What Is Cinema?
The best movies feel as if they’d been born, not made. In a new series of articles and videos, Vanity Fair, in partnership with Rolex, starts a revealing conversation with—and among—filmmakers about their craft, their visions, and the art of paying inspiration forward. Technology and industry trends may change, but the drive to tell stories that mean something, and will last, does not. I think you’ll enjoy listening in.
—Radhika Jones, Vanity Fair Editor in Chief
Dune: Part Two Is Bigger and Better
By Richard Lawson
- VANITY FAIR IN PARTNERSHIP WITH ROLEX
Rolex and Cinema: A Long-Term Partnership in Excellence
- What Is Cinema?
Sarah Polley and Ruben Östlund on Juggling Acting Ensembles and Pushing Their Audiences
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the Oscar-nominated writer-directors behind Women Talking and Triangle of Sadness reveal their biggest challenges. - Vanity Fair In Partnership With Rolex
Rolex Supports the Transmission of Knowledge to Future Generations of Filmmakers Through Its Mentoring Program
For more than half a century, Rolex has partnered some of the world’s most talented artists and leading cultural institutions to celebrate excellence and contribute to perpetuating artistic heritage, creating a link between the past, present and future. - What Is Cinema?
The Art That Inspired 6 Major Filmmakers
A short story suggested by Martin Scorsese, a 1970s documentary, a photograph of the Blitz—inspiration came from many sources to create some of 2022’s best films. - What Is Cinema?
Rian Johnson and the Daniels on the Film Rules They Love to Follow—And Break
In Vanity Fair’s series What Is Cinema?, the directors of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery and Everything Everywhere All at Once talk craft. - What Is Cinema?
How 4 Directors Found a Way to Go Home Again
New movies from Steven Spielberg, James Gray, Joanna Hogg, and Alejandro González Iñárritu ask tough questions about their own pasts—and remind us of cinema’s power as a medium for memories. - What Is Cinema?
Directors Gina Prince-Bythewood and Halle Berry on Their “Very Small Sisterhood”
To kick off Vanity Fair’s new series, What Is Cinema?, the directors of The Woman King and Bruised connect on the “had-to-do” stories they brought to the screen.
How The Holdovers Pulled Off Paul Giamatti’s Lazy Eye
By Katey Rich
The 31 Best Feel-Good Movies to Boost Your Mood
With Oppenheimer Marching Toward Best Picture, an Overlooked Christopher Nolan Classic Gets Its Due
By Jordan Hoffman
Austin Butler: The Making of a Sexy Pyschopath
By Anthony Breznican
The Real Story of Rita and Bob Marley
By Arimeta Diop
How Robert Downey Jr. Helped The Sympathizer Pull Off an Audacious, Ferocious Adaptation
By David Canfield
Adam Sandler’s Spaceman Took Him to a Deep, Dark Place
By Anthony Breznican
Wicked First Look: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in Costume
By Chris Murphy
The Forgotten Swans: Truman Capote’s Society Friends Left Out of Feud
By Julie Miller
Robert Downey Jr. Reveals the Surprising Roles He Almost Got—And Almost Lost
By Anthony Breznican
Brad Pitt and the Wild Making of Legends of the Fall
By Ed Zwick
Inside Ripley: Andrew Scott, Dakota Fanning, and Johnny Flynn’s Bad Romance
By Savannah Walsh
Steve Martin Gets the Documentary Treatment in Steve!—And He Doesn’t Hold Back
By David Canfield
Barbie’s Dream Revenge: How Snub Fury Can Upend an Oscar Race
By Anthony Breznican
Donald Glover and Maya Erskine on Mr. & Mrs. Smith: “This Is Actual Intimacy”
By Joy Press
Playing the Pretty Boy: Ryan Gosling, Jacob Elordi, and More Redefine the Himbo
By Rebecca Ford
Oppenheimer’s Big Bang: A Surprisingly Hilarious Oral History
By Anthony Breznican
The Most Famous Couple in the World: Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton on the Set of a Classic
By Philip Gefter
The History Woven Into Every Costume of Killers of the Flower Moon
By Katey Rich
Cary Grant and Randolph Scott’s Hollywood Story: “Our Souls Did Touch”
By David Canfield
How Julianne Moore Found the “Hysterical” Truth in May December
By David Canfield
American Fiction’s Subtle Secret Weapon: All About Laura Karpman’s Jazzy Score
By Kara Warner
Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Put Everything Into Origin. She Hopes It Wasn’t in Vain
By David Canfield
Jodie Foster, Ascendant at 61, Reckons With Her Complex Mother’s Ghost
By Joy Press
Greta Gerwig and Natalie Portman on the “Cosmic” Connection That Still Links Them
By Rebecca Ford
Golden Globes 2024: See All the Nominations Here
By Katey Rich
Society of the Snow: The Real-Life Story That Inspired the Dark Oscar Contender
By Julie Miller
The Year’s Most Surprising Golden Globe Nominee on Her Cinematic Cinderella Story
By David Canfield
Rosamund Pike and Chris Messina on Performing as “Two Assholes Playing Their Best Game”
By Rebecca Ford
The Iron Claw: The Real-Life Von Erich Tragedies You Don’t See Onscreen
By Julie Miller
There Are No Winners in Wrestling Drama The Iron Claw
By Richard Lawson
The Love Story of Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad
By Savannah Walsh
Golden Globes Nominations 2024: The 10 Biggest Snubs and Surprises
By David Canfield
The Talented Mr. Ripley at 25—Frank, Queer, and Ahead of Its Time
By David Canfield
On Set With Bradley Cooper, Emma Stone, and More
By Katey Rich
Nicolas Cage Is Almost Done Making Films: “I May Have Three or Four More Movies Left in Me”
By David Canfield
Robert Downey Jr.’s Third Act: “He’s Lived a Complicated Life. He Understands the Stakes”
By Anthony Breznican
The Best Movies of 2023
By Richard Lawson
Saltburn Star Barry Keoghan on the Film’s Revealing Ending
By Whitney Friedlander
Fallout First Look: This Is How the World Ends—With a Smiling Thumbs Up
By Anthony Breznican
Playing Murderous Alex Murdaugh Was Freeing for Bill Pullman
By Julie Miller
Matt Bomer Takes His Dark, Sexy Turn: “I Got to Be the Bad Boy”
By David Canfield
The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes Is the Rare Good Prequel
By Richard Lawson
Sandra Hüller Steps—Cautiously—Into the Spotlight
By David Canfield
Photography by Emma Summerton
After Barbie, Greta Gerwig Has No Plans to Rest
By Sloane Crosley
Photography by Norman Jean Roy
How the Warm, Elegant Look of The Holdovers Came Together
By Katey Rich
How Cailee Spaeny Became Priscilla
By David Canfield
The 21 Best Thanksgiving Movies to Stream Right Now
By Savannah Walsh
Greta Lee on the High Stakes of Past Lives
By Rebecca Ford
With The Holdovers, Alexander Payne Faces His Admirers
By David Canfield
Jacob Elordi’s Elvis Voice Stunned Priscilla Presley
By Savannah Walsh
The Truth Behind the Hidden Demon in The Exorcist
By Anthony Breznican
Inside Todd Haynes’s Twisted, Ingenious Vision for May December
By David Canfield
Why Anthony Hopkins’s Whole Career Led Him to Freud’s Last Session
By David Canfield
Ari Aster Still Wants You to Consider Beau Is Afraid
By David Canfield
Nyad Is a Love Story
By Savannah Walsh
Leonardo DiCaprio Cements a Thrilling New Era in Killers of the Flower Moon
By David Canfield
The Strange but True Story of the Pioneer Woman’s Link to Killers of the Flower Moon
By Eve Batey
Behind Jamie Foxx’s Brilliant, Wild Performance in The Burial
By David Canfield
Malibu Barbra: Inside Barbra Streisand’s World
By Radhika Jones
Barbra Streisand on The Way We Were and Her Fight to Get It Right
By Barbra Streisand
How Practical Magic Pissed Off a Real-Life Witch
By Savannah Walsh
How The Royal Hotel Pulls Off the Most Potent Cinematic Tension of the Year
By David Canfield
Christine Vachon, Hollywood’s Greatest Anomaly
By David Canfield
Henry Cavill and Dua Lipa Steam Up the Spy Thriller Argylle
By Anthony Breznican
The Outsiders: Why Black Audiences Love Italian American Screen Icons
By Morgan Jerkins
Marvel Secrets Revealed: Alternate Castings That Would Have Changed Everything
By Joanna Robinson, Dave Gonzales, and Gavin Edwards
Helen Mirren Confronts the Complex, Challenging “Career Milestone” of Golda
By David Canfield
Marty Without the Mob: Killers of the Flower Moon Joins Rich Scorsese History
By David Canfield
Nia DaCosta, Barrier-Breaking Director of The Marvels, on Navigating the Blockbuster Machine
By Rebecca Ford
Photography by Tom Craig
The 14 Best Movies From the Fall Film Festivals
By Rebecca Ford, Richard Lawson, Katey Rich, David Canfield, and Hillary Busis
Anna Kendrick Soars With Directorial Debut About True-Life Killer on a Game Show
By David Canfield
Patricia Arquette Makes a Bold Directorial Debut With Gonzo Girl
By Rebecca Ford
Kate Winslet Embodies an Unsung American Icon in Lee
By David Canfield
In Priscilla, a Complex True Story Is Gracefully Told
By Richard Lawson
How Madonna Turned the League of Their Own Set Into a Three-Ring Circus
By Erin Carlson
2023 Fall Preview: 46 Films to Watch Out For
By Rebecca Ford, David Canfield, Katey Rich, Hillary Busis, and Richard Lawson
Welcome to Saltburn’s Twisted Gothic Tale
By Rebecca Ford
With Maestro, Leonard Bernstein’s Legacy and Loves Finally Hit the Big Screen
By Rebecca Ford
Inside All of Us Strangers, Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal’s Metaphysical Love Story
By David Canfield
“That Escalated Quickly”: Inside Anchorman’s Epic Battle Sequence
By Saul Austerlitz
First Look: Annette Bening Swims Toward the Role of a Lifetime in Nyad
By David Canfield
First Look: Paul Mescal and Saoirse Ronan Face a Dangerous Future in Foe
By David Canfield
The Film That Returned William Friedkin to Critical Acclaim
By Maxime Jacob
The Elvis Presley We Didn’t See in Elvis
By Katey Rich
Watch Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich Go to War in the Breathless Fair Play Trailer
By David Canfield
The Two Very Different Versions of Killers of the Flower Moon
By Katey Rich
Can You Name the (Great) Movie That Launched Brie Larson, LaKeith Stanfield, Rami Malek, and More?
By Devin Gordon
Red, White & Royal Blue May Be “the Most Expensive Bit of Fan Fiction Ever”
By Savannah Walsh
“Jaws Became a Living Nightmare”: Steven Spielberg's Ultimate Tell-All Interview
By Anthony Breznican
Oppenheimer—and, Yes, Barbie—Have a Real Shot at the 2024 Oscars
By Rebecca Ford
Why Are Movies Sooooo Long? An Investigation
By Natalie Jarvey
Dreamhouse, Assemble: How Barbie Cast Barbie, Barbie, Barbie (and Ken)
By Eliza Brooke
Barbie Is About as Good as a Barbie Movie Could Ever Be
By Richard Lawson
Rustin First Look: Colman Domingo Is Bayard Rustin, the Man Who Turned MLK’s Dream Into a Reality
By Chris Murphy
Lakota Nation vs. the United States and the Fight for the Black Hills
By Maka Monture Paki
AI May Kill Us All, but It’ll Never Write a Good Movie
By John Lopez
Beautiful Dreamer: Ali MacGraw’s Semi-Charmed Life
By Hadley Hall Meares
Barbie, Bombs, Blockbusters! Box Office Wars Return as a Spectator Sport
By Natalie Jarvey and Anthony Breznican
Glenn Howerton, Oscar Contender
By David Canfield