Vanity Fair – @Cinefille

Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar in Vanity Fair

Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodovar posed together on the April cover of Vanity Fair. This magazine cover is apart of their promotional tour for Almodovar’s latest film, Broken Embraces, which was released in Spain last week.

Here are all the pictures from the photoshoot.

Notes on a Scandal: Why Is Miley Embarrassed?

In these past few months of Jamie-Lynn Spears pregnancy, Lindsay Lohan rehab stays, and Britney Spears frequent trips to crazy town, I’ve kind of considered Miley Cyrus to be young Hollywood’s savior.(Yes, I’ve repeated this to myself and yes, I do think I’ve lost my mind).

So I was shocked to read that Miley had posed for some topless, artistic photos for Vanity Fair (shot by Annie Leibovitz). When apologizing Miley said: “For Vanity Fair, I was so honored and thrilled to work with Annie. I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.”

Considering that Miley was so embarassed… wait, let me rephrase that. Considering that her parents/handlers/people dependent on her for an income were scared shitless that Hannah Montana’s squeeky clean image might be tarnished and the kiddies would no longer be allowed to attend her shows, I was curious what all the fuss was about.

Here is it:
miley cryus leibowitz
Seriously Miley Cyrus? With the way you’ve been apologizing for this picture, I thought you were topless with bottle of Jack Daniels in one hand and a cigeratte in the other. But this photo… ISN’T SCANDALOUS.

Don’t get me wrong. No half-nekkid picture of a 15 year old girl, no matter how artistic it may be, is a good thing. But considering how controversial Annie Leibovitz other photos have been, this is not a bad portrait. She’s not overtly sexualized in any way; in a way her expression is reminiscent of the poster art for Les Mis.

Honestly, it’s worse that you can count practically every rib in her body. Considering how body image is represented in American media today, Miley Cyrus shouldn’t be concerned with how covered up she may or may not be in a photo, but with how skinny she looks in that photo. That’s more important to think about when you’re a role model for millions of tween girls.

A memo to Miley’s parents/people who supposedly watch out for her: If you wanted to protect her image, allowing Annie Leibowitz to shoot the portrait probably wasn’t the best idea. Plus, someone approved these photos and something tells me it was you. I don’t think Vanity Fair would have taken these photos of Miley Cyrus had her parents/people objected. So if anyone is to blame, it’s them.

One final memo: Her performance of “See You Again” is 1000 times worse than that picture, especially at 2:20.

Get over the picture Miley and stop apologizing. Your image is safe until you stop wearing underpants.

I Am So Excited!

Why?

Two things I have been dying to get have finally arrived.

1) My copy of The Departed. I might have gotten sucked into a crappy deal, but I really don’t care because now I can watch this movie over and over and over. Or at least until I buy a copy of Little Miss Sunshine.

2) The annual Hollywood Issue of Vanity Fair aka my Holy Grail. This year’s cover feature Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Chris Rock and Jack Black, unlike last year’s that had Tom Ford sandwiched by Scarlett Johanssen and Keira Knightly (both naked).

The portfolio inside is a film-noir inspired layout, photographed and directed by Annie Leibovitz.

This is my favorite Vanity Fair Hollywood portfolio to date. Why? It features: Ben Affleck, Pedro Almodovar, Alec Baldwin, Abigail Breslin, Penelope Cruz, Judi Dench, Robert De Niro, Robert Downey Jr., Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Djimon Hounsou, Jennifer Hudson, Anjelica Huston, Tobey Maguire, Helen Mirren, Jack Nicholson, Peter O’Toole, Forest Whitaker, Kate Winslet and more.

Today is a great day.