Press Review
David Schonauer
The Weekly World Tour
The Oscar Race, Pt. 1. ”One upon a time, the Hollywood portrait demanded a certain level of glamour—usually achieved with dramatic lighting and lavish styling. No more: To open it’s annual ’Hollywood Portfolio’, Vanity Fair went with a dressed-down Annie Leibovitz shot of the creative trio behind The Social Network—director David Fincher, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and actor Jesse Eisenberg. Will the film win the Best Picture awards when they hand out this year’s Oscars on February 27? Will these guys be wearing tuxedos?” Photo by Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair, March 2011.
The Oscar Race, Pt. 2. ”A couple of years ago, Helen Mirren won a Best Actress Oscar for playing Queen Elizabeth II, and now everyone is laying odds that Colin Firth will get a Best Actor award for playing her father, George VI, in The King’s Speech. British photographer Rankin gave Firth the old-fashioned glamour treatment in this shot for Vanity Fair’s portfolio, but it’s a post-modern glamour that allows us all to be in on the joke.” Photo by Rankin, Vanity Fair, March 2011.
The Oscar Race, Pt. 3. ”After playing such a badass in those Harry Potter movies, Helena Bonham Carter got to be a sweetheart again when she played George VI’s wife, Elizabeth, in The King’s Speech. Walker’s photo seems to a a visual recognition of her versatility.” Photo by Tim Walker, Vanity Fair, March 2011.
The Oscar Race, Pt. 4. ”This photo of Jesse Eisenberg takes non-glamour to a new level, but of course it’s just the actor in character as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.” Photo by Peter Hapak, Time, February 21.
The Oscar Race, Pt. 5. ”Actress Hailee Steinfeld is definitely not in character in this picture. The breakout star of the year, she played a gritty young girl in the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit, but Hapak shot her looking like an angel.” Photo by Peter Hapak, Time, February 21, 2011.
The Swimsuit Issue. ”Long, long ago, the editors of Sports Illustrated learned that gazillions of men became depressed during the period between the end of the NFL football season and the beginning of the NCAA college basketball tournament in March. So they invented the Swimsuit Issue, which is now a multi-media franchise. This year’s covergirl is model Irina Shayk. How many magazine covers are events anymore? Not many, except this.” Photo by Raphael Mazzucco, Sports Illustrated, February TK
Award Controversy. ”This is the time of year when photography’s major awards start to get handed out, too. One award has already caused controversy: New York Times photographer Damon Winter won third place for feature picture story from Picture of the Year International for a images he made while covering the U.S. military in Afghanistan—on his iPhone with the Hipstamatic app, which automatically adjusts color and contrast while burning in certain areas within the frame. In the newspaper’s “Lens” blog, Winter defended the images, saying the app applied the same kinds of aesthetics photojournalists do when they shoot with professional cameras.” Photos by Damon Winter, New York Times.
Award Controversy. Photos by Damon Winter, New York Times.
Award Controversy. Photos by Damon Winter, New York Times.
Pakistan. ”A remarkable set of images depicting daily life in Islamabad and in slums on the outskirts of the city.” Photos by Muhammed Muheisen/AP, Boston Globe.
Pakistan. Photos by Muhammed Muheisen/AP, Boston Globe.
Pakistan. Photos by Muhammed Muheisen/AP, Boston Globe.
The Oscar Race, Pt. 1. ”One upon a time, the Hollywood portrait demanded a certain level of glamour—usually achieved with dramatic lighting and lavish styling. No more: To open it’s annual ’Hollywood Portfolio’, Vanity Fair went with a dressed-down Annie Leibovitz shot of the creative trio behind The Social Network—director David Fincher, screenwriter Aaron Sorkin, and actor Jesse Eisenberg. Will the film win the Best Picture awards when they hand out this year’s Oscars on February 27? Will these guys be wearing tuxedos?” Photo by Annie Leibovitz, Vanity Fair, March 2011.
The press review by David Schonauer opens this week on cinema with a charming trio of David Fincher, Aaron Sorkin and Jesse Eisenberg, photographed by Annie Leibovitz for the upcoming “Hollywood Portfolio” for Vanity Fair. Tim Walker had fun working with the earthy Helena Bonham Carter for her role as queen in “The King’s Speech,” also for Vanity Fair. In the same vein, but a bit less glamorous, Peter Hapak photographed the actress Hailee Steinfeld for Time (February 21st, 2011). And in a contrasting photographic style, the tangy cover of the Swimsuit Issue, Sports Illustrated, will perhaps leave a few dreamers with Irina Shayk photographed by Raphael Mazzucco.
In yet another style, there are the controversial images by Damon Winter (New York Times), taken in Afghanistan, and to finish on a more surprising note, the images by Muhammed Muheisen in Pakistan.
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