Contents

The Hollywood Issue /No. 764

Vanities

33 VF 5 annual gift guide sparkles with 118 ideas inspired by modern cinema classics, cultural icons, and more.

33,36,42,48 / The Gallery

Clever charms, gobs of garnets, and more opulence.

34 / For the Magnetic

Inspired by Wong Kar Wai's romantic drama In the Mood for Love.

38 / For the Rebel

Inspired by the goodversus-evil showdown of The Empire Strikes Back.

40 / For the Day-Tripper

Inspired by Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck's adventures in Roman Holiday.

45 / For the Lovers

Inspired by Romeo + Juliet, Baz Fuhrmann's adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy.

46 / For the Wonderful Inspired by the musical fantasy film The Wiz.

50 / For the Naturalist

Inspired by the prehistoric wonderland of Jurassic Park.

52,53 /Books

Reading recommendations from Dua Lipa, Amanda Gorman, Nate Silver, and more of the people who kept us entertained and informed this year.

54 / Fairground

A starry night at the British Film Institute's Luminous Gala.

FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS.

The Hollywood Issue /No. 764

Columns

60 The Art of the Deal

How the Trump biopic The Apprentice got made— and why audiences almost never got to see it.

By Gabriel Sherman

Features

66 Starstruck

This awards season has no shortage of star power. VF gathered 12 leading lights for the 31st annual Hollywood cover.

By Rebecca Ford Photographs by Gordon von Steiner

84 All the Pretty Little Horses

They met when he was 42 and she was 16—and for the next four decades, he mined her life in his work. Now VF profiles Cormac McCarthy's secret muse, Augusta Britt, who tells their love story in her own words.

By Vincenzo Barney Photograph by Norman Jean Roy

92 McQueen's Gambit

A conversation with Steve McQueen, whose work in cinema is as celebrated as his fine art

By Nate Freeman Photographs by Chieska Fortune Smith

98 Karen Read's Fight

As she prepares for a second trial, the Massachusetts woman accused of murdering her police officer boyfriend tells her side of the story.

By Julie Miller Photograph by Diana Markosian

106 Signs of Life

From Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein to Bong Joon Ho's Mickey 17, VF's Hollywood team goes behind the scenes of 13 of 2025's most anticipated films—with exclusive set pics.

118 All Her Own

The untold story of Joan Didion's first love— and heartbreak.

ByLiliAnolik

124 Murder at Hammersmith Farm

Two months before his assassination, JFK and Jackie made a James Bond-inspired home movie in which the president was "murdered." Inside the making of the spoof.

By James Robenalt

24 Editor's Letter

28 Contributors

31 Behind the Issue

146 Proust Questionnaire

FOR DETAILS, GO TO VF.COM/CREDITS.