VANITY FAIR

AUGUST 1999 No 468

Features

EXTREME NORTON 128

Branding each role with a miraculous mix of intellect and instinct, Edward Norton is his generation's answer to Hoffman, De Niro, and Pacino. As the 29-year-old star of American History X opens in what may be the decade's most controversial movie, David Fincher's Fight Club, Peter Biskind learns how Norton has taken Hollywood to the edge. Photographs by Herb Ritts.

LITHE SPIRIT 134

Robert Erdmann and Leslie Bennetts spotlight actress Saffron Burrows, a stunning six-footer who takes on biomedically altered sharks in Renny Harlin's action thriller Deep Blue Sea.

KUBRICK 136

In addition to 13 films, including Dr. Strangelove, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, and this summer's Eyes Wide Shut, Stanley Kubrick left behind a legend of near-mad obsession. But as Michael Herr, Kubrick's longtime friend and the co-screenwriter of Full Metal Jacket, recalls, those who were drafted into the director's cinematic army found warmth, humor, and a genius that perfectly melded life and art.

DANGEROUS BEAUTY 152

Patricia Duff's exquisite face and romantic escapades have made her the talk of three towns. Marjorie Williams follows her perilous path from Washington, D.C., to Los Angeles, to New York, where the tabloids are feasting on Duff's courtroom battles with her fourth ex-husband, billionaire Ronald Perelman, and on her latest power liaison, with Senator Robert Torricelli.

A TOUGH GUY IN TAILS 158

Bruce Weber and Steven Daly spotlight former British soccer sensation Vinnie Jones, whose role in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels gave him some Hollywood muscle—and a part in Jerry Bruckheimer's latest big-budget production, Gone in 60 Seconds.

SEASONS IN THE SUN 160

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Four Seasons restaurant— whose banquettes are filled daily with A-list publishers, pols, and moguls—Mimi Sheraton relives the inspired birth of America's first contemporary restaurant and chronicles its emergence as the mecca of the power lunch. Photographs by Michael O'Neill and Todd Eberle.

MARRIED, WITH TIGERS 170

How did two young immigrants from Germany turn a love of magic, exotic animals, and flamboyant costumes into the most successful entertainment act in Las Vegas history? Exploring the splendiferous domain of Siegfried and Roy, Matt Tymauer discovers what has kept a family of 55 tigers, 16 lions, and two finely chiseled, middle-aged "boys" casting its spell for 40 years. Photographs by Michel Comte.

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Columns

BRILL'S BULLY PULPIT 52

A year ago, Steve Brill debuted his media review, Brill's Content, with a sizzle. Since then, James Wolcott argues, Brill's warring roles—journalism maverick and verbose magistratemay have doomed his magazine to irrelevant mediocrity.

THE FAMOUS AND THE DEAD 66

The case of former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has become an international cause celebre. But, Buzz Bissinger reports, those championing Abu-Jamal's fight for a new trial face a stubborn foe: the widow of the policeman he was convicted of murdering in 1981.

HALL OF FAME 80

Wayne Lawson nominates the Brooklyn Academy of Music's outgoing president, Harvey Lichtenstein, for luring the world's premier talents to a once unfashionable borough. Portrait by Annie Leibovitz.

THE ESSENTIAL BROOKS 82

Stewart Shining and Leslie Bennetts spotlight Albert Brooks, whose new movie, The Muse, is a comic portrait of Hollywood angst.

CIRCUS MAXIMUS 84

Artists, lords, lads, and ladies—the camera caught all at V.F.'s toast to its European edition at the Criterion Brasserie in Piccadilly Circus.

MURDER MOST YALE 86

Following the stabbing of Suzanne Jovin, a brainy, beautiful Yale senior, on December 4, her thesis adviser emerged as a chief suspect. But police have yet to make an arrest. Suzanna Andrews investigates the mystery and its shattering effect on an Ivy League community.

Vanities

DANIEL'S BOON 113

New York Press publisher Russ Smith proves that the speed dial is mightier than the sword; vicious circle—diagramming the 90s.

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER: Grand gestures 42

CONTRIBUTORS 44

LETTERS: Little boys lost 48

CREDITS 191

PLANETARIUM: Lay off the books, Leo 198

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE: Sandra Bernhard 200

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