VANITY FAIR

June 2004

No. 526

FEATURES

164 ASPECTS OF BRAD After years of favoring edgy over commercial, Brad Pitt will star as Achilles, Homer's larger-than-life warrior hero, in this summer's unrepentant $ 170 million blockbuster, Troy. At the L.A. mansion Pitt redesigned for himself and Jennifer Aniston, the 40-yearold actor talks with Leslie Bennetts about his newfound confidence, his unconventional take on marriage, and the surprising challenges of playing a demigod. Photographs by Nick Knight.

172 BILL AND HIS SHADOW Where in the world is Bill Clinton? He might be greeting a million fans in Berlin, sharing a stage with Heidi Klum in New York, jetting to Africa on a global AIDS crusade, talking up Hillary for vice president: anything to put off finishing his much-anticipated memoir. After a year on the trail of the "celebrity in chief," Robert Sam Anson reveals why Americans rate Clinton the third-greatest president in history (after Lincoln and J.F.K.)—and what is keeping his legacy from being so much greater.

178 THE QUEEN OF TEEN Mark Seliger and Ned Zeman spotlight Lindsay Lohan, star of this month's Mean Girls, who seems to be Hollywood's favorite date for the prom.

182 PRISONER OF DENVER When Lisl Auman wrote to Hunter S. Thompson from the Colorado prison where she's serving a life sentence, she hardly expected a response. Not only did Thompson reply, he launched a crusade to free her that has lasted three years. Mark Seal joins the gonzo king on his quest for justice, exposing the violence, corruption, and legal charade behind the then 22-year-old forest worker's conviction for a murder she had nothing to do with. Illustrations by Ralph Steadman.

186 FAULTY TOWERS Apartments in the two gleaming Richard Meier glass towers overlooking the Hudson River were quickly snapped up by wealthy architecture-lovers, including Calvin Klein, Martha Stewart, and Nicole Kidman. But after two years of flooding, heat problems, security lapses, and endless construction, residents are furious with the developers, one another, and perhaps even themselves. Vicky Ward reports from New York's fanciest newaddress-cum-money-pit. Photographs by Todd Eberle.

194 NIGHTMARE ON ELWOOD AVENUE Credit analyst Maria Cruz disappeared on April 13, 2003, apparently without a trace. Police finally linked her to Dean Faiello, a smooth-looking Manhattan laser technician with a serious drug habit and a record of practicing medicine without a license. Bryan Burrough untangles the case of the "Killer Quack," following leads from Upper East Side medical offices to Costa Rica's gay scene to a concrete coffin in Newark.

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198 COWBOY SCHOLARS Each year, 13 young men are admitted to Deep Springs, a two-year college on the California-Nevada border whose eccentric founder decreed in 1917 that students couldn't drink, do drugs, or leave their isolated valley, then gave them control over everything from admissions to faculty. Hanging out with the guys on Deep Springs' 2,500-acre cattle-ranch campus, Evgenia Peretz discovers why the alumni of this wilderness experiment are some of the most successful, and loyal, in the country. Photographs by Kurt Markus.

FANFAIR

67 30 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE On the Road—Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman kick off a multi-continent motorcycle trip. Richard Wofford tours Savannah's sweet spots. The (detachable) Hot Reels pocket guide to summer movies. Elissa Schappell's Hot Type. Helen Schulman on 50 years of Serendipity; Katie Sharer checks out the Rug Company's new digs; Dany Levy previews SoHo's Thai temple Kittichai. Michael Hogan on the indie-pop band Rilo Kiley; On the DownloadTony O.'s Top 10; Edward Helmore on Tony Hendra's memoir, Father Joe. Fanfair's spa guide.

COLUMNS

102 JOYCE IN BLOOMUlysses, James Joyce's unexpurgated day in the mind of Leopold Bloom, changed literature forever, despite the best efforts of the censors. As Dublin and the world celebrate the centenary of Bloomsday, Christopher Hitchens explores the endless rewards, high and low, of Joyce's masterpiece.

108 TO CATCH A LEGEND Despite Hollywood's penchant for heralding "the new Cary Grant," no leading man, before or since, has balanced such glossy, debonair charm with an equally powerful undercurrent of mayhem. On the hundredth anniversary of Grant's birth, a new documentary prompts James Wolcott to revisit the most impeccable paradox in movie history.

116 RUNAWAY JURORS Could Martha Stewart have cried herself to acquittal? Maybe so, writes Dominick Dunne in this month's diary, which also includes questions about the Vero Beach death of Michael Skakel's ex-mother-in-law and an encounter with a longtime nemesis, Menendez brothers (and now Phil Spector) defense attorney Leslie Abramson. Photograph by Roxanne Lowit.

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124 AN OPEN LETTER TO JOHN KERRY If he wants to win the White House, John Kerry needs the help of Larry David, the mind behind Seinfeld and the star of HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm. At least that's what Larry says. Photo illustration by Michael Elins.

126 WING TIPS AND LEG-IRONS Forget Atticus Finch. Today's Zeitgeist belongs to the prosecutor, backed by law-and-order and populist demands in a fight to rein in the high-living business elite. With C.E.O.'s being marched off to prison, Michael Wolff asks, Are we headed for a renaissance of righteousness or a corporate takeover? Illustrations by Robert Risko.

138 A BEAUTIFUL MIND, AN UGLY POSSIBILITY Author of the best-selling A Brief History of Time, revered scientist Stephen Hawking has astounded the world with his big-picture theories, even as Lou Gehrig's disease has crippled his body. But those closest to the wheelchairbound genius are troubled by a more personal mystery: Hawking's frequent injuries, which have sparked two police investigations into charges that his second wife is abusing him. In Cambridge, England, Judy Bachrach hears the shocking evidence.

VANITES

155 EMMY WINNER Ed Coaster causes a staff revolt. George Wayne presses the always fashionable Pierre Cardin. Intelligence Report: The wacky world of "cults."

ET CETERA

14 THE 2004 V.F. ESSAY CONTEST

52 EDITOR'S LETTER "Dude, Where's My Humvee?"

54 CONTRIBUTORS

60 LETTERS The List Lives On

100 PLANETARIUM Gemini home improvements

235 CREDITS

236 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE Eric Clapton

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