, beginning with the mortgage on a house she couldn’t afford: her 52-room Florida villa.

VANITIES

PALMER D’OR | 267

Cormac McCarthy cooks pasta with Craig Brown; Howard Schatz captures Greg Kinnear in character | 268

Henry Alford gets rappers confused with desserts; That Was Then and This Is Now | 270

ET CETERA

EDITOR’S LETTER | 114

CONTRIBUTORS | 118

LETTERS The Last of Marilyn | 138

FAIRGROUND | 183

CREDITS | 339

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Roger Moore | 342

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