March 1, 2025 – Air Mail

ALL ABOUT ANNIE

From debating over titles (such as Anhedonia and It Had to Be Jew) to re-shooting the “cocaine sneeze,” Woody Allen and his editing team look back on the making of Annie Hall …

VOTE OF OVERCONFIDENCE

Even anti-woke warriors are having doubts as Trump replaces D.E.I. with his own brand of affirmative action, dependent on clumsy loyalty and obsequiousness …

THE HOT SEAT

Hotelier André Balazs reflects on the Valentine’s Day fire that destroyed the Chiltern Firehouse—his starry London hotel—and why we shouldn’t write it off just yet …

SHOOTING THE MOON

Until recently, investors were all in on the Trump-Musk bromance. It’s more likely that people will look back at what Musk is up to now and identify it as a historic financial mistake …

HUSTON, WE HAVE A MURDER

In an interview, Oscar winner Anjelica Huston discusses coming of age in Swinging London, dating Jack Nicholson, and playing a regal aristocrat in the BBC’s latest Agatha Christie adaptation …

SPILLING THE BEANS

A miniature version of Chicago’s hugely popular “bean” sculpture, made by the artist Anish Kapoor and squished at the bottom of Tribeca’s luxury “Jenga Building,” has New Yorkers up in arms …

PLAYING THE FOOL

Two abortions, a paternity suit, stalking, hush money … Among Charlie Chaplin’s many ill-fated trysts, perhaps his most disastrous—and misunderstood—was with Joan Barry, a woman 30 years his junior …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

The Parisian apartment hunters who capitalized on the Nazi occupation … women in neckties are back … the art that inspired Proust … the best of Hollywood, captured by Dafydd Jones … a Japanese inn that defines tranquility … in Kenya, an oasis for vacationers and rhinos alike … Who was this week’s biggest Attention Whore?

Issue No. 294

The View from Here The anti-woke intelligentsia applauded Trump’s attacks on D.E.I. What they got instead is the MAGA brand of affirmative action

By Alessandra Stanley

Read On

Chiltern Firehouse’s Slow Burn André Balazs on the fire that brought down his hotel—beloved by Hollywood stars and housed in a former fire station, no less—and what lies ahead for the London hot spot

By Laura Pullman

Read On

Is Elon Musk Overvalued? Trump’s re-election made the world’s richest man even richer. But Musk’s future prospects are far from certain

By Peter Coy

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

Annie Hall Before Annie Hall How Woody Allen and his team turned an unusable first cut into a love story for the ages—and one of the few comedies ever to win the Academy Award for best picture

By Alex Belth

Read On

The Great Closet Cleanout

Embark on the oddly satisfying journey of cleaning out your closet with AIR SUPPLY’s guide to organization. We’ve got labels, baskets, storage bags, and more

Shop

Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images (Twiggy)

Solange Azagury-Partridge’s Favorite Things The London-based designer is known for vibrant, rainbow interiors and bold, witty jewelry with unconventional designs. Here, what catches her eye

Shop

Photo: Guy Bell/Alamy (Azagury-Partridge)

The Attention-Whore Index Steve Bannon joins the Nazi-salute brigade, Elon Musk sparks even more outrage, and Donald Trump gives up on truth, justice, and the American way

Read On

Anjelica Huston’s Class Act The actress discusses growing up among Hollywood royalty, her enduring relationship with Jack Nicholson, and her latest role, in a new Agatha Christie adaptation

By Emine Saner

Read On

organize Breville Of the many gadgets competing for counter space in my kitchen, none is nearly as satisfying as Breville’s Bean Keeper Coffee Canister…

CARRY Brunello Cucinelli Brunello Cucinelli has long been known for superlative cashmere, but now it may be considered a handbag powerhouse as well…

DRINK Dreamsake Why is it that people tend to unimaginatively relegate pairing sake solely with sushi? Do they not know that one of the world’s…

SHOP Cult Epics Founded by Nico Bruinsma in Amsterdam in 1991, Cult Epics originally operated as a VHS mail-order distribution company…

WATCH Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort Posing in front of a camera can be awkward as it requires a certain level of vulnerability to get…

strut Viberg Canadian bootmaker Viberg is so good at what they do that you can’t go wrong with any of their models, from the 1970s Italy–inspired…

organize Breville Of the many gadgets competing for counter space in my kitchen, none is nearly as satisfying as Breville’s Bean Keeper Coffee Canister…

CARRY Brunello Cucinelli Brunello Cucinelli has long been known for superlative cashmere, but now it may be considered a handbag powerhouse as well…

DRINK Dreamsake Why is it that people tend to unimaginatively relegate pairing sake solely with sushi? Do they not know that one of the world’s…

SHOP Cult Epics Founded by Nico Bruinsma in Amsterdam in 1991, Cult Epics originally operated as a VHS mail-order distribution company…

WATCH Portrait Mode with Sophie Elgort Posing in front of a camera can be awkward as it requires a certain level of vulnerability to get…

strut Viberg Canadian bootmaker Viberg is so good at what they do that you can’t go wrong with any of their models, from the 1970s Italy–inspired…

New Yorkers walking by Anish Kapoor’s “bean” sculpture at 56 Leonard Street, in Tribeca.

Everyone in Tribeca seems to have an opinion about “the bean.” Not the sparkling tourist favorite in the middle of Chicago’s Millennium Park but a smaller one by the same sculptor, Anish Kapoor, that currently sits at the base of a Herzog & de Meuron–designed luxury tower in the wealthy Manhattan neighborhood. READ ON

Read On

Once upon a Time in Hollywood De Niro! Prince! Madonna! From Oscar parties to parking lots, Dafydd Jones’s L.A. photos capture a bygone era

11

Robert De Niro and Kirk Douglas, photographed by Dafydd Jones at Steve Tisch and Graydon Carter’s Oscar party at Morton’s, in Los Angeles, 1994.

*Top,* Kevin Meaney reporting outside the Oscar party at Morton’s, 1995; *above,* Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, and Ellen Barkin at the Oscar party, 1994.

Jill Vandenberg and Tony Curtis at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s reopening party, 1995.

David Hockney and the model Tina Chow at the book party for James Watters’s memoir, Los Angeles, 1989.

*Top,* Jack Nicholson, Swifty Lazar, and Elizabeth Taylor at Lazar’s last Oscar party, at Spago, 1993; *above,* Prince arriving at the Oscar party, 1994.

Bob Colacello and Anjelica Huston at a *Vanity Fair* benefit in Los Angeles, 1990.

*Top,* guests’ Rolls-Royces parked outside the Beverly Hills Hotel’s reopening party; *above,* valet-parking attendants, 1989.

Donatella Versace and Elton John outside a Planet Hollywood restaurant, 1989.

Anna Nicole Smith outside the Oscar party, 1994.

*Top,* Satsuki Mitchell and Daniel Craig at the Oscar party at the Sunset Tower Hotel, 2009; *above,* Baz Bamigboye and Kate Winslet at the Oscar party, 2009.

Rosie Perez and Marisa Tomei at the Oscar party, 1993.

Read On

How Annie Hall Went from Disaster to Masterpiece On this week’s podcast, Alex Belth reveals how Woody Allen transformed his movie in the editing room

Read On

Call Her “Daddy”! Some of the most stylish young women are walking around in neckties. Is it a response to Trump-era misogyny or a seductive power play?

By Laura Antonia Jordan

Read On

Lady and the Little Tramp Among Charlie Chaplin’s many ill-fated trysts, perhaps his most disastrous was with Joan Barry, a woman 30 years his junior

By Diane Kiesel

Photo illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

The Short and the Long of It Despite its controversial portrayal of dwarfism, the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sitcom Life’s Too Short still has star Warwick Davis begging for its return a decade later

By Tom Fordy

Read On

The Hackman Connection Inside the wild, epic filming of William Friedkin’s The French Connection, which made a star of the late Gene Hackman

By Alexander Larman

Read On

Living Hell When Jews were rounded up during the Nazi occupation, Parisians grabbed their apartments and refused to relinquish them even when the rightful owners returned

By Penelope Rowlands

Read On

Sam Wasson On

Louis B. Mayer and Irving Thalberg: The Whole Equation

by Kenneth Turan

Read On

“You spend your whole life playing checkers and feeling uncool and then one day—bam!” — “You spend your whole life playing checkers and feeling uncool and then one day—*bam!”*

Delaney Buffett The daughter of the “Margaritaville” singer honors her late father with her new film, Adult Best Friends

By Paulina Prosnitz

Read On

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, by Georges Clairin, 1876.

Remembrance of Things Proust

To step into Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time is to enter a sea of sensation, memory, and recollection. But it isn’t only that. In a very real sense, this seven-volume novel is Proust’s record of the lifestyle and interests of his narrator: a gentleman of leisure in late-1800s France. Barely a page goes by without him noting that this or that remembrance reminds him of a play, or a painting, or a piece of music; even the celebrated madeleine prompts memories to “rise up like the scenery of a theater.” READ ON

Read On

Follow That Rhino! In Kenya’s Sera Wildlife Conservancy, 27 rhinos are game to greet adventurous travelers—and it’s an encounter few will ever forget

By Marcia DeSanctis

Read On

Where Time Stands Still Serenity reigns at the 500-year-old Asaba Ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn nestled in a quaint town between Tokyo and Kyoto known for its historic hot springs

By Elena Clavarino

Read On

Britt Lower

The Severance actress answers 60 of life’s most pressing questions

Read On

Meet *Pithecophaga jefferyi*—or Philippine eagle—a magnificent bird native to the Philippine islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao. Their wingspans stretch to more than seven feet, and their piercing blue eyes match their gray-blue beaks. They are among the largest eagles in the world. Every July, males chase prospective females in dramatic aerial dances. They dive and spiral, occasionally locking razor-sharp talons midair in a show of strength. If the male proves agile, the female signals approval. They stay together for life. It’s an equitable society in the treetops. Parents share hunting duties, delivering snakes and small mammals to their chicks. The young won’t hunt on their own for 20 months, requiring practice. Once skilled, the chicks join the ranks of adult *háribón*—Filipino for “bird king”—and find mates. Logging and illegal hunting have pushed Asia’s bird kings to the brink of extinction, with only 400 remaining. To support conservation efforts, donate here. —*Elena Clavarino*

Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

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Jim Kelly

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Laura Jacobs

Senior Editor

Elena Clavarino

Investigations Editor

Clara Molot

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Junior Editors

Carolina de Armas Paulina Prosnitz

Associate Editors

Victoria Herman Lucy Horowitz Jeanne Malle Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Deputy Art Director

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Dana Brown Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson
Walter Isaacson Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson
John Lahr Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells
James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Bridget Arsenault Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Spike Carter Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Matthew Gurewitsch Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin Sam Wasson

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Pip Carter Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Business Development Director

Catherine Scott

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Jessica Iredale

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley David Yaffe

The View from Here The anti-woke intelligentsia applauded Trump’s attacks on D.E.I. What they got instead is the MAGA brand of affirmative action

Chiltern Firehouse’s Slow Burn André Balazs on the fire that brought down his hotel—beloved by Hollywood stars and housed in a former fire station, no less—and what lies ahead for the London hot spot

Is Elon Musk Overvalued? Trump’s re-election made the world’s richest man even richer. But Musk’s future prospects are far from certain

Annie Hall Before Annie Hall How Woody Allen and his team turned an unusable first cut into a love story for the ages—and one of the few comedies ever to win the Academy Award for best picture

Embark on the oddly satisfying journey of cleaning out your closet with AIR SUPPLY’s guide to organization. We’ve got labels, baskets, storage bags, and more

Solange Azagury-Partridge’s Favorite Things The London-based designer is known for vibrant, rainbow interiors and bold, witty jewelry with unconventional designs. Here, what catches her eye

The Attention-Whore Index Steve Bannon joins the Nazi-salute brigade, Elon Musk sparks even more outrage, and Donald Trump gives up on truth, justice, and the American way

Anjelica Huston’s Class Act The actress discusses growing up among Hollywood royalty, her enduring relationship with Jack Nicholson, and her latest role, in a new Agatha Christie adaptation

Once upon a Time in Hollywood De Niro! Prince! Madonna! From Oscar parties to parking lots, Dafydd Jones’s L.A. photos capture a bygone era

How Annie Hall Went from Disaster to Masterpiece On this week’s podcast, Alex Belth reveals how Woody Allen transformed his movie in the editing room

Call Her “Daddy”! Some of the most stylish young women are walking around in neckties. Is it a response to Trump-era misogyny or a seductive power play?

Lady and the Little Tramp Among Charlie Chaplin’s many ill-fated trysts, perhaps his most disastrous was with Joan Barry, a woman 30 years his junior

The Short and the Long of It Despite its controversial portrayal of dwarfism, the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant sitcom Life’s Too Short still has star Warwick Davis begging for its return a decade later

The Hackman Connection Inside the wild, epic filming of William Friedkin’s The French Connection, which made a star of the late Gene Hackman

Living Hell When Jews were rounded up during the Nazi occupation, Parisians grabbed their apartments and refused to relinquish them even when the rightful owners returned

Delaney Buffett The daughter of the “Margaritaville” singer honors her late father with her new film, Adult Best Friends

Follow That Rhino! In Kenya’s Sera Wildlife Conservancy, 27 rhinos are game to greet adventurous travelers—and it’s an encounter few will ever forget

Where Time Stands Still Serenity reigns at the 500-year-old Asaba Ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn nestled in a quaint town between Tokyo and Kyoto known for its historic hot springs

The Severance actress answers 60 of life’s most pressing questions

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editor

Investigations Editor

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Junior Editors

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Deputy Art Director

International Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Social Media Manager

Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Technology

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Business Development Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-commerce Associate

In Memoriam