Plus: Our Oscar Best-Picture Predictions

September 26, 2026

The 2026 Cannes Film Festival feels like a lifetime ago, but its biggest breakout has stuck with audiences and critics ever since. Jordan Firstman’s Club Kid was a pleasant surprise amid the fest’s weightier fare, an unexpectedly sweet film from an oft-caustic humorist. “People haven’t seen my softer side, which is a very real side of me,” he tells Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Ford. “I’m not going to pretend I don’t have the harder edge too. I’m a discerning guy. I can be a little edgy sometimes, but it’s also growing up.”


While Firstman welcomes in reporters for what some doubters refer to as a “PR campaign for Jordan to be likable,” President Trump appears to have given up on all that. As Washington correspondent Aidan McLaughlin reports, Trump’s attempt to shut three news outlets out of the White House didn’t send the message he’d hoped—and, in fact, the communication was pretty muddled, with Vice President JD Vance saying “He’s not banning media outlets,” even as Trump said he’d launched “a ban on the free press.” So what actually happened? Aidan lays it out.


And now, three questions easily answered with a click. What seven films do our experts predict will score a best picture nomination? What Bowery art museum recently doubled in size? And why did Prince Harry go skydiving in Canada?
EVE BATEY
EDITOR

HOLLYWOOD

 

Jordan Firstman and the Cast of Club Kid Are Taking Awards Season by Storm

 

By Rebecca Ford

 

Six years ago, he was best known for his absurd impressions on Instagram. Now he’s gate-crashing awards season with a sweet, tender coming-of-age tale called Club Kid. We caught up with an auteur on the brink—and the colorful cast of his big debut. Read more

PARTY ANIMALS

 

How Trump’s War on the Press Cost Him What He Loves Most

 

By Aidan McLaughlin

 

After the president banned CNN, MS NOW, and Politico, Vanity Fair hit the White House grounds for some battlefield reporting. The main casualty turns out to be Trump’s very life force: the glare of a broadcast television camera. Read more

LITTLE GOLD MEN

 

Our Oscar Best-Picture Predictions After Venice, Telluride, and Toronto

 

By Rebecca Ford

 

Seven films now look like locks for an Oscar nomination, but the last three spots are anyone’s guess, with New York’s fall festival debut still to come. Read more

TRUE COLORS

 

The Best Art Museum on the Bowery Goes Global

 

By Nate Freeman

 

The New Museum unveiled its new building earlier this year, and this week opens its large-scale fall exhibitions. Can it play international kingmaker while staying true to the downtown demimonde? Read more

ROYALS

 

Prince Harry Risks It All During Canadian Skydiving Event

 

By Diego Parrado

 

Prince Harry made the daring leap during a fundraiser for Canadian veterans. Read more

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