I feel very strongly that we should not start a new thread for a magazine until we are reasonably certain who the cover subject will be. And by 'reasonably certain' I mean a cover scan from Us Weekly, Access Hollywood/Entertainment Tonight, NY Post, or at the very least a mention in WWD. Especially for a heavyweight magazine like US Vogue, the lack of proof filled the first couple pages with rumors and we don't see the real cover until many pages back! Newspapers or weeklies sometimes run predictions or report a probable cover months before the actual issue hits the newsstand, but I feel such information just distracts real discussion of the magazine. We can have a 'magazine forecast' thread, but leave such speculation out of each issue's individual thread. Otherwise, people might start speculating the March cover starting this December, and that loses the point of creating an individual thread for each issue.
As for Kidman winning the Vogue cover, it's about time. No, I am hardly being sarcastic--much like the way it selects editorial models, there are certain celebs US Vogue will always go to, and Kidman is Wintour's number one girl (and you thought it was Linda Evangelista...). Kidman leads the 'elite' pack that includes Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gwyneth Paltrow, Uma Thurman, Renee Zellweger, and emerging favorites Natalie Portman, Keira Knightley, Cate Blanchett (I will exclude Drew Barrymore and Sandra Bullock because that is just preposterous) who are guaranteed a cover as long as they have an important movie out. Well, scratch important, because "My Super Ex-Girlfriend" and "V for Vendetta" were hardly star-making turns, but when actresses don't get good roles they settle for being Vogue's mannequins. I know that Kidman's due for a cover later this year: the first 'artsy' movie after failed comedic attempts, a new marriage, and a role as the goodwill ambassador for the UN... It was only a question of whether it would be November or December, and now the other shoe has dropped.
As for criticism of the cover, I think December is the right month for the debut of the spring collection next year. I was more surprised by the absense of a 'resort' cover this year, seeing how this bridge collection has expanded and even earned show-by-show coverage on Style.com. Not sure about Kidman turning 40 and dolled up as a Vegas girl, but I am always glad to see her and for once she ventured out of the 'porcelain goddess' look she's repeated for the past two years.
