REEVED UP

Letter

Many thanks for the extremely inKeanu Reeves profile ["Young and Restless," by Michael Shnayerson, August]. The author filled in many of the details missing from other Keanu articles. I saw Keanu's performance in Winnipeg and agree with critic Roger Lewis that "he is Hamlet." I'm happy to see an actor devoted to his craft because of his sheer love of it and not for the money. Bravo, Keanu!

JANICE YANNONE

Waco, Texas

Keanu Reeves should have been "The Mild One," rather than "The Wild One." Michael Shnayerson suggests that Mr. Reeves gave up "the chance to be his generation's Schwarzenegger or Stallone." I suggest that he's much morelikely to be our generation's Cary Grant. As to his being currently "homeless": Keanu, you can stay at our house anytime!

VICKI CHRISTENSEN

Carol Stream, Illinois

Great article on Keanu Reeves, but how can you call him "The Wild One"? He has great tenacity as an actor and also, it seems, in his personal life. It's a rare individual today who listens to himself and does that which is true to what he hears. He is not wild—I say he is real.

JANE ARMSTRONG

Mount Laurel, New Jersey

Brad Pitt notwithstanding, only a guy whose first name means "cool breeze" can make the hottest month of the year even hotter.

RENÉE NEWBOLD

Newport News, Virginia

All I can say is "Brad who?"

WENDY PERRY

London, Ontario, Canada

Brad who?

MARIA MILIO

Yonkers, New York

It must be very difficult to interview a subject as elusive and mercurial as Keanu Reeves, to compose a responsible, sensitive piece about him doubly so. Michael Shnayerson's article represents this wonderful actor beautifully.

CATHERINE COOKE-CANITZ

Las Vegas, Nevada

I'd take Robert Mitchum any day before your cover "boy" Keanu Reeves.

MARY ANN FALSETTI

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I am particularly intrigued by Keanu Reeves's comparison of himself to Mickey Mouse. Sorry! Mickey Mouse is an "actor." Mr. Reeves is a "movie star."

LYNN BEATTY

Rochester, New York

A hundred thanks for finally putting Keanu Reeves on your cover. The article really captures the essence and passion of this man, who is known as an enigma in Hollywood. The only unfortunate thing is that people still view him as "Ted," and that will be a stigma he will carry for the rest of his career.

As for the mystery of his sexuality: whether he is straight, gay, bi, or transsexual does not take away at all from his body of work.

LORI GLUMAC

San Francisco, California

I had the good fortune to see Keanu's final performance of Hamlet in Winnipeg. We went to snicker, and were pleasantly surprised by his even, sincere portrayal.

I think it is wonderful that we have in our midst an actor who is seemingly not driven by greed or celebrity, but instead yearns to perfect his craft.

CONNIE CHAMPAGNE

San Francisco, California

No one in "young Hollywood" can boast a curriculum vitae as impressive as Keanu Reeves's. And he managed to accomplish it in his quiet, gentle fashion without trashing hotel rooms, packing "heat" when he goes through airport security, or bagging every model/bimbo pseudo-actress of the week! The directors Bernardo Bertolucci, Kenneth Branagh, Francis Ford Coppola, and now Alfonso Arau can't all be wrong.

D. MACDONALD

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Contagious Reading

Congratulations to V.F. and Laurie Garrett on the fantastic piece on the Ebola virus ["Plague Warriors," August]—thoughtful, brilliant reporting and writing.

RICHARD STEPLER

Editor, Popular Science

New York, New York

Thank you for publishing an article on the deadly Ebola virus. Hats off to Garrett and her inspiring piece! Let's hope that articles like this will cause us to question our cornucopian approach to life on earth.

ASHLEY CHILES

Austin, Texas

Your article on the tragic Ebola rampage carried an unexpected nugget in confirming that Pat Robertson is digging for diamonds in Zaire.

Several months ago, on one of the many televangelist programs, an official of Zaire held forth on how his "entire country," especially the wretched and despised dictator General Mobutu Sese Seko, had found Jesus.

I was puzzled; now I'm not. The Zairean elite are digging for renewed U.S. respect, which they think can be won with born-again fervor and an appeal to the Christian right. With the blessing of his newfound disciples, Robertson is digging for diamonds, fattening his wallet, and presumably further enriching the already wealthy general, all at the expense of an abused country and its citizens.

There's no hypocrisy or avarice too great for this crowd; Pat and the despoilers of impoverished and diseased Zaire deserve each other. One can only imagine the conditions under which the diamond workers toil, and wonder if they receive bread, water, and Scripture in equal doses.

Meanwhile, the population is fed lies and enslaved in a poverty without end. One wonders how the people of Zaire can possibly bear the combined evils of Ebola, a brutal dictatorship, and the false hope held out by that outrage to Christianity, Pat Robertson.

DON COULSON

Sunnyvale, California

Carly Unplugged

Marie Brenner's piece on Carly Simon ["I Never Sang for My Mother," August] may be the finest profile of a popular icon I have ever read. Brenner portrays Carly, her sisters, and her mother not only as damaged people but as rather mythic characters in their own rights.

LEE WHITE

Canterbury, Connecticut

I was very touched by Marie Brenner's article on Carly Simon. One gets the feeling that Carly Simon is telling this story of her family not for attention but to communicate what so many of us at this stage in our lives are coming to realize: the profound effect that our parents' relationships with each other, their children, and others had and still have on us. A true testimony of love and forgiveness.

MARY DORAIS

Tucson, Arizona

Your Carly Simon article deserves much praise. Carly Simon deserves even more. Who in this world can honestly say he's had a happy childhood? We all have ghosts, skeletons, perhaps even demons in our closets. For Ms. Simon to openly come to terms with her life's past is highly admirable.

Baby, you're the best.

ROSE PIETERS-EMERICK

Duarte, California

As a longtime friend and neighbor of the late Andrea Simon, I feel compelled to present another view of this unique woman.

Andrea's concern for others was legendary. No one went to greater lengths to right wrongs and to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate. Decades of involvement in countless community activities earned her the Woman of the Year award for her leadership here in Riverdale, and her creative energies galvanized all who came into contact with her.

Of course she could be difficult, even exasperating, on occasion, but all of us whose lives she touched will remember her with affection for her compassion, her colorful personality, and her love of life.

HILDE WARING

Riverdale, New York

Sinking... Sinking...

The making of Kevin Costner's cinematic behemoth Waterworld ["That Sinking Feeling," by Charles Fleming, August] could be summarized as little children in men's bodies playing with big money.

CHARLES G. THOMAS

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Charles Fleming must have tunnel vision—or, even worse, a lack of love for movies—to suggest that Kevin Costner's standing as a superstar depends solely on the bottom line of Waterworld.

Mr. Fleming should not pity Kevin Costner or imply that his legacy lies in the success or failure of Waterworld. His legacy will be that of a great actor/filmmaker and an admirable man.

Waterworld, however large or small, will not drown Kevin Costner.

DAWN JANJIGIAN

Rosl indale, Massachusetts

Someone needs to bring Mr. Costner back down from "Planet Kevin." With expensive flops such as Wyatt Earp you'd think someone would rein in this megalomaniac. As for all the pre-release publicity, it hasn't made me even curious. He's not getting my six dollars.

CAROL GONZALEZ

Garland, Texas

I feel that Waterworld could end up being a surprise hit of the summer, and I applaud all those who are sticking with it and not running away.

DAWN CRANE

Angels Camp, California

In Charles Fleming's article on the Film Waterworld he says that its high cost threatens Universal's bottom line. This is not the case. When Seagram bought MCA from Matsushita, part of the deal was that Matsushita would take on most of the cost of the movie. So in the end Waterworld will cost MCA around $60 million, primarily in marketing and distribution costs. This figure will be a cinch to gross. Therefore, any way you slice it, the movie will be profitable for the Seagramowned MCA and Universal Pictures.

JASON HIRSCHHORN

New York, New York

Thoroughly Modern Elsa

This listing of the past boyfriends in Elsa Walsh's life ["Woodward and . . . Walsh," by Hilary Mills, August] implies that it was her liaisons with powerful men rather than her hard work and talent that directed her career advancements, the clear implication being that she followed a calculated trajectory from high-school quarterback to editor of her college newspaper to Bob Woodward at The Washington Post.

Such thinking is always used against women and cheapens the very real achievements not only of Ms. Walsh but of all women.

WILHEMINA CONDON

Seattle, Washington

The Balls of Saint Mary

Marylou Whitney's scorn of environmentalists ["Mary, Queen of Spots," by Michael Shnayerson, August] is typical of rich Republicans who bask in scenic views while contemplating the profits of land exploitation as they squawk about their God-given property rights—the right to rake in the big bucks (at whatever devastating cost) right up to the last grasp and gasp.

ALICE MULLER

Santa Cruz, California

Marylou Whitney's enthusiasm for the outdoor life seems to have turned her into the worst sort of convert—a city person who adopts the retro values of a redneck rancher once the joys of rural life are discovered, except she does none of the work on the land herself and could easily afford to ensure that her estate remains intact after her death.

Marylou Whitney should learn from the legacy of Harold Hochschild, another Adirondack land baron and one of the main reasons we still have the Adirondack Park.

SUSAN ZAKIN

Tucson, Arizona

Get a Clue!

I absolutely hated what you wrote about Alicia Silverstone ["Alicia in Wonderland," by Michael Musto, August]. You made it sound "as if' she were a lesbian and a promiscuous woman. This is an outrage. She's a sweet, young, loving, beautiful woman who needs to find the right person to love. So what!

ALAIN A ANTONI

Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada

Judge 'Eat-o'

One of the highlights of covering the O. J. Simpson trial is being in the company of great writers and authors such as Dominick Dunne. One of the lowlights is being in the company of Judge Lance Ito when you're made to feel like a naughty schoolgirl. In his August article, "If the Gloves Fit ... ," Dunne correctly quoted me as saying, "I wasn't chewing. I was sucking." However, the text indicated it was an explanation given to the judge after I was accused of chewing gum in the courtroom. In fact, I was accused of eating in the courtroom. I was guilty of quietly slipping a Life Saver candy into my mouth that day—six other reporters were also scolded, some for chewing gum, others for eating, or, well, sucking, as the case may be. Of course, the explanation makes sense in the proper context. Obviously, I was not sucking on a piece of gum!

I do wonder, though, why Judge Ito was concentrating on the candy crimes around him. While the judge focused on who was eating what, the coroner was explaining in detail how he believed the two victims had been killed. I wonder where the judge's priorities lie and if he was watching the same trial I was—as I quietly "sucked" on a Life Saver.

KIMBERLY MAROE

West Hollywood, California

Ladies of the Court

I would like to commend you on your recent article about women's tennis history ["Trouble on the Court," by Frank Deford, August]. I believe one important reason for the "absence of women leaders" today is the achievements of players such as Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and Martina Navratilova. Today, women's tennis enjoys media coverage and financial rewards comparable to those of men. One may ask who the current leaders in men's tennis are.

In my opinion, one of the most gifted leaders among all tennis players is Andrea Jaeger. She has made a life commitment in the establishment of the Silver Lining Ranch for children with lifethreatening diseases.

I am sure her satisfaction in working with these kids competes with that from any grand-slam championship. I and others wish her all the best in her cause.

DAVID C. LYDEN, M.D., PH D.

New York, New York

Young Fanatic

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Toby Young's name on your "Contributors" page ["Kent's State," August]. I was slightly disappointed to see that he got to do only a short piece, but then, that's better than no Toby Young at all.

C'mon, give the guy a long piece! I was totally bummed when the last issue of Young's Modern Review arrived with a "Dear Subscriber" letter explaining that it was ceasing publication. The arrival of The Modern Review used to be a cause for celebration. I'd drop whatever I was doing and read it cover to cover. The only other magazine to trigger such an addictive reaction was Spy.

Please be kind to recovering Modern

Review junkies. Give us an objective account of the magazine's demise. And give us more Toby Young.

MICHAEL R. PERRY

Los Angeles, California

Hole of Fame

In response to one of the letters about Kevin Sessums' fantastic interview with Courtney Love ["Love Child," June]: If Courtney Love is the Yoko Ono of our generation, then why has she had so much commercial success with Hole? And why does she have millions of her very own adoring fans?

I guess in the 1970s women didn't know that they should support Yoko. Maybe we've now learned to support and respect all of our sisters. I would expect insecure men to slag Courtney because of her power, but it still hurts and disappoints to read letters from insecure women who are threatened by her, rather than pleased for her and her great achievements.

ANNE-MARIE PUCCINI

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Peak Fair

V.F. is at its peak! I love reading the well-written stories on truly interesting subjects. Keep up the good work.

MAUREEN DILLON

Jersey City, New Jersey

Your magazine has everything: world happenings, intriguing people, fashion, a little sports thrown in for good measure, and excellent writers as well as advertisers! No one in the publishing world can equal the well-rounded magazine you put out every month.

JULIE ELLIS

Houston, Texas

What with Keanu, Waterworld, and the Ebola plague, I just couldn't put your August issue down. Thank you for offering something so many periodicals lack nowadays: insightful and intelligent writing. (Of course, your cover of Keanu didn't hurt!)

MARGARET FERGUSON

Waco, Texas

Letters to the editor should be sent with the writer's name, address, and daytime phone number to: The Editor, Vanity Fair, 350 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017. Address electronic mail to vfmail@vf.com. The letters chosen for publication may be edited for length and clarity.