Latest news with #coverShoot
New York Times
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Concorde-and-Caviar Era of Condé Nast, When Magazines Ruled the Earth
As the longtime editor in chief of Vanity Fair, Graydon Carter was accustomed to big expenses: chauffeured town cars, five-star hotel stays, writer salaries that stretched into the mid six-figures. But in early 2001, he wondered if he had gone too far. Annie Leibovitz, the magazine's chief photographer, had run up a $475,000 bill on a cover shoot involving 10 world-famous actresses — Nicole Kidman, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren — and an elaborate stage set, complete with a mantelpiece and a genuine John Singer Sargent painting, which was flown from Los Angeles to New York to London. ('It was like Vietnam, the expenses,' Mr. Carter recalled.) Now, he needed to tell his boss, S.I. Newhouse Jr., the billionaire owner and patron of Condé Nast, about the latest line item on his tab. 'I do have to talk to you about something,' Mr. Carter said as the men sat down for lunch. 'It's a good-news-bad-news situation.' 'What's the bad news?' Mr. Newhouse asked. 'Well, I think we just shot the most expensive cover in magazine history.' A pause. 'What's the good news?' 'It looks like a $475,000 cover.' It was the equivalent of roughly $850,000 today. Mr. Newhouse was fine with it. At its 1990s and 2000s peak, Condé Nast captivated tens of millions of readers with its glossy manuals to the good life: Vogue and GQ for fashion, Vanity Fair for celebrity, Gourmet for food, Architectural Digest for real estate. Editors like Anna Wintour, Tina Brown and Mr. Carter were the ultimate cultural gatekeepers, venerated and feared. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Daily Mail
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ben Shephard, 50, shows off his rippling muscles for Men's Health cover as the presenter reveals his secrets for staying in shape
Ben Shephard showed off his rippling muscles for a striking Men's Health UK cover on Tuesday as the presenter revealed his secrets for staying in shape. The This Morning presenter, 50, looked incredible as he posed shirtless in the snaps which revealed his impressive abs. During the accompanying interview Ben spoke about how it felt to pose for the magazine again for the first time since 2012 and how his body and understanding of health and fitness has changed in that time. He also touched on the way he views life at 50, working out with his two sons, and his ambition to do another shoot when he turns 60. In one shot he wore just navy shorts as he fixed the camera with a stare, while for others he carried various weights to show off his strength. Speaking about recreating a similar shoot to the one he did for Men's Health in 2012, he said: 'Recreating the cover shoot has been fantastic. A friend asked me what the one exercise was that made the biggest difference. It's not an exercise, it's consistency.' Speaking on how he approaches fitness now he added: 'It came a little easier this time…I have a deeper understanding of what I have to put myself through to build lean muscle and reduce body fat. 'To get stronger, physically and mentally, is definitely harder the older you get. In my forties, I was still on the attack. In my fifties, I'm on the defensive. 'It's all about how I prolong things now – not going out and smashing it left, right and centre. 'Proving to yourself you have the discipline to do something, proving you can be accountable to yourself is incredibly seductive and infectious. The more you get of that, the more you want it.' He also spoke about whether he would be do another shoot for the publication in another decade when he is 60. Ben gushed: 'I love the idea of doing a shoot again at the age of 60. There are loads of fitness influencers that aren't just in their twenties and thirties, but in their fifties, sixties and seventies – still doing it, still living, still owning it, still looking fantastic. 'I find that incredibly inspiring. I've followed Men's Health religiously for the past 12 years. I will carry on following it, as well. There might be a bit more grey in the hair now, but the hairline is still there. So why not do it again at 60?' He also touched on the way he views life at 50, working out with his two sons, and his ambition to do another shoot when he turns 60 The shoot comes after back in January Ben wowed fans with a shirtless picture posing with his rarely-seen sons. On an instalment of the ITV show This Morning Ben and his co-host Cat Deeley opened the show by telling viewers what they got up to during their festive break. Ben spent some quality time with his family, including his wife Annie and their two sons Sam, 19, and Jack, 16. Ben told Cat: 'Brilliant. We were down in Cornwall. There was about 25 of us swimming on Christmas day.' A huge group snap of Ben's loved ones then appeared on the TV screens. Cat said: 'Can we just talk about the left of that picture and the budgie smugglers?' Ben confessed: 'My brother and my sons are fans of the budgie smuggler. 'It was freezing cold... It was a really stony beach! It was really uncomfortable getting in. A snap of the presenter with his two sons then flashed up on the screen as he spoke. He continued: 'There's me and the boys! We've cut out the budgie smugglers for everyone's breakfasts.' Ben and his wife Annie, who tied the knot in 2004, tend to keep their personal lives out of the spotlight. The full interview is available in the June issue of Men's Health UK, on sale now.
