From the Editors

Behind the Issue

100 gowns. 400shoes. 2motorcycles. 1tractor. And a cast to die for

Late last October,Vanity Fair seized one cavernous hanger and three studios at Los Angeles's Milk Studios to celebrate 23 of the year's most exciting names in film in the magazine's 26th annual Hollywood cover and portfolio. For his first Hollywood Issue, photographer Ethan James Green and set designer Julia Wagner created a surrealist Route 66—part Technicolor, part Ed Ruscha—for a stylized voyage through some of cinema's greatest genres. There were tractors, Escalades, cacti, and motorcycles, as well as more than 100 gowns, more than 400 pairs of shoes, and enough carats of fine jewelry to require nearly a dozen armed guards. "Traditionally the fashion has always been through the lens of glamour and the red carpet, and this year it was really fun to play dress-up and create all of these interesting characters that we meet along the way," said executive fashion director Samira Nasr. Senior West Coast editor Britt Hennemuth cast the portfolio; producers Tara Johnson and Michael Kramer kept the elaborate production on the road, along with entertainment director Alison Ward Frank. The actors were interviewed about their real-life journeys by Hennemuth, special correspondent Anthony Breznican, and executive Hollywood editor Jeff Giles (page 102). Says Hennemuth, "From movie stars to breakouts, this year's group will stand the test of time."

Find more exclusive videos from our Hollywood shoot at VF.com.