VANITY FAIR Special Edition

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22 WHAT COULD GO WRONG?

One year after Envelope-gate, the Oscar telecast is barreling toward an entirely new challenge: how to juggle the demands of celebration, entertainment, and cultural reckoning. By NICOLE SPERLING

26 INTHE MOMENT

With special access to one of Hollywood's big nights, our photographer delivers some unexpected images in a 12-page portfolio. By GREG WILLIAMS

38 UNCHARTED WATERS

The enemy of Fox Searchlight Pictures and its splashy roster of homegrown productions? Familiarity. By RERECCA KEEGAN Photograph by JEISTIN RISHOP

40 MASTER CRAFTS

Meet the nominated artisans who, mixing engineering and ingenuity, transported moviegoers beneath the water, into outer space, and back in time. By JULIE MILLER

44 STUFF OF LEGEND

An exclusive look at historic Hollywood artifacts as a company town finally gets its own museum. By RERECCA KEEGAN

46 TEARING UP THE CARPET

Actresses, designers, and entertainment journalists are rethinking the red carpet as #TimesLJp shares the limelight. By RERECCA KEEGAN

50 CAMPAIGN SEASON

Snapshots from the coast-to-coast parties, festivals, and ceremonies that heated up the race.

52 INDELIRLE WOMEN

Following a banner year for womens voices offscreen, unforgettable female characters rocked the cineplex too. By KATEY RICH Photo illustrations by SEAN MCCARE

56 DIRECTORS' CUT

I.F:S critic handicaps the five best-director candidates in what is clearly the year of the auteur. By RICHARD LAWSON

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58 FESTIVAL GAZE

The Sundance Film Festival, launchpad for both Get Out and Call Me by Your Name, ushered in 2018 with fresh evidence that moviemaking is alive and well. By NICOLE SPERLING Photographs by JUSTIN BISHOP andCHIARA MARINAI

62 EPIC VICTORY

Two decades after Titanic swept the Oscars, James Cameron recalls its strange top-dog/ underdog journey. By RERECCA KEEGAN

COLUMNS

8 THE SOCIAL CONTRACT

Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's The Square grew from family lore into art installation into Oscarnominated satire. By EMMA STEFANSKY

10 SOUNDS RIGHT

Authenticity was the driving force in voice-casting for two best-animation contenders, Coco and The Breadwinner. By JOANNA RORINSON

12 THE GREAT PROJECTOR

The images people see change the way they think. Just ask Frederick Douglass. By FRANKLIN LEONARD Illustration by RARRY RLITT

16 BEYOND THE HASHTAG

The activist who tweeted #OscarsSoWhite in 2015 argues that diversity is good box office too. By APRIL REIGN Illustration by RARRY RLITT

20 INSIDE DOPE

Bryan Fogel's documentary on performance-enhancing drugs was hijacked when a secondary character made global headlines. By JULIE MILLER

Et Cetera

6 OPENING CREDITS

68 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE

Laurie Metcalf Illustration by RISKO

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