Vanity Fair articles from February 2007

Vanity Fair archives from February 2007

Billionaires and Broadsheets; Maybe none of the billionaires lining up to buy a newspaper-e.g., David Geffen, Ron Burkle, Eli Broad, Hank Greenberg-know what they would be getting into.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Wolff I was invited the other day to stop in for an off-the-record visit with one of the really, really rich men who are lining up to buy the country's biggest newspapers. In addition to his own billions, he had lots of...

One From the Heartland; John Mellencamp has for years gotten the cold shoulder from critics.(Biography)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Frank Digiacomo Running a hand through his rooster comb of a pompadour, John Mellencamp lets out a raspy laugh. "I have always been at the wrong place at the wrong time," he says in a Hoosier twang. We are sitting in the rehearsal...

Blood Oil; Could a bunch of Nigerian militants in speedboats bring about a U.S. recession.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Sebastian Junger On June 23, 2005, a group of high-ranking government officials were convened in a ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., to respond to a simulated crisis in the global oil supply. The event was...

Hayden Panettiere.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Krista Smith AGE: 17. PROVENANCE: Rockland County, New York. CURRENTLY SERVING HUMANKIND AS... Claire, "the Cheerleader," on NBC's breakout hit Heroes. "[The show] just sort of plopped in my lap," Panettiere says. "I was walking...

The First Lady Treatment.(Imelda Marcos)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... Byline: George Wayne Former Filipina First Lady Imelda Marcos, 77, is known as much for her shoe collection and family controversies-the Marcoses were accused of looting as much as $10 billion in assets from the Philippines before her...

Blue is the New Red; One of the hoariest truisms-"What goes around comes around"-is about to get a real workout in Washington as the Democrats take the Hill.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Todd S. Purdum On the eve of the election last November, Jon Stewart, the most trusted fake newsman in America, began The Daily Show, on Comedy Central, with an animated musical primer on the next day's festivities, recycled from...

Panic on K Street; How are Washington's top lobbyists dealing with post-election whiplash.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Christopher Buckley Memorandum December 7, 2006 To: Staff, Renard Strategic Communications From: Rick Renard, C.E.O. Re: Repositioning in a Post-Republican Environment, or "It's a Dem, Dem, Dem, Dem World" ...

Demi Gloss; Ten years ago, at age 34, Demi Moore was Hollywood's highest-paid actress, half of the world's biggest celebrity couple (Bremi.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Krista Smith "Hey, sexy," Demi Moore purrs into the phone in her unmistakable smoky growl. We've been getting along fine, but I don't think she means me. Then she explains: her husband, Ashton Kutcher, has just appeared at a...

Prisoner of Conscience; Given his popular status as a maverick war hero, John McCain has a good shot at winning the 2008 presidential election-if he can get his party to nominate him.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Todd S. Purdum The audience is just the kind that makes John McCain feel most alive: a couple of thousand fresh-faced, corn-fed college kids still idealistic enough to believe an Honest-to-God American Hero who tells them that they...

Black Mischief; Facing trial in Chicago for massive criminal fraud, Conrad Black, once chairman of the world's third-largest newspaper group, Hollinger International, has retreated to his Toronto childhood home, vowing to take the stand and expose the conspiracy against him.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Maureen Orth Conrad Black, Canada's most famous non-citizen, is home again in Toronto, awaiting trial in Chicago in March on 14 counts of criminal fraud, racketeering, obstruction of justice, money-laundering, and mail and wire...

A Model Mogul; As a supermodel, Tyra Banks bared her booty for everyone from Sports Illustrated to Victoria's Secret.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Nancy Jo Sales I'm very gassy," says Tyra Banks, telling Janet Jackson about her irritable-bowel syndrome. "But I feel like I can telegraph my farts.... If it is going to be funky I'll let it out and I'll be like 'Dang! Who did...

Magic Act.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Edward Helmore "It won't be billed as a comedy, but I certainly hope to hear laughter," Joan Didion says of the stage adaptation of her 2005 memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking. The David Hare-directed play, opening on Broadway at...

An Empire of Her Own; When you're a glamorous socialite with a white-hot fashion-and-lifestyle empire, people are bound to snipe.(Company overview)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Michael Shnayerson One rainy evening last November, a modern-day version of Mrs. Astor's 400 filled Avie and Gigi Mortimer's sumptuous maisonette, on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It was a festive occasion-a 50th birthday for the...

LOS ANGELES BLOOMING ORCHIDS.
February 1, 2007... What Tom Ford hosted a dinner party for 100 close friends at Cut, Wolfgang Puck's new steak house in Beverly Hills. Guests toasted Ford's new fragrance, Black Orchid. When November 16, 2006. Who Darren Star, Camilla...

MIAMI STATE OF THE ART.
February 1, 2007... What Cocktails and dinner hosted by Leonard Lauder at the Raleigh Hotel, in celebration of Art Basel Miami Beach. When December 5, 2006. Who Amy Cappellazzo, Larry Gagosian, Calvin Klein, Brooke de Ocampo, Giuseppi...

Sidney Poitier; The definition of a perfect gentleman, Sir Sidney Poitier has beguiled audiences for more than 50 years.(Interview)
February 1, 2007... What is your idea of perfect happiness? When my consciousness, my instincts, and my values are in tune with the universe. What is your greatest fear? Mankind's unwitting extinction by its own misdeeds. Which historical figure...

The Measure of the Man (or Woman).(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Graydon Carter I have always thought you could take the measure of a man by his sports manners-that is to say, the way in which he conducts himself on the playing field, or even over a game of chess or cards. Former president Bill...

The Great Divider.(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... I do not think that there is a dichotomy, as suggested in Todd Purdum's thoughtful Karl Rove portrait ["Karl Rove's Split Personality," December], between Rove's ruthlessness and his thin skin. Schoolyard bullies are often the loudest wailers...

The Cultural Divide February.(Belinda Carlisle)(Aline Kominsky Crumb)
February 1, 2007... 6 Belinda Carlisle is back with a voice that's deeper and sultrier than ever on Voila, her first new album in 10 years. The Go-Go's front woman has gone beyond the Valley (unless you count the Loire) with a collection, sung entirely in French,...

Hot Tracks.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Lisa Robinson Norah Jones fights for your digital rights. Fearless (and smart) enough to sell an advance, unprotected MP3 of her new single online, Jones has managed to maintain control of her career despite the fame, fortune, and...

The Kids Are All Bright.(Starter for Ten)(Movie review)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Bruce Handy Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to be clever." Those are the first words we hear in Starter for Ten, echoing the opening narration of GoodFellas and thus promising a searing, violent exploration of the clever...

Avenue of Dreams.(Avenue Montaigne)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Byline: -a. M. Homes Avenue Montaigne, a deftly joyful, nuanced comedy from director Daniele Thompson, is this year's official foreign-language Oscar entry from France. Set on the infamous avenue named after French writer Michel de...

Avon Calling.(Jillian Dempsey joined Avon Products Inc.)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Byline: Christine Muhlke Jillian Dempsey, the makeup artist behind the faces of Kirsten Dunst and Kate Winslet, is now the global creative-color director for the Avon company. Her first limited-edition collection arrives in February,...

MUSICAL SCENTS.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Jessica Flint Kenneth Cole and Jon Bon Jovi have teamed up to raise awareness about homelessness. Proceeds from the fashion designer's new men's fragrance, R.S.V.P., are being donated to the musician's Philadelphia Soul Charitable...

LAPS OF LUXURY.
February 1, 2007... Byline: Christine Muhlke Shu Uemura is going to great depths to moisturize your skin. The new Depsea Therapy Moisture Skincare line uses water taken 1,000 feet below sea level off Japan's Cape Muroto. "Water is an essential part of all...

Why Are British Sex Scandals So Much Better Than Ours? Comparing Washington sex scandals with those of Britain's political class is enough to cause any red-blooded American to blush with shame.
February 1, 2007... Byline: James Wolcott When I read the flirty e-mails and instant messages from Congressman Mark Foley to assorted cuddle buns of the male denomination, I was embarrassed, truly embarrassed-not only for Mr. Foley, but for myself, as an...