VOL III Digital Preview

Volume III : The GOLDEN Issue

SAOIRSE RONAN, NICHOLAS HOULT, PAULO COELHO, JOHN WATERS, BETSEY JOHNSON, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM, MICHAEL IAN BLACK, MIRANDA JULY, JASON SUDEIKIS, LENNY KRAVITZ, ELLEN BURSTYN, ARCTIC MONKEYs, SHEPARD FAIREY

SUMMER MMXI

WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL PREVIEW VOL III SNEAK PEEK : THE COVER STORIES

FULL ISSUE AVAILABLE ON NEWSSTANDS CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE NOW

Volume III : The GOLDEN Issue

SAOIRSE RONAN, NICHOLAS HOULT, PAULO COELHO, JOHN WATERS, BETSEY JOHNSON, LINDSEY BUCKINGHAM, MICHAEL IAN BLACK, MIRANDA JULY, JASON SUDEIKIS, LENNY KRAVITZ, ELLEN BURSTYN, ARCTIC MONKEYs, SHEPARD FAIREY

SUMMER MMXI

PAULO COELHO 9 BE 12 HOW TO MAKE IT SHEPARD FAIREY 30 34 LESLIE BIBB 36 LE THOMAS DEKKER 44 46 JUSTIN BARTHA 4 O’CONNELL 53 HANN JOE DEMPSIE 58 JAS ROADTRIP 67 BRIT M NICHOLAS HOULT 96

ETSEY JOHNSON T IN AMERICA 23 0 LYDIA MILLET ENNY KRAVITZ 40 4 ROMOLA GARAI 48 SKINS 52 JACK NAH MURRAY 56 SON SUDEIKIS 60 MARLING 89 6 ROBERT KNOKE 116

SAOIRSE RONAN 118 M FREDDIE HIGHMORE 144 JUDITH SUPINE 15 BROOKLYN 161 TWIN SEBASTIAN STAN 174 A COLTON HAYNES 182 M 186 OLAF BREUNING 1 198 SO-IL ARCHITECT BUCKINGHAM 206 ZIG GOLDEN GIRLS 216 SEC

MIRANDA JULY 134 E 140 JOHN WATERS 50 TOM FELTON 156 SHADOW 172 ARCTIC MONKEYS 178 MICHAEL IAN BLACK 192 ELLEN BURSTYN TS 202 LINDSEY GGY MARLEY 212 CRETS 226

8

shirt and net t-shirt Burberry Prorsum

shirt Martyn Bal cardigan Christopher Kane jeans Levi’s Made and Crafted vintage boots stylist’s own

pullover Dries Van Noten shirt Miharayasuhiro trousers Missoni vintage boots stylist’s own

COVER(ED)

The Beauty of the Beast Three billion estimated viewers worldwide prove how hungry the world has been for a real life fairy tale. London pubs are filled with all ages of women, wearing their wedding dresses and racing to get wasted before the ceremony begins. Photos of the happy couple adorn anything from fingernails to paper towels. It feels like the world is getting ready to watch the most exciting sports game of the century. From this day forward, their wedding anniversary will be a bank holiday, each year, forever. It has been long since there has there been so much global fuss about an event that’s actually positive.

In 2007, Hoult was reintroduced to audiences as the naughty chick-magnet Tony Stonem in the groundbreaking British series, Skins. The show was widely criticized for portraying the contemporary coming-of-age experience with a raw and honest perspective. Upon receiving the script, Hoult was first drawn to the character of Sid, the quiet, scrawny kid who never gets the girl. Watching his timid mannerisms and unassuming articulation, it becomes obvious why he would relate to Sid more. Unlike his ultimate character, Tony, Hoult is really just a nice, placid guy trapped in the body of a total hunk.

What better way to kick off the summer than spending the day of the Royal Wedding with U.K.’s lustrous gem Nicholas Hoult? On the day the new princess’ fairytale manifested itself, our team had the opportunity to create our own. Maybe it was the royal romance still lingering in the air that made the experience of meeting Hoult on such a day so special, or maybe that’s just the kind of aura he has and we would have been just as impressed on any other day. It’s chicken or the egg, really.

I ask him what he had thought of the script and what kind of reactions he had been contemplating. “I didn’t have any expectations,” says Hoult. “I certainly didn’t expect it to blow up as it did or be seen by as many people. Some people were angry and thought we weren’t showing kids in a good light or were maybe highlighting the wrong things, but it wasn’t trying to be some kind of teenage drama where they try and preach slightly to the audience. Skins didn’t do that. It wasn’t saying, ‘If you have sex you’ll definitely get pregnant,’ because that’s not always the case.”

I arrive at the shoot location just outside of London, and the wedding craze melts into serenity. The theme of the shoot is the “Apocalypse Aftermath,” and the silent, demolished estate, in all its Lord of the Rings glory, awaits Hoult’s arrival. The ancient ruins of the vast green meadow helps to retain the mood of the fairytale that marks the day. I almost expect Hoult to roll by on a horse but he steps out of a car instead, looking oddly out of place in modern attire.

Unlike the Beast character he channels in X-Men: First Class, Hoult’s real life superpower is turning any professional into a giddy schoolgirl in a matter of minutes. The BULLETT team is caught off guard by the entrance of this now remarkably 6’3 man, who apparently replaced the boy we were expecting. After brief introductions, I find myself trying to convince the hair stylist that his hair probably does not need any more grooming, that I know it’s hard, but if she could just stop touching it, we can start shooting. She gives me the side-eye and puts down the gel unwillingly.

It is rare that a child actor retains both his looks and his talent as he transitions into adulthood. It’s usually either, if not neither, that remain, which is probably why Hoult was hesitant to go back to acting at first. However, fortunately, both his appearance and his craft matured gracefully and his gradual, swan-like transition has been captivating to observe.

Acting since the age of three, it wasn’t until he turned fifteen that Hoult decided to consider acting as a serious occupation. His first memorable role was at the age of twelve, portraying Marcus, the quick witted kid who teaches Hugh Grant’s character a few lessons on how to be a man, in Chris Weitz’s About a Boy. Hoult’s maturity beyond his years, which led to him booking the part, still remains a distinct trait.

Like his character Marcus, Hoult disseminates a sense of innocence, serenity and intellect that instantly transforms those around him.

Skins became controversial for being the first teen drama to not shy away from the drastic realities of today’s youth. Soon after, MTV produced the American remake, which was quickly met with instant condemnation from audiences and brands that advertised within the program. I asked Hoult if he is following the American version, and how he feels about the U.S. audiences’ reaction to it. “I read some of the reactions, obviously, of the press in the States, which is maybe something more drastic than the reactions we have here” he responds. “I think in America people maybe get more involved, whereas in England, if you don’t like it, you don’t watch it. You don’t necessarily have to have such a large reaction to it.”

Rumors going around about a potential Skins feature film have been getting the fans worked up, yet there has been no progress on its production or Hoult’s involvement.

“Rumors have been circulating for a couple of years, but I haven’t seen a script—so not that I’m aware of at the moment. Not right now, anyway. There might be one in the works.“ Yet even if there was one in the works, Hoult says his involvement would rely entirely on the script and Tony’s part within it.

While his involvement in Skins garnered him a devoted legion of followers, Hoult’s true big break arrived when he was called for an audition to partake in Tom Ford’s directorial debut, A Single Man. Hoult sent him an audition tape and met with him shortly after, unaware of Ford’s vast influence in the fashion world until Googling him after their meeting. The role of mysterious and sensitive Kenny, who serves as a guardian angel to Colin Firth’s suicidal character, was a breakthrough performance when portrayed with Hoult’s vulnerability. The unspoken homosexual undertones allowed Hoult to showcase how effortlessly he can tackle such a sensitive subject.

13

“Whenever you’re in the beast costume, you can kind of pull these practical jokes and come up behind people. No one’s expecting a YELLOWeyed blue monster to be stalking around,” Sharing the screen with the likes of Collin Firth and Julianne Moore and stripping bare on camera is intimidating enough for a seventeen-year-old without the pressure of fame, yet under the steady direction of Ford, Hoult conquered the challenge daintily. When he talks about Ford, admiration and appreciation are crystal clear in his tone. “Tom really helped me get into character, and that project was so dear to him. His passion is so clear, and it really helped.”

Thanks to Ford’s canny eye for bone structure, Hoult now also has high fashion modeling credits to his resume. About his relationship with fashion prior to the film, he says, “I just try not to dress like a complete idiot, but I wasn’t in fashion in any way before, or strictly trying to keep to the latest trend.”

Hoult has since popped his franchise cherry in X-Men: First Class, portraying the charming Dr Hank McCoy—a mutant that turns into a bluish-colored furry beast from time to time. “He’s an interesting character—he’s sort of this charmer, and he’s a great scientist and inventor, but at the same time, he has this exterior which is not pleasant, particularly,” says Hoult. “He’s very self-conscious, and feels really ashamed and embarrassed by his appearance. It was fun to play him before transformation and afterwards— once he became the big mutant beast, you know.”

I had to inquire: Assuming he doesn’t have much experience in being ugly, how did he prepare for the role of the beast? Surely, I could hear him blush. “Whenever you’re in the beast costume, you can kind of pull these practical jokes and come up behind people. No one’s expecting a six-eyed blue monster to be stalking around—it’s kind of quite imposing. So we were somewhere near a golf course and I was going around pretending to be an abominable yeti kind of blue beast, hiding in the trees in stuff—so that was fun. But anything you do, even if you’re doing something really mundane, just puttering around the trailer or cleaning or something, you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror in the makeup and you freak out.”

Currently, Hoult has three additional films in production: Jack the Giant Killer alongside Ewan McGregor, Mad Max: Fury Road with Charlize Theron, and Warm Bodies, an adaptation of an Isaac Marion book directed by Jonathan Levine. Warm Bodies is rumored to be the new experiment of the Twilight dream team, and Hoult is set to play the zombie who falls for the girlfriend of one of his victims by consuming his brain and 14

thus thoughts and affections. Summit Entertainment’s new gore-flavored teenage wet dream just might even crown Hoult as the recent occupant of the Teen Bop throne.

With so many promising projects in the works and a BAFTA nomination under his belt, Hoult says that his biggest fear (besides loneliness) is failure. “I mean, every time I’m working, I’m terrified that this is going to be the job where someone says, ‘Oh my god, that’s horrendous, never hire this kid again.’ And then I’d have to go off and get a real job, so that’s a fear that I’ve had for a long time.”

I ask him if there is anything that he wished he knew before getting involved in such a demanding job. He pauses, not knowing where to start, “It comes down to making your own decisions. It’s a very difficult thing, deciding what to do, what not to do. So far, I’ve been very lucky in negotiating. As long as you get into it for the right reasons and as long as you really care about what you do and you keep that and don’t get too jaded by all the stuff that goes with it, you’ll be fine. That’s the most important thing.”

Hoult moves through the tall grass and positions himself for the photographer. He sits on the ground and covers his eyes, blinded by the sunshine. “I can’t love you, woman.

I’m a vampire,” he mutters with a serious expression and an impeccable American accent, mocking the famous Twilight meadow scene in an overly dramatic manner. The tension breaks and the crew burst into laughter. As he repositions himself, he seems uncomfortable to have all the attention on him. He shifts his arms and legs as if he grew up overnight and now has to get used to such longer limbs—as if he just moved into this new body. He knocks over a bottle of water clumsily and starts to apologize so persistently that you would think he threw acid at somebody. His eternally apologetic attitude and ever-uncomfortable disposition are terribly endearing.

Hoult’s solid steps on the journey to conquer Hollywood seem to have a higher agenda than just having his name carved on school desks. His courageous choices, humble demeanor, perfected craft, and maturity herald the emergence of a leading man with a promising career and certain longevity. Yet he is utterly oblivious to his massive success and adorably convinced that he might die alone. Portents are evident—it’s only a matter of time before the massive wave of fame hits. Hopefully, Hoult’s delicate psyche is equipped to survive it.

shirt Martyn Bal cardigan Christopher Kane jeans Levi’s Made and Crafted vintage boots stylist’s own

sweatshirt J W Anderson shirt Topman trousers Lanvin vintage boots stylist’s own

jacket and shirt tom ford

vest SUNSPEL jacket DRIES VAN NOTEN blazer DIOR HOMME

suit lanvin shirt miharayasuhiro vintage boots stylist’s own

jacket and shirt tom ford

shirt and trousers paul smith pullover gucci

vest DRIES VAN NOTEN trousers levi’s made & crafted vintage boots stylist’s own

jacket James Long shirt Dries Van Noten trousers Lanvin vintage boots stylist’s own Photographer’s Assistants LUCY BROWN/SIMON THISTLE Stylist’s Assistants DANIELLE EMERSON/DANNY REED Hair Amber Rose Peake Makeup hila Prop Stylist imogen parry

26

COVER(ED)

by JEN KESSLER Photography SIMON PROCTER Stylist POLINA ARONOVA

Reincarnation of the Humbly Sagacious Herald There is a certain breed of talent, an alien talent, speckled amongst the boring, ordinary population. It’s not often experienced, but it’s certainly easy to detect—these particular beings boast a layered makeup that simply has no explanation, lest reincarnation is, in fact, a concrete truth. Such people have a power nestled at their core that seems to have been cultivated hundreds of years prior to birth, and when it pops and crackles and manifests, there is a colossal aftershock.

Ronan’s refined blend of young and old is a curious disparity that’s mirrored in her latest film; as Hanna, a child assassin raised and trained in the absolute seclusion of Finnish woods, Ronan manages to hold tight to a tangible sense of innocence while simultaneously breaking necks. With endless, untamed blonde tresses, bleached brows, and piercing, light-as-ice eyes, Ronan radiates purity. With an impeccable aim and deft combat skills that could level any grown man, she embodies power.

Saoirse Ronan has a knack for nabbing roles well beyond what’s expected of her tender age and executing them in a spectacular fashion. The petite blonde, with brilliant blue eyes the stuff of legend, presents with an unprecedented sort of grace, lending a rare regality to seventeen. Perched in wardrobe at the BULLETT shoot, outfitted in a pink Wonder Woman t-shirt and dark, flared denim, Ronan proffers the ultimate anachronism of old-soul-coltish youth.

Despite the action-thriller nature of the film, the story draws heavily from an archetypal fairy-tale plotline: a young protagonist raised in isolation, sent out into the world only to discover misery and malevolence. Amidst the barrage of confusion that accompanies the thrust into reality—a sudden empirical introduction to television, electricity, music, whirring ceiling fans—the young hero is tasked with conquering evil. In this case, said evil is personified by Cate Blanchett, who portrays the poised and maniacal Marissa Wiegler, a corrupt CIA agent hell-bent on Hanna’s destruction.

Bronx-born and Ireland-raised, Saoirse (whose name, pronounced “ser-sha,” translates as “freedom” in Gaelic) broke into Irish television at a mere nine years, setting into motion an acting career with astonishing trajectory. She was naught but twelve when she notched an Oscar nomination for her role as Briony in Joe Wright’s Atonement, a heavy period piece wherein Ronan plays kid sister to Keira Knightly and wreaks accidental havoc on multiple lives. From there, she went on to snatch up parts in a round sampling of big budget projects, notably portraying the titular character Susie Salmon in Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones. In the story, Ronan’s bright-eyed Susie is raped and murdered by Stanley Tucci’s monstrous George, and, post-mortem, she observes her broken family from the “in-between.”

Not only did the role garner Ronan a sweeping collection of nominations and accolades (at seventeen, she’s already pulled down four Irish Film and Television Awards, a Saturn Award, two BAFTA nominations, and one Oscar nomination), but it marked the second major project that dealt with rape, mortality, and misery—heavy subject matter. For Ronan, the intensity is cathartic.

“Crying scenes are great, because you’re kind of unleashing something that you wouldn’t let out very often,” she says. “It’s kind of like if you go out into a field and just scream, and you feel so great afterwards, and you feel so satisfied and spent.

That’s sort of the way doing those kind of emotional scenes is. I really enjoy them— it’s a chance for me to just let go.”

Obvious references to such magical tales of old are woven into the violent, contemporary narrative: Hanna flees across Europe, seeking out “Mr. Grimm’s house” as a point of rendezvous, tracked by a whacked out, pipe-thwacking mercenary who whistles lightly like a twisted, sadistic version of a Disney dwarf. A photo-booth style film strip of her murdered mother is tucked safely in a haggard volume of the Grimm’s Fairy Tales. The terse, ultimate showdown between good and evil happens in a decrepit Grimm-themed amusement park in Berlin, Blanchett and Ronan darting around in a veritable graveyard of gigantic, fantastical plastic beasts.

Ronan’s delivers a stunning performance, managing to bundle virtue, curiosity, and sorrow into one tiny, kinetic, kill-savvy package. The role was a blend of intense physicality, which had Ronan in training for five hours a day for months leading up to filming, and acute feeling, which she channeled in ways she can’t quite explain.

Ronan’s remarkable talent is primal, intuitive. She seems to have tapped into a natural, inexplicable current at birth—her process revolves around raw emotion, and her attempts to articulate her method are relatively stunted.

“With Hanna, we started off with physical preparation. We worked on her physicality. We basically worked from the outside in, and I was aware of what her history was, and how she came to be in the situation she’s in now,” she says. “The imagination—that’s preparation. I think that once you understand your character fully, inside and out... You can’t really explain it in words, but somehow, in your subconscious, it’s a natural thing.”

29

dress CHANEL glasses selima brooches & ring MADE HER THINK for MANDY COON

30

gown OSCAR DE LA RENTA gloves LACRASIA

33

Though she can’t quite verbalize the “how” behind her prowess, Ronan is entirely aware of the “why,” which drives her passion. “Cinema is important because basically every art form comes to cinema,” she says. “Cinema involves music. Painting. Everything.

It’s life. It’s the closest we can come to life. A painting can only give you so much, I think, and music is very beautiful, but when they all come together, it’s like you’re really embracing everything. I don’t think some people realize, actually, how important it is.”

As Hanna goes tit-for-tat with Wiegler, so Ronan matches Blanchett every step of the film, proving a worthy sparring partner in plot and an excellent counterpart in reality. Blanchett is just one of a handful of Hollywood staples Ronan has starred opposite—she’s also shared the screen with Susan Sarandon and Rachel Weisz (The Lovely Bones), consistently standing tall and distinct amongst a sea of leading ladies.

“I loved working with them, and I’m sure they’ve influenced me in some way,” she says of her practiced co-stars, past and present. “It’s great to be surrounded by those kinds of people who take their jobs seriously. They’re down to earth people, they’re not divas, they’re professional, and they’re good at what they do.”

Watching Ronan toy with a box of Skittles as she is tugged on and tweaked by a maelstrom of hair and makeup hands, never once dropping the smile or failing to serve up bits of banter, it’s quite clear that the miniature powerhouse remains grounded in reality, as well. While there are none-too-few folks who would be content to rest on their laurels and cultivate ego after delivering a performance as extraordinary as Ronan’s in Hanna, her demeanor is one of genuine gratitude.

“I’ve seen actors who are very, very talented and just might not get the break, might not be lucky enough,” she says. “There are actors in Ireland who are so talented, and no one knows about them over here at all. I’m very grateful that I work with all of these different people, and to a certain extent, it’s shaped my personality a little bit.”

“I’m still who I am, I’m still who I’ve always been,” she adds with understated assurance. “But being around people who are interesting, and in the same business as you, who inspire you...” she trails off, and then simply: “It’s good. It’s a good thing to do.”

When Ronan disappears into the makeshift fashion closet and reemerges in head-to-toe Rodarte, the collective intake of breath in the room is audible. The teenager is transformed into a woman, radiating a maturity and elegance that demand the label leading 34

lady. This sophisticated, beautiful appearance is a true reflection of Ronan’s old soul core, of a woman worthy of championing Hollywood. In an age all but bereft of young female role models, Ronan is an inspiration.

“With a film like Hanna, what’s good about it is it’s about this girl who is physically very strong, but she’s also quite elegant,” she says. “She’s not very cool—she’s a bit of a misfit. And I think we need to see more of that. We need to see people who are just the way they are, and they’re not being made generic or stereotypical. Made to be something that they’re not. I see female characters out there who just aren’t realistic. Girls can’t really relate to them.”

“Selfishly, when I pick a role it’s for me, and it’s because I want to do it,” she explains. “But I am a person, and I am a seventeen-year-old girl, and I’m sure there are other girls out there who will have the same opinions as me, so I think it’s good to play girls who aren’t two dimensional. It’s good to have layers, and to give people something to think about.”

Fittingly, a true icon to Ronan is “someone who lets you know that it’s okay to be yourself. Someone who inspires you to do what you really want to do, or be who you really want to be, even just by them just being themselves and letting people know about it.

I like that.”

And as such, Ronan is confident in revealing her true self. Despite a maturity and professionalism that reflect a seasoned adult, she remains a girl in many ways, and she’s quite content in that. Her family travels with her from project to project, providing a nurturing environment, comforting mugs of Irish tea, and a modicum of teenage normalcy. She adores Lady Gaga, and though she does clam up about that (“I love Gaga, but I’m not going to talk about that, because I talk about her in nearly every interview!”), she rattles off a litany of favorite bands with enthusiasm: “Beach House, Warpaint, Grizzly Bear, the oldies like Bowie, the Smiths, Talking Heads...”

And every once in a while, a glimmer of endearing, awestruck enthusiasm peeks out from behind the composed face of the young consummate professional. “I was in Danny DeVito’s house, and his wife was there, and all their family and everything,” she recalls in a rare instant of giddiness. “And I went into the toilet and thought, ‘Oh crap, I’m in Mr. Wormwood’s house!’ That’s really exciting. Every now and again, there’s someone who’s just so definitive.”

And with that final sentiment, Ronan unwittingly foreshadows the next chapter of her narrative.

“I am a seventeenyear-old girl, and I’m sure there are other girls out there who will have the same opinions as me, so I think it’s good to play girls who aren’t two dimensional.

It’s good to have layers, and to give people something to think about.”

top, pants and hair clip RODARTE shoes ROBERT CLERGERIE headband JENNIFER OUELLETTE earrings TOM BINNS belt valentino

“Crying scenes are great, because you’re kind of unleashing something that you wouldn’t let out very often,”

sweater and skirt ERDEM shirt STELLA McCARTNEY shoes MIU MIU necklaces delfina delettrez stockings Falke

37

gown VALENTINO shoes STELLA McCARTNEY ring and bracelet RUBY KOBO

38

“Cinema is important because basically every art form comes to cinema.

Cinema involves music.

Painting.

Everything.

It’s life.

It’s the closest we can come to life.”

shirt christopher kane dress MIU MIU shoes MANOLO BLAHNIK earrings vintage Hair RUTGER Makeup BRIGITTE REISS-ANDERSEN Manicurist rica romain Prop Stylist brianne doak Photographer Assistants CY KARRAT and GREG HAERLING Stylist Assistant DELVIN LUGO

40

dress VALENTINO headbands JENNIFER OUELLETTE shoes MANOLO BLAHNIK

VOL III THE GOLDEN ISSUE SUBSCRIBE NOW