To coincide with the opening of Everything That Matters – an online exhibition celebrating creative director David James’ ten years at AnOther Magazine – David reveals the behind-the-scenes stories from the making of his five favourite covers.
AnOther Man, Issue 1
Joaquin Phoenix, photography Craig McDean, stylist Beat Bolliger
It was so important to get this cover image right for the launch issue. We had a great star in JP, but actors generally don’t like posing for pictures. Our idea was to shoot action portraits: the signature style of photographer Craig McDean. JP was chain-smoking on the day and had his own ideas… one of which involved destroying the hand props he was given. We didn’t plan to have JP reading a book or smoking on the cover, it just happened. So we ended up with a politically correct and incorrect picture. Eventually he tore up the book and with it the rules. Perfect for a launch issue.
AnOther Man, Issue 7
Viggo Mortensen, photography Richard Burbridge, stylist Panos Yiapanis
This picture was taken the day after Viggo finished filming The Road. He was totally wired from the shoot and somewhat exhausted. It shows in his eyes and expression. He wouldn’t wear any of the clothes the stylist brought to the shoot and insisted on wearing only a black dustbin liner. What an attitude. Genius.
AnOther Magazine, Issue 21
Rachel Weiss, photography Craig McDean, stylist Olivier Rizzo
There's a saying in photography as in TV, “Never work with children or animals.” Our idea was to shoot Rachel with a goat. It was inspired by a Pina Bauch performance. The goat was very young and unused to being handled. The shot didn't seem to be working and Rachel – despite being a dream to work with – wasn’t comfortable, so we abandoned the shot after a few frames and moved on…We weren't hopeful when we edited the images later, but surprisingly the goat delivered. A new star was born.
AnOther Magazine, Issue 2
Jessica Chastain, photography Willy Vanderperre, stylist Olivier Rizzo
It’s hard to make a ‘happy’ image ‘cool' in fashion terms. Usually such an image either looks cheesy or commercial, but in this instance we got lucky. Of course it always helps when you have a great subject, and Jessica turned out to be a fantastic model. Her look was carefully worked out and we even had a cover idea in mind, but not the one we ended up with. At the end of the shoot, Willy tried some head shots and something made Jessica laugh. It was spontaneous and natural. The result was a strange contrast of real emotion and high glamour – something quite rare in fashion.
AnOther Magazine, Issue 24
Michelle Williams, photography Willy Vanderperre, stylist Olivier Rizzo
The idea for this cover story was to shoot Michelle Williams as a series of different characters. After the shoot we had lots of cover options and there was a lot of discussion about the choice, but my mind was made up as soon as we shot this image. Sometimes, all the elements of an image (the styling, hair, make-up, lighting, set and props) align perfectly and you get a bang. In this image you get silence. The hat is doing all the talking.
everythingthatmatters.com
