Graydon Carter, editor in chief of Vanity Fair, is set to star in his newest role since that of “Recipient of Angry Letters from Donald Trump.” He is set to appear in the upcoming thriller Arbitrage, starring Richard Gere as a hedge-fund magnate whose firm Carter’s character is trying to overtake. The film, which also [...]

Donald Trump, it is fair to say, doesn’t do anything halfway. When he builds a hotel, he makes sure it’s slathered in enough glittering black and gold to make the Taj Mahal look positively plain in comparison. When he combs his hair, he’s aided by a small army of tophat-wearing bluebirds. And when he writes a letter to an editor… Well. He goes all out.

Such is the case with a letter Trump sent to Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter in response to a May 17th blog post on “VF Daily,” written by Juli Weiner.

If there’s one thing that Muammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi is known for (that isn’t being a ruthless dictator who’s suppressed his people for decades), it’s his totally kicking styles! And, while The Daily Show and every other comedy program that tackles current events has been getting tons of mileage out of his many interesting looks lately, an unused NBC pilot handled it in a unique way back in 1986. The video, now available online, shows Today’s Nancy Foreman using clips of Gaddafi to do a hilarious little fashion show in one of the best pieces of classic Gaddafi humor since the National Lampoon tried to spell his name right.

After Harry Potter’s worldwide record-breaking weekend, we got to talking about certain parallels between the magical land of Hogwarts and the equally magical land of headlines, bylines, cutlines, chyrons, blog pickup and declining ad pages. Turns out, the two have a lot in common!

On that note, for your edification and enjoyment, we present our own version – let’s call it “Harry Potter and the Media Muggles.”

This week, Barney’s unveiled their annual holiday windows, this year celebrating Saturday Night Live. The displays are heavy on allusion to various characters, scenes and personalities from the series’ 35 years – but deciphering each of those references is hindered by the primary mode of presentation, papier-mâché. I can’t help but suspect that this medium was chosen primarily to evoke sympathy – after all, it’s possible, if not probable, that they were actually made by a class of fourth graders.

File this in the party, chit chat, rumor mill, category. According to a source, a Conde Nast editor at the Valentino fete the other night was telling party goers that Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter — who has apparently returned from his trip to Bermuda — is offering laid-off Vanity Fair staffers a unique employment opportunity.

When Gawker reported that Wired boss Chris Anderson was too busy promoting his book to be present on layoff day, the tech editor took to his Twitter to defend himself. But Anderson angrily taking the bait of his ex-employee is exactly what Ryan Tate and Gawker want.

I remember when Christopher Hitchens wrote that ridiculous Vanity Fair piece about how women aren’t funny. I wrote a screed about it and got in a public scrap with Graydon Carter after at a very awkward luncheon. What can I say, this line of reasoning has always irritated me. Women aren’t funny? Really?

As if the McKinsey evaluation uncertainty that’s been hanging over 4 Times Sq. these past few months isn’t bad enough, Vanity Fair honcho Graydon Carter apparently couldn’t even be bothered to show up to relay yesterday’s bad layoff news himself. Business as usual?

Slate’s Jack Shafer comparing the fate of Conde Nast to that of that other overreaching, reality-ignoring American powerhouse, General Motors. Next up: Graydon Carter and Anna Wintour fly to Washington in their private jets to beg for a bailout!

the shuttering of Gourmet remains to many the biggest shock of today’s Condé Nast layoffs. The fate of its equally well-known editor Ruth Reichl is unknown right now, though considering the company plans to keep both the publishing and television arm of Gourmet active chances are they will find a place for her. That said, what does Reichl’s precarious position say about the fate of Condé’s other high profile editors?

Vanity Fair pokes fun at the ongoing McKinsey evaluation — which may or may not have made a stop at Graydon Carter‘s office — and the ‘benefits’ they are worried about losing.

With all the recent talk of McKinsey and the demise of Condé Nast, it is with some nostalgia (and perhaps some little schadenfreude) that we recall a time when a ride in the Condé elevators was enough of a life- (and closet!) changing experience that the Times felt the need to devote an entire column to it.

Much has been made of The New Yorker‘s exemption from Conde Nast’s summer-long apocalyptic McKinsey evaluation. And there’s been plenty of speculation as to the whys behind it. However, perhaps it has a leettle something to do with the New Yorker Fesitval

The money’s not coming into Condé Nast like it used to, and the company’s days of lavish spending have to end. Will Graydon Carter, who reportedly makes over $2 million a year, be able to survive at the company in his current incarnation?

It might just be wishful thinking on his part, but here’s what Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter had to say to the New York Observer at a book party last night about. A good attitude can get you far in life, you know.

Gawker is reporting that Levi Johnston has penned an article entitled “Me and Sarah Palin” for the forthcoming October issue of Vanity Fair. While it’s not difficult to guess what will be discussed in the piece, what other revelations should we expect from the book?

Women’s Wear Daily reports that Us Weekly had a fine first week under Michael Steele, who filled in as the magazine’s acting editor-in-chief after Janice Min‘s departure in July. Steele’s first issue as acting EIC, which featured a cover story on Bachelorette cheating drama, “sold 1.1 million copies, outpacing Us Weekly’s single-copy sales by an average of 843,470 for the first half of 2009.”

One issue does not make a mandate, but it looks like Jann Wenner may have been right when he wagered that Us Weekly could flourish without Min.

You know reality is really biting at Condé Nast these days when Graydon Carter is taking his bites in the cafeteria! [Or is it? A reader tells us it's actually happened before! Back when things were good!] Cry me a McKinsey river!

It seems that the economy hasn’t just killed ad sales at Condé, it’s killed the myth of Condé. They are no longer the envy of the magazine world. Of course who is these days? Maybe David Remnick?

Looks like the reality has finally caught up to Conde Nast. A tipster passed on this email, which was just sent out to all Conde Employees informing them that the company has been forced to rethink “the way we do business in many instances and incorporate efficiencies in every step of our process.” Short version: tighten your Gucci belts kids and put on your walking shoes, no more Town Cars in your future!

It may come as a surprise to learn that Jon Meacham is the number one Magazine Editor given that Newsweek is going through a rather dramatic repositioning and redesign – an exercise not typically taken by a healthy magazine. So why is he number one?

The A.I.G. Financial Products unit is to the global financial crisis what rickety levees were to Hurricane Katrina. But as Michael Lewis points out in his excellent article in the latest issue of Vanity Fair, F.P., as it’s called, used to be the envy of Wall Street. In 2001, the elite unit accounted for a [...]

…unless you put her on the cover twice in a year and a half, and the first time the headline is “Viva Brazil!” with an ultra-glam hair-blowing sparkly-mini-dressed plunging-neckline endless-legged tanned-shouldered party girl, while the second time she’s pale, covering herself with crossed-arms and closed body language, appears to be wearing a diaper alongside the [...]