Saturday, December 08, 2007

Vanity Fair's Hollywood ~Episode 1 (1995)

At the risk of becoming a shill for Condé Nast I want to talk about those Vanity Fair Hollywood covers. They emerge in winter/spring each year and they're usually the talk of the town(s). Let's take a trip backwards and see how this photographic/promotional shrine to stars both lasting and un has morphed over the years, to witness its prophetic moments and its stupid ones, all before the next cover lands. Sound like fun?

The first one hit in '95 calling its lingerie'd ladies "the class of 2000" ~ Starstruck I was.


Left to right: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett and Sandra Bullock. The idea embedded in the title was that these were fresh careers and they were only going up, up, up. How famous were they at the time and, come 2000, how were they doing?

...............I'm playing Hollywood Historian.

Jennifer Jason Leigh --the crouching focus puller, was already quite famous. Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Single White Female and Shortcuts were behind her (amongst many others) but the next few years weren't exactly rosy. The year this cover hit she was 33 and it was arguably the last of her always shaky A-list status: Georgia failed to deliver her the Oscar nomination many expected and the Stephen King adaptation Dolores Claiborne failed to turn into another Misery at the box office. By 2000 people weren't paying much attention and she was doing voice work and small parts in indies. She's back though this year with Margot at the Wedding. Is that elusive first Oscar nomination finally in sight?

Uma Thurman had been enjoying the spoils of fame since she was 18 when she had pulled off her nightgown in Dangerous Liaisons and stood naked like Venus on a shell in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. When this cover image was released she was 25 and full of fame adrenaline from that needle plunge in Pulp Fiction which had just brought her her one and only Oscar nomination. She was also between husbands, Gary Oldman recently divorced and Ethan Hawke yet to come. By 2000 her career was also floundering (but to be fair her career has been a yo-yo of hits and misses since the beginning) but it wouldn't be long before Kill Bill resparked the fires of Umaphilia everywhere.

Nicole Kidman was 28 and most famous for being "Mrs. Tom Cruise" though she had already made Dead Calm and Flirting (pluses in the 'take me seriously as an actress' column) and a few dumber Hollywood pictures. To Die For, the career changer, was just months away. Vanity Fair wasn't too far off with their Class of 2000 idea. Kidman entered the pantheon of true movie stars by 2001 with the triple explosion of Moulin Rouge!, The Others and the shaking off of the Mrs. Cruise mantle.

Patricia Arquette was 27 in 1995 and had won her first significant group of fans through her violent prostitute role in True Romance (1993) and this same year became Mrs. Nicolas Cage. Her stardom didn't really grow much past the level she had already achieved here but as the lead in TV's Medium she's doing fairly well for herself now.

Linda Fiorentino just turning 37 was the oldest covergirl but she had just made a big splash in The Last Seduction. Her smoky sexually charged performance brought her Oscar talk but there was no happy ending to the story. Due to a television airing somewhen somewhere the film was disqualified. Even at the time as a young amateur Oscarologist I didn't think it would happen. I figured 'just ask Kathleen Turner' --she had made an even more successful erotic splash to become a critical darling the previous decade in Body Heat only to be ignored by AMPAS. Fiorentino later appeared in the smash Men in Black but never became a true "star" and hasn't appeared in a film since 2002.

Gwyneth Paltrow was 22 when this cover debuted and somehow got to wear clothes when the rest of the girls were in bedroom gear. Unfair! Aside from her familial connections (daughter of Hollywood players) and strong reviews for her memorable supporting work in Flesh and Bone (1993) she was not well known. 1995 would change all that. She had just begun dating Brad Pitt (they met filming Se7en which would debut in September that year) and in so doing was on her way to becoming a household name and starring in Melissa Etheridge videos. That's what Brad's girls do. Three years later, Brad Pitt-less, she would win the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love (1998), the first of only two women here to do so.

.........But for me in the mid 90s it was all about the last fold.

Sarah Jessica Parker at 30 had been famous for as long as Jennifer Jason Leigh. Four years prior to this cover she had improbably reinvented herself as a sexy sassy supporting movie player in L.A. Story (1991) saving her blah television career from its slow death. Well reviewed turns in Honeymoon in Vegas (1993) Ed Wood (1994) and Miami Rhapsody (1995) kept her star rising but it was the decision to return to television with Sex & The City (debuting in 1998) that made her a superstar. By 2000 she was big.

Julianne Moore at 34 was about to break. She had won a daytime Emmy in 1988 but her rise through the movie ranks was slow: as a star she's been a tortoise rather than a hare. [safe] 's release was a few months away but even that film, crucial to the Moore mystique, took years to build its critical reputation and fandom. When 2000 rolled around, just as the title of this magazine predicted, she was a major leading actress and already a two time Oscar nominee for Boogie Nights (1997) and The End of the Affair (1999).

Angela Bassett on her way to 37 had a huge breakthrough with What's Love Got To Do With It (1993) and her star was shining brightly. After this cover she had two more lead performances in hits both major Waiting to Exhale (1996) and minor How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998) --bigger hits than some of the others managed-- but her star still faded. It's maddening (see previous post for more on the plight of black actresses)

Sandra Bullock was fresh off the smash success of Speed (1994), about to turn 31 and prove her own Keanu free bankability in While You Were Sleeping (1995) and would continue to prove it for years thereafter remaining one of the mainstreams favored stars. She hasn't had a big hit since 2002 though and methinks she's transitioning to supporting roles in her mid to late 40s.

now

median age: 30
collective Oscar nominations before this cover: 2
collective Oscar nominations after: 7 --and most of those are Julianne's. 2 wins: not Julianne's. grrrr
fame levels in 2007 according to famousr, from most to least: Nicole Kidman, Sandra Bullock, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Uma Thurman, Julianne Moore, Patricia Arquette, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Linda Fiorentino

Did you like this trip back in time. Want more?
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subsequent episodes: 1995 ,1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2001
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25 comments:

mB said...

Great post Nat, can't wait for the next episodes :)
Call me obsessed, but this was a fun and insightful experiment!

Slayton said...

Did they make one of these for the 2010s?

I'd say:
Amy Adams
Evan Rachel Wood
Ellen Page
Sienna Miller
Emily Blunt
Keira Knightley
Rose Byrne
Abbie Cornish
Saoirse Ronan
Kelly MacDonald
Leslie Mann
Kerry Washington

I wish:
Mary Elizabeth Winstead
Carla Gugino
Marguerite Moreau
Brittany Murphy
Julianne Nicholson

Slayton said...

You can add Rinko Kikuchi to the 'I Wish' list. God, I love them.

I'd put Vera Farmiga down but I see her becoming another JJ Leigh.

Juno Temple and Eva Amurri are good...

Stop me before I talk further.

Slayton said...
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Slayton said...
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Anonymous said...

I LOVE this sort of pop culture history/retrospective/listing/archiving for posterity sort of thing, thanks for doing it Nathaniel. I also want that cover, so many of my faves there.

Anonymous said...

That was fun and pretty interesting. Let's do it again some time.

J.D. said...

I miss Linda Fiorentino. :(

(I also share a birthday with her.)

par3182 said...

more, please

Glenn Dunks said...

This was fascinating. This - "[Linda Fiorentino] hasn't appeared in a film since 2002" - on the other hand, was very sad. She was sooo good in The Last Seduction.

What I find strange though is that so many of the women in the photo shoot look miserable or sad and it is Angela Bassett who is the only one smiling. Ange always struck me as very serious so how she got the only smile is kinda strange. What exactly is SJP wearing though? Yikes.

THey did some good predicting though on the Kidman, Bullock, Gwyneth, SJP and Juli. I really wish Uma became a hugh massive superstar though. I wish they all did actually (although I can give or take Arquette) but Uma will forever be one of those great lost opportunities of total domination.

Nat, how do you know what Gwyneth wears to be and what she doesn't? I imagine she likes to wear a nice evening dress to bed every now and then :P

Deborah said...

Love the time travel. Definitely keep it up!

Anonymous said...

As an inexplicable Sandy devotee, I must inform that, however sad it is, Premonition was her largest opening weekend. Ever.

Anonymous said...

Wow, great post! It makes you wonder why certain people rise to fame, and other people don't...the more cynical side in me says it's based on luck - but I know good role selection has a part in it.

It's also interesting to think about a current "Class of 2012"...who among our current bevy of young actresses would make it? Have the pressures of being a young actress changed as talboid media becomes more prevalent? Interesting, interesting things to ponder -- and I can't wait for the next installment.

evermoon said...

whip-smart: great choices, particularly emily blunt and amy adams. they're gonna be huge. i'm so excited about "sunshine cleaning," their film together.

Anonymous said...

loved it nice to see what went wrong or right,could you do another year,although bullock has not had a big hit crash,the lake house,premonition & miss congeniality 2 all made around 50 mil +,she does better than kidman at the b/office.

Anonymous said...

kidman. why no mention of "portrait" ever? am i on the minority when i say that it's her best performance still?

-ryansumera

Anonymous said...

why the heck is Bullock barefoot?

Anyways,
The most successful of the bunch is Jennifer, I have to say. She´s the one who never compromised and remained true to herself and her artistry, always opting for bold and interesting choices. That is how I define success.

Joe Reid said...

Loved the hell out of this, Nat. Defintely do more.

Dr. S said...

Yes, yes, awesome. I love the VF covers; there's always something to like and something to think, "Whaa?" about. I'm excited to see more!

NATHANIEL R said...

why IS sandra barefoot?

theories are welcome. solve that 12 year old mystery people!

Neel Mehta said...

Why is Sandra Bullock barefoot? Take your pick:

1. "I'm the next Julia Roberts," she keeps telling people. "She goes barefoot, so do I."

2. Gargantuan feet on that woman, and nothing at the photo shoot would fit. (Same applies to Gwyneth Paltrow, which explains her concealing dress.)

3. 20 feet, 18 shoes. Nice girls finish -- and pose -- last.

Anonymous said...

I would love to see more! I love these VF things too. My favourite one though wasn't a cover, but a 'rising stars' shoot with Rachel Mcadams, Catalina sandino Moreno, etc inside the 2005 hollywood issue. It was a way better group than the one that was on that years cover.

Anonymous said...

My favorite, Uma, is not really part of the Hollywood clique. She's a Mom first, a New Yorker second and thirdly she has many interests outside the silver screen. If she never made another film again, she'd would keep working as a fashion and accessory model. The bottom line is that there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all that she does. I, for one, am a "huge" fan of her work and of her as a person....Bill

Anonymous said...

I read the previous post on black actresses and felt the frustration regarding Bassett. WHY???

I also find it interesting that the median age of the women is older and the portion who have sustained notoriety is at least slightly higher than the men.

Anonymous said...

If I were to make a list now, I’d include:

Amy Adams
Emily Blunt
Isla Fisher
Bryce Dallas Howard
Michelle Williams
Evan Rachel Wood