By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
October 13, 1998
The last time Brad Pitt graced the cover of Vanity Fair, the flaxen-haired movie star was in his “Legends of the Fall” mode.
This time around, in the November issue, he’s sporting a more clean-cut, well-muscled look. In the article, Laura Ziskin – president of Fox 2000, which is producing his upcoming film “Fight Club” – says: “I think he suffers – or feels that he suffers – for his great good looks. Someone described him as ice cream on the screen. You can’t resist him. But I think his good looks become motivation for him to do something more daring.”
Which might explain the blond one’s Indiana Joneslike bravado during a recent photo shoot. “A freak storm blew up – actually one of the area’s most devastating storms in 50 years,” Cathy Horyn writes. “And Pitt and the crew were caught in the middle, their driver paralyzed with fear. Pitt took the wheel and, his banter unsubdued, drove the van, dodging falling trees, safely back to the hotel. He seemed to enjoy the ordeal . . . and later calmly retired to his room to strum his guitar.”
Sister 2 Sister celebrates its 10th anniversary with the November issue. Toni Braxton graces the cover and speaks with publisher Jamie Foster Brown about filing for bankruptcy, her decision to tackle Broadway with a starring role in “Beauty and the Beast” and the secret to her good looks. “You know what I think made me appear beautiful to people?” Braxton says in the interview. “Because I bought me some hair! And they too can be beautiful. Just go get you a nice weave . . .A lot of it is imaging. I ain’t no prettier than the next girl. I just have people around me that know how to make me look good when the time matters.”
The issue also includes a nice chat with Magic Johnson that’s more interesting than his defunct talk show.
Sometimes an ugly old shirt should just be thrown out instead of being recycled into an ugly old quilt. Apparently Martha Stewart disagrees. In Clotheskeeping – a special edition of Martha Stewart Living – the style doyenne devotes an entire magazine to the upkeep of your wardrobe. There’s an interesting article about what all goes into the process of dry cleaning but the how-to feature about doing laundry hits high on the duh-ometer.
The fall issue of Life is dedicated to “medical miracles for the next millennium,” including a fascinating piece on growing your own organs. With no hint of Frankensteinian irony, Dr. Joseph Vacanti says in the article: “I believe I can build a human being. It has never seemed like science fiction to me. My professional goal is to solve the problem of vital organ shortage.” His theory? Tissue regeneration. Use the ailing person’s healthy cells to grow new parts, which are likely to be more compatible than an organ harvested from someone else.
He’s short, overweight and speaks broken English. He’s Sammo Hung, television’s most unlikely star. This week’s issue of Time magazine includes a nice profile of the Chinese action hero, who is the lead on CBS’ new “Martial Law.” Of his childhood friend Jackie Chan, who was the first choice for the role, Hung says, “We are very close. I used to beat him up every day.”
