Nylon - October 2008 - (Page 32) a ma n d a fo r tin i When Amanda Fortini was eight years old, she wrote plays and forced her sisters and cousins to act out the parts. But nowadays, having graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in English and American Literature, the Los Angeles-based Fortini writes for The New Yorker, New York, Slate, and Elle, and often about real actors. In this instance Michael Cera, who she interviewed along with the other stars (Kat Dennings, Alexis Dziena, and Ari Graynor) of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (“Music Sounds Better With You,” page 100). “It’s a sweet film with realistic (and often witty) dialogue and some very natural performances,” she says. “Plus, the music is great—it’s like High Fidelity for the iPod generation!” And, yes, she thinks Michael Cera is adorable, too: “He was soft-spoken, but also quite articulate and sharp, with a dry sense of humor. When I met up with Alexis Dziena later that day, she asked me, ‘Don’t you just want to put him in your pocket?’” cri sti n a b la ck Cristina Black studied classical harp and wanted to be a musician—that is, until she moved to New Orleans at 18. “I started covering shows for magazines to combine my writing skills with my appreciation for the way sound affects people,” she says, “but the truth is I just wanted an excuse to go out every night!” Black is the entertainment editor for California magazine Foam; contributes to New York, Village Voice, and Time Out New York; and is working on her first novel. For this issue, she writes about the Kings of Leon (“Take Me Higher,” page 106): “Kings of Leon are born rock stars, right down to the drug problems,” Black says. “Lead singer Caleb Followill owns up to his faults and touts his talents honestly. Everyone wants him to be a dumb redneck, but he’s not—he’s quite sharp, actually.” When she isn’t writing, Black plays ukulele, writes songs about “money, booze, and betrayal,” and is recording an album with her brother, “à la the Fiery Furnaces.” a d a m fe d d e r ly While photographer Adam Fedderly grew up drawing and painting abstract portraits, when he was 12 he fell in love with the black-and-white images of photography masters like Ansel Adams, Robert Capa, and Helmut Newton. “Now, I enjoy being able to concentrate on the beauty of the subject,” he says. And the two subjects Fedderly photographed for our It Girls feature (“Electric Youth,” page 126) are beautiful, indeed. “Teyana Taylor is a doll—cute as can be, but tough as nails,” he says. “And Harley Viera-Newton is a sweet and sexy girl.” When Fedderly is not taking pictures, he is “editing pictures, thinking about taking pictures, concepts, locations, light, models, colors ” But while his wish list—which includes everyone from Kate Moss to Ellie Tahari to Hugh Hefner—is growing, he also enjoys surfing and spending time with his new fiancé and his two Siamese cats, Francie and Georgie: “Zhey err vonderful!” th e a u rd a l Inspired by Roald Dahl’s Matilda, writer Thea Urdal’s first story—at age seven—was about a magic elephant. “I’ve moved on from fairy-tale animals to more realistic writing,” she says, “even though some fairy-tale elements do sneak in at times.” The 21-year-old Urdal was born, raised, and lives in Oslo, Norway (“not too far from the North Pole; we’ll be the first to go if global warming continues. Sweet.”) which is where her article for this issue (“48 Hours In Oslo,” page 116) takes place. “It is a ridiculously beautiful city, but I wanted to show that there is loads more to discover about Oslo—like raging basement nightclubs and a blossoming art scene.” Urdal is the executive and fashion editor for Norwegian magazine, planB, and is hard at work breaking into freelance journalism stateside. “I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for the best—magic stuffed elephant in hand.” 32
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