The COASTER Correspondence
MORE OF THE VERY EXPENSIVE WORDS OF Edwin John Coaster, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR

VANITY FAIR

EDWARD J. MENICHESCHI
VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER

February 3, 2009

CONFIDENTIAL

Graydon:

I think I have found the cure for the ad-slump blues: video gaming! While it's still a tough climate out there for print and the Web, everyone wants ad placement in the next Grand Theft Auto or Rock Band.

To this end, I recommend that we focus immediately on developing video games licensed under the V.F. brand. In fact, I think we should establish an 18-month timetable for phasing out the magazine entirely and shifting V.F. editorial to an all-gaming platform.

Granted, The New Yorker is out ahead of us on this with a branded social-justice-and-vigilantism game called Samantha Power TM: Genocide Grrl. But that project is stalled because Power doesn't want any private-sector deals to compromise her work with Obama's team. Plus, she didn't like that the game designers put her in a leather halter.

My plan is for us to roll out a series of V.F. titles in the 2010–12 period. But first, we need to set up a black-ops team to rush-develop a signature game for the final quarter of '09: VANITY FAIR's Hollywood 2010. Trust me, I've got cosmetics advertisers and luxury brands lining up for ads and placements.

I've been secretly conferring with the Osaka video-game developers Gokiburi, who have a U.S. office in El Segundo, to do up a prototype of VFHW2010. Attached is a proposal from Hideo Nitahara, chief of programming (U.S.) for Gokiburi.

Best,

GOHIBURIぉUSA

1207 SYCAMORE CENTER, SUITE 2310, EL SEGUNDO CA 90245

29 January 2009

Dear Mr. Menicheschi:

It was a delight meeting with you to discuss VFHW2010. My team has been discussing game schematics. One idea we are keen on is the after-Oscars party.

The gamer tries to sustain conversations with celebrities and insinuate himself deeper and deeper into the party's inner sanctums, where people like Mr. Graydon Carter, Mr. Martin Scorsese, and Ms. Nicole Kidman await. The gamer gets help from VANITY FAIR contributors, who facilitate introductions. We start with lower-rung talent like Mr. Jim Windolph and Mr. David Kamps, but as the gamer advances through the levels, he “unlocks” more important characters like Mr. Christopher Hitchens, Ms. Annie Leibovitz, Mr. Michael Lewis, and Mr. Edwin Coaster. We are hoping to record their voices for audio purposes.

We are currently preparing a storyboard for VFHW2010. In the meantime, Mr. Graydon Carter might enjoy this avatar we have made of him!

Sincerely,

Hideo Nitahara
Vice Chairman/Director of Programming, Gokiburi USA

Asset Type: Prism XML

Package Type:

Package:

Source Group: Pre-press

Brand: Vanity Fair

FileName: VF200904_112_25.xml

Administrative
On Sale Date
0001-01-01
Off Sale Date
0001-01-01
Is Publishedtruefalse
Live Date
2009-03-10
Is Outtaketruefalse
Is Protectedtruefalse
Best Category Representationtruefalse
Is Featured Arrivaltruefalse
Asset State
Publication Metadata
Publication
Vanity Fair
Region
United States
Publisher
The Condé Nast Publications
Cover Date
2009-04-01
Cover Display Date
April 2009
Volume
51
Issue Number
4
Issue Identifier
07338899_0409_25
ISSN
0733-8899
Article Metadata
Is Advertisementtruefalse
Abstract
MORE OF THE VERY EXPENSIVE WORDS OF Edwin John Coaster, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR
Section
Vanities
Section Code
VAN
Subsection
Starting Page
112
Page Numbers
Article Pages
112
Logical Page
37
+-
WordCount
487
Article Layout
Layout References
Layout Reference
+-
Image Metadata
Assigning Editor
Captions
Caption

In Book Credit
+-
Description Writer
colors
Color
+-
Shoot Date
0001-01-01
Shoot Display Date
Shoot Look Number
Descriptive Metadata
Asset Comments
Comments
Contributors
Contributor
+-
Creators
Creator
Edwin John Coaster
+-
Descriptions
Description
+-
Original File Name
Language
Titles
Title
The Coaster Correspondence
+-
Semantic Metadata
Category
Sub-Category
Keywords
Keyword
+-
Designer
Is Person in Imagetruefalse
People Pictured
Person Pictured
+-
Geographic
Address
City
State
Country
Location
Longitude
Latitude
Master Rights
Option Embargo Date
0001-01-01
Rights Publication Code
VF
Accounting Code
00105
Rights Date
200904
Licensee ID
Assignment Numbers
Assignment Number
177957
Rights Credit
KAMP DAVID
+-
Copyright Notice
COPYRIGHT ©2009 THE CONDÉ NAST PUBLICATIONS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright Comments
All Rights System Usage
Historical Copyright
Syndication
Third Party Licensors
Third Parties
+-
Storage
File Path
//damdropbox/n01-damassets/2009/Print/VF/VF_0409/XML/VF200904_112_25.xml
File Name
VF200904_112_25.xml
Path Href
MD5 File Hash
File Size
7
File Modified
File Created
Small Thumbnail
Medium Thumbnail
Large Thumbnail
Small Thumbnail Href
Medium Thumbnail Href
Large Thumbnail Href
Stack Resources Path
Stack Resources Role
Stack Resources Type
Legacy
DB Source ID
251919
DB Source
TextML
DB Source Type
Article
+-
Full Text
Full Text Body
<body><h1> <i>The</i> COASTER <i>Correspondence</i> </h1><p class="deck">MORE OF THE VERY EXPENSIVE WORDS OF <i>Edwin John Coaster,</i> CONTRIBUTING EDITOR</p><p> <b>VANITY FAIR</b> </p><p>EDWARD J. MENICHESCHI<br/>VICE PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER</p><p>February 3, 2009</p><p>CONFIDENTIAL</p><p>Graydon:</p><p>I think I have found the cure for the ad-slump blues: video gaming! While it's still a tough climate out there for print and the Web, everyone wants ad placement in the next <i>Grand Theft Auto</i> or <i>Rock Band.</i> </p><p>To this end, I recommend that we focus immediately on developing video games licensed under the <i>V.F.</i> brand. In fact, I think we should establish an 18-month timetable for phasing out the magazine entirely and shifting <i>V.F.</i> editorial to an all-gaming platform.</p><p>Granted, <i>The New Yorker</i> is out ahead of us on this with a branded social-justice-and-vigilantism game called <i>Samantha Power</i> ^TM: <i>Genocide Grrl</i>. But that project is stalled because Power doesn't want any private-sector deals to compromise her work with Obama's team. Plus, she didn't like that the game designers put her in a leather halter.</p><p>My plan is for us to roll out a series of <i>V.F.</i> titles in the 2010–12 period. But first, we need to set up a black-ops team to rush-develop a signature game for the final quarter of '09: <i>VANITY FAIR's Hollywood 2010.</i> Trust me, I've got cosmetics advertisers and luxury brands lining up for ads and placements.</p><p>I've been secretly conferring with the Osaka video-game developers Gokiburi, who have a U.S. office in El Segundo, to do up a prototype of <i>VFHW2010.</i> Attached is a proposal from Hideo Nitahara, chief of programming (U.S.) for Gokiburi.</p><p>Best,</p><p>GOHIBURIぉUSA</p><p>1207 SYCAMORE CENTER, SUITE 2310, EL SEGUNDO CA 90245</p><p>29 January 2009</p><p>Dear Mr. Menicheschi:</p><p>It was a delight meeting with you to discuss VFHW2010. My team has been discussing game schematics. One idea we are keen on is the after-Oscars party.</p><p>The gamer tries to sustain conversations with celebrities and insinuate himself deeper and deeper into the party's inner sanctums, where people like Mr. Graydon Carter, Mr. Martin Scorsese, and Ms. Nicole Kidman await. The gamer gets help from VANITY FAIR contributors, who facilitate introductions. We start with lower-rung talent like Mr. Jim Windolph and Mr. David Kamps, but as the gamer advances through the levels, he “unlocks” more important characters like Mr. Christopher Hitchens, Ms. Annie Leibovitz, Mr. Michael Lewis, and Mr. Edwin Coaster. We are hoping to record their voices for audio purposes.</p><p>We are currently preparing a storyboard for VFHW2010. In the meantime, Mr. Graydon Carter might enjoy this avatar we have made of him!</p><p>Sincerely,</p><p>Hideo Nitahara<br/>Vice Chairman/Director of Programming, Gokiburi USA</p></body>

© Condé Nast Montrose Digital ArchiveContact Us