Vanity Fair April 2017 : Alec Baldwin by Mark Seliger

[Melancholybaby]

*vanityfair.com

 

[Benn98]

Oh, good God! Trump, Trump, Trump! I understand that Graydon is trying to rub salt inside the wounds of passive American VF readers, but why should we be punished as well? We have our own chestnuts to pull out of the fire. Graydon is well out of order with this excessive campaign. And Alec Baldwin was just used as a foil, which is a shame.

They should really consider publishing a separate edition in the UK.

Tigerrouge, please can you post a review when you get your issue? Don't even think I could bear to flip through this in the bookshop.

 

[DutchHomme]

He's annoying

 

[MON]

Oh, good God! Trump, Trump, Trump! I understand that Graydon is trying to rub salt inside the wounds of passive American VF readers

I'm actually torn with what Graydon is doing. A part of me loves what he's doing. He's giving them a "THIS is what's happening. THIS is on you. THIS is what you get. S**k it up!"

But the part of me that hates this comes from the fact that this is Vanity Fair. We live in times where facts and well-researched material is becoming of less importance, so I salute media publications who are still doing their part to properly inform the people. BUT, is this the place for that? Is this the magazine for that? I get that VF is partly a current affairs magazine, but the past few issues they've released are worthy of being placed beside your daily newspaper. I admire him for being one of the many voices out there, but I think it's time for him to find a new place where he can let his voice be heard. Maybe be an EIC of a newspaper or something.

As for the cover itself, I'm sold. I love Alec Baldwin, and his impersonation always cracks me up. Him being Trump and Melissa McCarthy being Spicer brought a whole new level for SNL. Definitely buying this!

 

[tigerrouge]

No subscription copy yet, and I can't say I'm looking forward to seeing that cover for real.

At least Graydon seems to have been consistent in his anti-Trump agenda over the years. He's never liked him, and that distaste has probably lasted for decades.

But when nearly every sentence in the magazine at the moment seems to start and end with the word 'Trump', it feels more like one man's monomania, rather than a noble effort to inform us about current affairs.

 

[Miss Dalloway]

Oh, good God! Trump, Trump, Trump! I understand that Graydon is trying to rub salt inside the wounds of passive American VF readers, but why should we be punished as well? We have our own chestnuts to pull out of the fire. Graydon is well out of order with this excessive campaign. And Alec Baldwin was just used as a foil, which is a shame.

They should really consider publishing a separate edition in the UK.

Tigerrouge, please can you post a review when you get your issue? Don't even think I could bear to flip through this in the bookshop.

Exactly, this is getting real embarrassing ! And while Alec might be great on SNL, I got no interest in seeing him on the cover!! And It's not even a good one.

 

[fee de foret]

Alec Baldwin and Donald Trump are cut from the same cloth.

 

[Luxx]

My body is ready.

 

[A.D.C.]

I don't... I just... can't.

 

[mepps]

That's a perfectly fine cover, but Alec Baldwin is just as much of an ******* as Donald Trump. I guess that's partly why his impersonation rings so true.

 

[tigerrouge]

My subscription copy arrived today, although I see it's already out on the newsstand. The UK edition comes with the On Time supplement, which offers no fashion-related content of note. Well, that's a lie, because there seems to be an article about fashions in pockets and how it affected the watch industry.

Anyhow, I have an appointment to look at Alec Baldwin's mug on the cover of the main magazine, so here we go. Of course, he gets to keep all his wrinkles and sunspots, unlike any woman his age on a cover.

The editor's letter is Trump, Trump, Trump, and he signs off with a mention of another one of the magazine's obsessions - the Madoffs. The Vanity Fair Oscar party section is also a Chanel No.5 L'Eau pull-out advert. A few pages later, there's a proper series of portraits by Mark Seliger of winners and celebrities from the night, which are nothing special, but Mahershala Ali does get the opening two pages, the biggest part of the entire feature.

Suki Waterhouse is the Vanities Girl (I suppose it IS April Fools today) while the 'One Young World' section looks like a big advertorial for a foreign hotel.

Now the political articles start, with a look at the Russian dossier connecting the Kremlin to Trump. Another article questions whether Russia's propaganda tactics could take root in the USA. Alec Baldwin talks about whatever he has to talk about, an article which is 'adapted' from both his memoirs and an interview he gave on Jimmy Kimmel.

There's a little bit of soprano Renee Fleming before they look at Elon Musk and his attempt to take control of the future. Then it's an article about the situation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, following the departure of its director.

And now we get to the culture section, offering a bit more colour and life, with a feature about book editor/publisher Nan Talese, and the illustrative artist Robert McGinnis. And hidden at the back is a big piece about Prince Charles' childhood. Even if you were a Royal, things were done differently back then, packed away to boarding school and left to fend for yourself in the pecking order.

The end interview is David Hyde Pierce, and the back page advert is one of those terrible Dior handbag shots of Jennifer Lawrence.

I certainly wouldn't have bought this issue, given the cover and the contents. Yes, Vanity Fair always offers you something with a bit of depth to read, but I don't think there's any new angle being given on the political situation, and I wouldn't willingly pay money to look or hear about Alec Baldwin, and there's no compensatory glamour inside that makes up for it.

 

[tigerrouge]

I forgot to say, a big flyer/leaflet fell out of this issue about that limited edition UK Vogue centenary book, it mustn't be selling that well.