Tag Archives: Stephen Saban

This warm, charming, and utterly endearing photo of me by Idris+Tony on page 362 of THE BOOK was taken in cruel closeup three years ago, during a very brief period when I actually was warm, charming, and utterly endearing. But a lot can happen in three years; for example, I lost 50 pounds and gained an angry network of crowsfeet and some would say a curmudgeonly demeanor. (And yes, if you’re wondering, even this beatific portrait of a younger me necessitated a spot of Photoshop.) But my point here, and I do have one, is that this image was made three years ago in preparation for the book, and other portraits were created even earlier. And while Idris+Tony and Mathu Anderson, and other photographers were accruing air miles shooting stars around the world, the text was being writ and rewrit and rewrit again. So, you see, this book is no slap-dash quickie, but an epic tome “years in the making” – a kind of Birth of a Notion.

Now let’s read the photo’s caption: “Last century when Stephen was the nightlife editor of the original Details magazine and we were the Pop Tarts, we would send him press releases and materials in the hopes that he would write about us. But he never did. Well, maybe he did once. The solution was to lure him to Hollywood to write for and edit the WOW Report.”