The cover of Vanity Fair‘s annual Hollywood issue feels…odd. Curious. Because the idea has always been to present a combination of Oscar likelies, up-and-comers and established industry legends enjoying a peak moment. And…what is this exactly? I’ll tell you what it isn’t. It doesn’t feel like the right statement or combination or something. It’s a head-scratcher.

My first thought was “uhh, okay…too bad about the Jennifer Lopez snub.” Second: “Why isn’t Brad Pitt on the cover?” Third: “What about all those stupid Dolemite snubs?”….Eddie Murphy, should-have-been Best Supporting Actress nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph, costume designer Ruth E. Carter, the first-rate screenplay by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, etc.

And why isn’t Joaquin Phoenix posing alongside Murphy, Zellweger and JLo? Or Greta “Joan of Arc” Gerwig for that matter?

The basic impression is that VF editors live in their own little world. They certainly haven’t captured the proverbial moment-in-time.