Interview articles from February 2007

Interview archives from February 2007

Sticking one's neck out.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... Dear Interview, Thank goodness for Sofia Coppola [November 2006]! After she was bludgeoned by off-color reviews of her recent Marie Antoinette, I was a little apprehensive about seeing the film--would I find the director to be as talented...

The bright side.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dear Interview, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the November cover of Ryan Phillippe, and the photos inside were beyond hot. Thank you so much! I have never seen anything so beautiful (and the interview was...

A captain fantastic.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... Dear Interview, Reading Cameron Crowe's interview with Elton John in your November issue, I was reminded of what a superior artist and terrific humanitarian he is, as well as what a dedicated supporter of music in general and musical...

Vera, Vera on her wall.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... Dear Interview, My favorite line from your recent interview with my new favorite actress, Vera Farmiga [November 2006], is: "When it comes to having a career in this business, we women have the shelf life of seafood, and you guys have the...

Famous for 15 minutes.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
February 1, 2007... Dear Interview, I was Andy Warhol last night! I had a wild time at the L.A. County Art Museum's Third Annual Costume Ball, which involved hanging out with Vegas showgirls, munching on bananas, and lounging around with a copy of Interview...

Rock candy: nothing dresses a hand like a bit of chocolate and a lot of cocktail sparkler.(THE ORIGINAL BLING-BLING FLING)(Elizabeth Taylor's jewelry)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A never-ending band of gold is supposed to represent eternal love. That may be, but one of the world's foremost authorities on love, and receiving gifts from admirers, Elizabeth Taylor, has never turned up her nose...

Emile Hirsch: Hollywood might stay fat on representations of teen life that are dewy, sentimental, and cliched, but for Emile Hirsch, who takes his cues from Brando, Nietzsche, and Eminem, it's a steady diet of complicated characters. In the much-talked-about much-delayed, Alpha Dog, the season's rawest coming-of-age flick, he delves into the dark side of suburbia--and the grass is definitely not greener.(MOVIE HEAT)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In movies like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys (2002), Imaginary Heroes (2004), and Lords of Dogtown (2005), 21-year-old actor Emile Hirsch has had a chance to show his disaffection with the mainstream and his...

Jodie Whittaker: an actress who couldn't be kept down on the farm.(MOVIE TIP)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jodie Whittaker was mere months out of London's prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama when she was called to an audition with Peter O'Toole. "I was terrified," says the 24-year-old actress, who was raised...

Columbus short: a young actor dances out a history of oppression and suppression.(MOVIE SPOTLIGHT)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Columbus Short left his L.A. performance arts school when he was a 17-year-old high school senior to go on tour with the rhythm stage show Stomp. After two years of playing drums across the country, he returned to...

Justin Kirk: he's not your usual overnight success--but then that's the point.(MOVIE PROFILE)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] From his gut-wrenching portrayal of a man stricken with AIDS in Mike Nichols's star-studded 2003 HBO version of Tony Kushner's Angels in America to his memorable turn as the goofball brother-in-law of a suburban...

Emilie Simon: among all the cold, passionless robots, an electro-pop singer with thump, purr, and sizzle.(MUSIC SCOOP)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Growing up with a sound engineer father who had his own home studio, French electro-pop singer Emilie Simon's exposure to music began at an early age. "I wasn't scared by the machines," says the 28-year-old...

Elephant dancing: the who, the what, the wow, and the why.(MUSIC PICKS)(TV on the Radio)
February 1, 2007... 1 BRIAN MORTON Breakable You (Harcourt) Sometimes, as in his first novel, The Dylanist, Morton has perfect pitch--and especially writing about parties, where people have to think of something to say, a kind of discomfort that takes...

The Bird and the Bee: a side project for two part-time music buddies flies front and center.(MUSIC BUZZ)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Are we a buzz band?" asks the vocalist Inara George. "It's an odd thing because it all happened so quickly." The Bird and the Bee, a side project for George and multi-instrumentalist Greg Kurstin, flew front and...

West (Lost Highway): Lucinda Williams.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Though early whisperings about West promised it as Lucinda Williams's "love" album--suggesting that the country-folk star had finally fallen for the right man--few songs offer evidence of it. Her drawled howl echoes like the wind and the...

Wincing the Night Away (Sub Pop): The Shins.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Natalie Portman told Zach Braff in Garden State that the Shins' music would change his life, the lives most affected were likely those of the members of this sunny, cliche-killing pop quartet. Their latest...

Mind Control (Tuff Gong): Stephen Marley.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Living up to the legacy of Bob Marley would be daunting for anyone. His son Stephen's expressive voice resembles his father's, yet he still manages to sound like his own man. Mind Control is a beguilingly modern yet anachronistic stew, mixing...

Friend Opportunity (Kill Rock Stars): Deerhoof.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... After having had a revolving door policy in the '90s, this artsy San Francisco outfit finally settled into a stable lineup until guitarist Chris Cohen bailed last summer. Quelle domage. The chaos fits Deerhoof's musical style. At the top of...

A Weekend in the City (Vice): Bloc Party.(SOUND ADVICE)(Sound recording review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Bloc Party avoids any sophomore slump with a concept album whose soul-searching journey evokes a mini-Quadrophenia. Weekend proves as immediate as the band's 2005 breakthrough, Silent Alarm, and then some: The band is still mining an edgy...

Confessions of a badass mother.(SOUND ADVICE)(Evelyn McDonnell's Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids. and Rock 'n" Roll)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Mamarama isn't just the title of Evelyn McDonnell's brilliantly honest new book--it's also a state of mind. In Mamarama: A Memoir of Sex, Kids. and Rock 'n" Roll (Da Capo), McDonnell, the pop-music critic for the Miami Herald and a longtime...

Doug Aitken: with his latest film installation, artist Doug Aitken has gone for his biggest canvas yet--New York City.(View MAN)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The first months of 2007 are proving to be busy ones for multimedia artist Doug Aitken, with an exhibit of new work on view at New York City's 303 Gallery through February 24 and a large-scale, site-specific project,...

Bride and no more prejudice: nuptials take the spotlight.(FASHION RITES)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The issue of marriage has been highly debated of late. How has such an old tradition become a modern hot-button topic? The answer is love, silly! Love's optimistic power--from tabloid affairs to fairy-tale...

Larger than life: designers make a bid for the return of big glamour.(FASHION TREND)(Jayne Mansfield and Alexander McQueen)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once upon a time, a woman's pinup potential was largely determined by the extremes of her curves, rather than her ability to fit into a 00 sample. Jayne Mansfield is rumored to have landed her first TV job by...

The coat takes a bow: fashion as seen through one not-so-simple garment: the Max Mara coat.(FASHION SPOTLIGHT)(Luigi Maramotti's designs)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Max Mara is currently the subject of an exhibition titled "Coats! Max Mara, 55 Years of Italian Fashion," on view at the Staatliche Museum in Berlin until March 4, when it will likely travel to Milan, Tokyo, and...

God Grew Tired of Us.(Movie review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Review: GOD GREW TIRED OF US (Newmarket) Directed by Christopher Quinn Christopher Quinn's God Grew Tired of Us is a documentary about the travails of three "lost boys of Sudan"---children forced to separate...

The Secret Life of Words.(Movie review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Review: THE SECRET LIFE OF WORDS (Strand) Directed by Isabel Coixet Sarah Polley masterfully plays the painfully taciturn Hanna, an Eastern European emigre who takes a job as a nurse on an oil rig off the coast of England. Though she meets...

Starter for 10.(Movie review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Review: STARTER FOR 10 (Picturehouse) Directed by Tom Vaughan A college freshman, James McAvoy, is torn between two girls, Rebecca Hall and Alice Eve, and his dreams of quiz-show success in this debut effort from director Tom Vaughan and...

The Lives of Others.(Movie review)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Review: THE LIVES OF OTHERS (Sony Classics) Directed by Florian Henckel yon Donnersmarck A member of the East German secret police (Ulrich Muhe) finds himself becoming intimately engaged with his latest quarry--a playwright (Sebastian...

Two-minute Oscars.(MOVIES: REVIEWS, PREVIEWS, OUR VIEWS)
February 1, 2007... Since 1992 Interview has been mining great bite-size performances, believing that respect was due to actors whose skills gave their films snap, texture, and sometimes even an indelible place in our memories, no matter how long they were on...

Shots in the dark: a look at movies about war--as seen through the eyes of people who cover these abysses.(MOVIE COLUMN)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Situation, opening this month, is the first American feature film set in Iraq during the current occupation, which loads it with expectations. The conduit to its jittery world is a burka-clad journalist. How does...

East of Havana: sanctions may have kept most American exports out of Cuba for the last four decades, but a powerful new documentary explores how one rebellious, red-white-and-blue phenomenon-hip-hop--snuck under the radar and stirred up a political firestorm.(LENS ON THE WORLD)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Just east of Havana, at the point where Cuba's coastline starts to bend away from Florida, is the satellite city of Alamar. In that seaside spot, the lack of radio interference allows Miami music stations to be...

Passion play.(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--Interview [love] STORY)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... Anthony and Cleopatra, Romeo and Juliet, Odysseus and Penelope--they're hard acts to follow. But leave it to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton to hold their own on the stage of love. Their story together may have been over the top, over the...

Suddenly, one summer: when a friend alerted him Elizabeth Taylor was in town, he never imagined that he'd catch a glimpse inside her heart or that she'd leave a hole in his.(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--PERSONAL [love] STORY)
February 1, 2007... July 2, 1973: The phone rings. It is my friend Bill, a fanatically devoted Elizabeth Taylor fan and junior paparazzo. "Elizabeth is in New York. She's at the Regency. Nobody knows she's here. Come down and see her." Taylor had not much...

What's the one question that you've always wanted to ask Elizabeth Taylor but were afraid to ask?(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--A PORTRAIT IN QUESTIONS)
February 1, 2007... Did you find it difficult to make the transition from child star to adult actress, and was there ever a moment when you feared it wouldn't happen? Anne Hathaway Does every piece of jewelry you have signify something sentimental? Have you...

Edward Albee: in 1962 his play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? opened to wide acclaim on Broadway. four years later the film version would elicit the same reaction, becoming one of Elizabeth Taylor's most admired performances and earning the actress her second Oscar. Edward Albee lifts the curtain.(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--BEHIND THE SCENES)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... BRAD GOLDFARB: So I should start by asking you: Did you ever work with Elizabeth Taylor?. EDWARD ALBEE: We've never worked together, no. But we've met over the years in various situations. We seem to like each other. BG: Had you met...

Got stars in your eyes? The look that's Taylor made.(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--LOOK OF THE MONTH)(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In Hollywood, star power can be measured by numbers, as in the number of paparazzi trailing you, handbags named after you, golden statuettes displayed on your mantel--or lashes framing your eyes. Makeup artists at...

Small talk: one feminist's idea of heaven.(ELIZABETH TAYLOR--A CRITIC'S [love] STORY)(Interview)
February 1, 2007... INGRID SISCHY: As a rebel feminist, a rebel intellectual, and a rebel critic, I'm curious where you stand on Elizabeth Taylor. I know you've written about her, but what's your call in 2007? CAMILLE PAGLIA: I worshipped Elizabeth Taylor as a...

Letter from the editor: February 2007.(view)(Editorial)
February 1, 2007... You're looking at a first--the only issue of Interview to have the bulk of its content devoted to one individual. But then, the person in question, Elizabeth Taylor, is one of a kind. Hers is a life that is as large as it gets--so full of...

The big picture show: Elizabeth Taylor didn't become one of the most photographed women in the world by knowing how to turn it on in front of a camera. She did it by knowing how to live in front of one.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] "WE WERE REALLY JUST KIDS. WE COULD EAT AND DRINK ANYTHING, AND WE NEVER NEEDED SLEEP."--ROCK HUDSON "I'VE BEEN A BROAD ALL MY LIFE." PRIVATE? WHAT MAKES YOU THINK MY LIFE IS PRIVATE?" "'Would you like...

I confess: "be quiet, I'm watching an Elizabeth Taylor movie!".
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] "Pass me some of the fettuccine carbonara," the woman to my left said in a whisper. Some people call her the world's greatest movie star, some people call her one of the world's greatest actresses, some people call...

Here comes the intimate portrait.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] When Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall first met on the set of Lassie Come Home (1943), their lifelong friendship must have seemed written in the stars. Both were child actors born in Britain, and relocated to...

Interview by Ingrid Sischy.(Interview)
February 1, 2007... ELIZABETH TAYLOR: [THAT UNMISTAKABLE VOICE COMES ON THE PHONE] HELLO. INGRID SISCHY: Is this Dame Elizabeth? ET: Yes, it is. IS: Hello, it's Ingrid. ET: Hi, Ingrid. IS: I'm happy to hear your voice. I heard you went...

Here come the barks and whinnies.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The stars couldn't have aligned any better. MGM was a studio that liked to pair animals with child actors, and Elizabeth Taylor was a child actress who loved animals. Horses, snakes, dogs, chip-munks, chickens, cows,...

There go the assumptions about beauty.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Propelled by both those famously violet eyes and the worlds that seem to exist behind them, Elizabeth Taylor managed to prove that the combination of beauty and content could be a particularly potent mix. That...

Here come the adventures in health and haircuts.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What follows is an excerpt from an album given as a gift to Bruce Weber on his birthday from his friend the renowned hair stylist Maury Hopson. It documents the time Hopson and Taylor spent at a spa in Florida and is...

A rose by any other name: all art created exclusively for this issue of interview.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... The famous eyes are the color of violets. The rose named after her is a vivid pink. If one is going to give roses to Elizabeth Taylor, they'd better be something special. So Interview asked five knockout artists to do the honors. The result,...

Gone fishing.(Brief article)(Photograph)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] There's an old saying that a bad day of fishing is better than a good day of work. And while Elizabeth Taylor may not be as celebrated for her efficacy at casting lines and baiting hooks, she has certainly always...

There go the fellas.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] She may almost single-handedly uphold faith in the institution of marriage, but the men in Elizabeth Taylor's life have always been more than escorts to the altar. There is Roddy McDowall. There is Rock Hudson. There...

Now for the pop of pop.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Given what we know about our founding father, Andy Warhol, it stands to reason that among his greatest paintings would be the one he created in 1964 of Elizabeth Taylor (left). After all, throughout her life Taylor...

Talking to Elton John.(Interview)
February 1, 2007... BRAD GOLDFARB: Why was Elizabeth Taylor's decision in the early '80s to speak out about AIDS so important? ELTON JOHN: Because she's a woman, and because this was the time of Rock Hudson, when no one else of her prominence dared to. BG:...

Talking to Luc Montagnier.(Interview)
February 1, 2007... BRAD GOLDFARB: As the President of World Foundation AIDS Research and Prevention, and coming from the world of medicine and science, I'm curious how you view the impact of Elizabeth Taylor's decision to be a force for change around the issue of...

The hit parade: Interview asks 10 great designers to reimagine Elizabeth Taylor's costumes from some of her most iconic roles as if they were being created today.(Brief article)(Photograph)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] A Place in the Sun (1951). Reimagined for 2007 by Giorgio Armani. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Giant (1956). Reimagined for 2007 by Ralph Lauren. [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)....

The business woman.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] For this issue, when asked what prompted her to go into the lemonade business as a child, Elizabeth Taylor responded with her trademark twinkle: "It seemed the only profitable thing for a 7-year-old at the time."...

Here comes the homestead.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... As one might expect from a woman who was married eight times (twice to the same man), divorced seven times, and widowed once, the circumstances surrounding Elizabeth Taylor's progeny are as multilayered as her marital history. Taylor once wrote...

Dress for them dress for you.(Brief article)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] In the days before stylists homogenized star style, Elizabeth Taylor could always be counted on to create her own Movie Star Glamour (note the capitals) when the occasion called for it. In Taylor's case, however,...

In the beginning.(Brief article)(Photograph)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] Looking at old pictures of stars in their childhood years, one often notices the suggestion of big things to come: a distinctive charisma, a subtle charm, the way they seem to pop out of the landscape--all the...

Here comes a love gone bonkers.(Brief article)(Photograph)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Once upon a time there was a bear named Bonkers who fell head over paws in love. In this photographic fairy tale by Bruce Weber, Bonkers gets a chance to win the heart of the fair dame. Could she be on the hunt for...

The V.I.P.s.(Photograph)
February 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] 1 Jessica Seinfeld and Mario Cantone at Balthazar restaurant in NYC for a dinner honoring Elie Tahari and Rory Tahari to benefit Friends In Deed. 2 David Yurman at the Friends In Deed dinner 3 Nan Bush, Bruce Weber,...