Features
JOHNNY DEPP’S GREAT ESCAPE | 56 After the tough Chicago filming of this month’s Public Enemies, Johnny Depp craved time on his private Caribbean island. Douglas Brinkley joins the “real” Captain Jack Sparrow aboard his 156-foot yacht, flying the Jolly Roger all the way to a gonzo paradise. Photographs by François-Marie Banier. Web special: Outtakes from Depp’s photo shoot, plus a retrospective of his appearances in our pages. Johnny Depp, photographed exclusively for Vanity Fair by François-Marie Banier in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. THE MADOFF CHRONICLES, PART III: DID THE SONS KNOW? | 66 Mark and Andrew Madoff worked their entire lives for their father, and when his Ponzi scheme collapsed, so did their worlds. With the brothers’ assets under scrutiny and their name savaged, David Margolick questions how much guilt they bear. TUBULAR GIRLS | 74 Michael Halsband and Adam Klappholz spotlight the new female stars of surfing. PIRATE OF THE CARIBBEAN | 76 In the shady financial waters of Antigua, Allen Stanford spent lavishly to woo private-banking clients—and indulge his own appetites for women and cricket. Now the flamboyant Texan is fighting charges he’s the Madoff of Latin America. Bryan Burrough investigates the alleged $8 billion fraud. Vide Bryan Burrough on Allen Stanford. WALL STREET’S TOXIC MESSAGE | 82 The aftershocks of America’s economic quake could be especially brutal in the Third World. Joseph E. Stiglitz warns that developing nations, disillusioned and angry, may turn away from free markets altogether—to their detriment and ours. Illustration by Edward Sorel. THE CODE OF MISS PORTER’S | 86 Generations of well-bred girls, from Bouviers to Vanderbilts to Rockefellers, have undergone the not-so-genteel rites of passage at Miss Porter’s School, in Farmington, Connecticut. As an expelled student takes the school to court, Evgenia Peretz hits campus. Photographs by Jonathan Becker. THE HAMPTONS STRESS TEST | 96 By real-estate standards—and in the Hamptons are there any other?—this season reeks of desperation. Michael Shnayerson maps a bottom-feeder’s delight of stalled sales and legal face-offs. Photographs by Doug Kuntz and Stephen Wilkes. NANCY REAGAN’S SOLO ROLE | 106 How has Nancy Reagan fared since her husband’s death, five years ago? In a rare in-depth interview, the former First Lady opens up to Bob Colacello about her White House years, the Obamas, and Ronnie’s continuing presence in her life. Photographs by Jonathan Becker. Fanfair DAYS IN THE LIFE OF THE CULTURE | 31 Seventy years of Richard Avedon’s fashion photography | 33 Graham Fuller is smitten with Chéri; Julian Sancton gets in on the joke with Mike Sacks; Anya Hindmarch’s carryall with a conscience; Hot Looks | 34 Cynthia Kling takes note of Thornwillow Press; My Stuff—James Perse | 35 Vanities EHRENREICH APPARENT | 37 Bruce Feirstein surveys the nouveau riche lifestyle before and since the crash; Howard Schatz captures Geoffrey Rush in character | 38 John Heilpern has a hot dog with Eliot Spitzer | 39
Columns THE LOVELY STONES | 44 Athens’s new Acropolis Museum showcases the world’s most perfect structure, the Parthenon. But Christopher Hitchens laments one cruel flaw: part of the temple is in London. THE POWER AND THE STORY | 50 As the struggling news establishment cozies up to Obama, Michael Wolff prods the president’s press team to discuss a dangerous subject—their mastery of the media game. Et Cetera EDITOR’S LETTER | 18 CONTRIBUTORS | 22 LETTERS | 24 The Case for the Times FAIRGROUND | 26 CREDITS | 127 PROUST QUESTIONNAIRE | 128 Judd Apatow To read more about these features, click here