The 27th annual Vanity Fair Hollywood issue is here, and while we normally wouldn't make a big deal out of any old magazine, this issue, and this year, is different. VF has chosen 10 stars, responsible for creating some of the year's most stimulating and significant film and television from this past year, to feature in the issue, people "who showed us hope and humanity in a surreal year."
Reading about the latest and greatest talent is great and all, but what drew us in was the photography. These portraits, a group effort by artist Maurizio Cattelan, photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari and stylist Katie Grand, are vibrant, eclectic and dynamic, filled with so much detail that each requires a few minutes of scrutiny. Even the cover spread is filled with every color of the rainbow.
In each individual portrait, we have Awkwafina swinging from a chandelier, Zendaya effortlessly holding up a boulder, Michael B. Jordan having a nap in the night sky, Charlize Theron fighting a bear and more, each featured star representing a different facet of the entertainment industry and a different influence within their mediums.
But we still can't get enough of the photos.
"...There was also a hunger for more -- for entertainment that transported while somehow addressing the darkness enveloping us. We looked for films and television series that illuminated. That said something crucial about what we were experiencing," Richard Lawson wrote in the essay that accompanied this issue, reflecting on our need for escapism over the last year. This, in a way, is what this photo spread represents.