One of the greatest awards seasons traditions is upon us the Vanity Fair "Hollywood" Issue. Last year we had a superstar cover and the year before that a mix of rising stars both male and female but VF likes to alter the mix each year and so we're back to where they began this tradition 22 years ago with a group of youngish female stars of the now. The covergirls this year are: Emma Stone, Lupita Nyong'o, Amy Adams, Natalie Portman, Ruth Negga, Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Aja Naomi King, Dakota Johnson, Greta Gerwig, and Janelle Monáe.
Let's take a closer look after the jump...
Average Age: 30½
Oldest to Youngest: Adams (42), Negga (35), Portman (35), Nyong'o (33), Gerwig (33), King (32), Monáe (31), Stone (28), Johnson (27), Dakota Fanning (22), Elle Fanning (18)
Most Obviously Missing: This might've been a good place to include any of the Certain Women: Stewart, Gladstone, or Williams. Or do a little foreign outreach for Kim Min Hee. Any other ideas?
Cumulative Oscar Tally: 12 nominations and 2 wins -- Amy Adams provides nearly half of the nomination count but doesn't help with the win total. Does she win one in the next couple of years or wait for an honorary in 2057?
Not Virgins: Portman (1998), Adams (2008, 2015), Stone (2013), and Nyong'o (2014) have been on the "Hollywood" cover before.
EMMA STONE, LUPITA NYONGO, AMY ADAMS, and NATALIE PORTMAN
Love the color scheme of this cover, so earthy but glamorous. And a little solemn because that's how the world is right now. Bonus points for putting Emma in a color she doesn't wear much in La La Land.
One day future Natalie or Nat Jr. will point to this and say "I was on the Vanity Fair cover as a fetus!"
Lupita Nyong'o continues to be one of the most talented and most beautiful and most media friendly early 30something actresses that never gets any work. STILL. Insanity. She has only one upcoming film on her schedule (Black Panther) after another Star Wars cameo.
RUTH NEGGA AND THE FANNINGS
Negga looks absolutely smashing in dark gold / bronze. But then what doesn't she look awesome in?
It's kind of nice to see Dakota Fanning pop up again, isn't it? Her career has been so quiet of late with no successful films in ages. Next up is the title role in Viena and the Fantomes (from the director of Mexico's critical darling Miss Bala), the lead role in Please Stand By... from Ben Lewis (who directed Helen Hunt to an Oscar nomination for The Sessions), Kirsten Dunst's adaption of The Bell Jar (2018), and the ensemble of Ocean's Eight (2018). Maybe she'll catch back up with her little sister who's really risen in the past few years
DAKOTA JOHNSON, AJA NAOMI KING, GRETA GERWIG, and JANELLE MONAE
Dakota & Aja need to have words with the stylist because they're the ones that got stuck with unflattering gowns. It's true that Monáe is wearing something that Joan Collins would have worn on Dynasty (minus the transparency) but it kind of works because she is one electric lady. Do you think Aja made the cover because they planned it before Birth of a Nation flopped or is she on here because of TV fame via How to Get Away With Murder?
Dakota's mom Melanie Griffith was never on one of these covers but only because they didn't exist before 1995. That's right after Melanie went out of fashion in Hollywood. But you can bet she would have been in the lineup if they'd been around in the late 80s. Do you ever fantasize about what Hollywood Issue covers would have been like from past decades? I only ask because I do. Which stars would have hogged the cover? Which faces would modern audiences look at and be all "who dat?"
Someone please tell me that Greta and Janelle danced together during the shoot because they can both move.
Do you like this cover? If you could switch things up who would be present and would you leave it as is for front cover, and gatefold?