VANITY FAIR

May, 2002

No. 501

Features

LEADING BLONDE A teen-set idol, Kirsten Dunst is still a teen herself, only now leaving the family nest for a place of her own. But with lead roles in Peter Bogdanovich’s latest film, The Cat’s Meow, and Sam Raimi’s forthcoming Spider-Man, she’s declared herself a contender for full-fledged stardom. Michael Shnayerson discovers that the Valley Girl next door is game for almost anything, except nude scenes. Photographs by Mario Testino.168

CAME LOT'S SON For the staff of George, the boss just happened to be a constant paparazzi target, the World’s Sexiest Man, and the bearer of a uniquely powerful American legacy. In an excerpt from his memoir of working alongside John Kennedy Jr., Richard Blow, the magazine’s onetime editor, offers intimate recollections of dinner at Kennedy’s Tribeca apartment, glimpses of the happiness and turmoil in John’s marriage to Carolyn Bessette, and the most authoritative picture yet of those final, stormy days before tragedy struck .... 176

MACHINE OF DREAMS Sure, Jay Leno, Diane Sawyer, and Sting loved riding the Segway scooter, which was finally unveiled last December, but is multimillionaire inventor Dean Kamen’s engineless people mover really going to end the reign of the automobile? John Heilemann has the story behind the most eagerly anticipated new technology in decades— the pursuit by a top Silicon Valley venture capitalist, the ongoing struggle between commerce and genius—as well as another extraordinary Kamen machine that could power a global revolution. Photographs by Todd Eberle.184

THE FRANCO FILE When James Franco won a Golden Globe for his TV-movie portrayal of James Dean, the reaction was, essentially, “Who?” Bruce Weber and Ned Zeman spotlight the coolly chiseled young actor whose performances in Spider-Man and City by the Sea will soon have audiences saying, “Oh, James Franco”—and fans cooing, “Oooohhhh, James Franco!”.188

THE EXPLORER'S HEART Reaching the peaks and the poles, descending to the ocean’s depths, and making the clouds their home—these are the challenges that have driven the likes of Sir Edmund Hillary, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and Thor Heyerdahl. Today, when base camp at Everest resembles Yosemite on Labor Day, Jonas Karlsson photographs 10 of the greatest living explorers, Scott Gummer hails their triumphs, and Hillary recalls his historic conquest, among other adventures.190

THE LADY WAS AN ADMAN In the 1950s, the advertising industry was the Madison Avenue of legend, with a pack of mavericks breaking away from the stodgy, gray-flannel-suited past. Mary Wells Lawrence went even further, becoming the first woman to head her own agency. In an excerpt from her autobiography, Lawrence tells how she made the business more colorful, fell head over heels for a top client, and, with a little help from Princess Grace, turned the villa La Fiorentina into her own best advertisement.206

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Fanfair

31 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE Open Target—Philippe Starck’s designs on the home. Hot Reels: Bruce Handy reviews Enigma and Eric Rohmer’s The Lady and the Duke; Coming Attractions—Walter Kirn stays up with Insomnia. Elissa Schappell’s Hot Type; A. M. Homes on German photographer Thomas Struth. Mangia, mangia— Helen Schulman on chef and cookbook author Mario Batali; Edward Helmore glimpses Bright Young Things: London. Evgenia Peretz on the fashion world’s newest darling, Zac Posen; Hot Looks unveils the sweet smells of spring; designer Cindy Greene’s animal instincts.71

Columns

PLANET SALGADO Sebastiao Salgado, lauded for his stirring portraits of Third World toil, migration, and famine, has aimed his lens at the suffering caused by polio. Christopher Hitchens follows him to the slums of Calcutta, where Salgado campaigns to inoculate children against a vicious but preventable scourge, which could be eradicated by 2005.88

THE SHOCK OF THE OLD Pop culture has hit the rewind button. From Stephen Ambrose and David McCullough to C-SPAN, the History Channel, and Ken Burns’s documentaries, James Wolcott dissects the current history boom, the plagiarism scandal that has authors scurrying to check whose words are whose, and the threat from recent attempts, by Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush, to commandeer the past.104

THREE FEUDS AND A WEDDING Depravityand royalty, murder and marriage: Dominick Dunne mixes the high life and the lowdown as he turns his diary pages on Gary Condit, the death of Princess Margaret, dinner at the Woody Allens’, Kennedys and Skakels in court, Elizabeth Taylor’s bad edit, and, last but hardly least, Liza Minnelli’s fourth walk down the aisle.112

IRAQ'S ARSENAL OF TERROR The threat from Saddam Hussein appears even greater with new information from another high-level Iraqi defector involved in the regime’s arms program. In David Rose’s exclusive debriefing, a former top Mukhabarat official describes smuggling radioactive waste for “dirty” bombs, turning bio-weapons facilities into undetectable mobile units, and moving closer to a ballistic missile that could reach into southern Europe.120

DEUCE OF SPADES In the beginning was the bag, the Kate Spade handbag, a must-have accessory that soon became a museum piece. Laura Jacobs profiles the couple responsible for the beautifully spare design of bags, eyewear, a men’s line, and now, in partnership with Estee Lauder, beauty and fragrance products: Kate and Andy Spade, for whom love and business seem to be a perfect match. Portraits by Eric Boman.132

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SIRENS FOR SCANDAL With their “3 A.M.” column forThe Minor, Jessica Callan and Eva Simpson have become London’s hottest gossips, courted and feared by celebrities, publicists, and aspiring stars. If there’s no story out there, they’ll make one happen. Nancy Jo Sales tags along on a champagne-fueled hunt for Russell Crowe and discovers why the 3 A.M. girls’ nightly sorties lead to such irresistible breakfast reading.142

Vanities

BART STAR Meet Nan Darien’s nephew Jerome and discover what’s poisoning the youth of today. Forever-young Dick Clark, celebrating 50 years ofAmerican Bandstand, grandstands for George Wayne. Henry Alford imagines a disturbing world: What if the Cat in the Hat went on a bender with Elizabeth Wurtzel and the Lorax? Out & In: cloned cats, Tara Reid, and the real axis of evil.153

Et Cetera

EDITOR'S LETTER. 48

CONTRIBUTORS. 52

LETTERS: House of the Brave 60

CREDITS. 232

PLANETARIUM: Mind your waistlines, Tauruses! 234

PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE: Donna Karan. 236

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