Essential Magazine Covers: 2011

He produced and directed a documentary (Saturday Night), smooched Sean Penn in Gus Van Sant's Milk (2008), wrote fiction (Palo Alto), dabbled in hosting (twice for "Saturday Night Live" and once for the Academy Awards), took an MFA in Columbia University's writing program, and capped 2010 by posing as a transvestite for photographer Terry Richardson on the cover of Candy—a fashion magazine for transsexuals. 

A fearless subject, a maverick, and a photographer's darling,  he was featured in several magazine covers. The most notorious is the one he did for Flaunt, a progressive magazine known for its dual covers. Scroll down for a preview. 

Before doing so, check out some of this year's most memorable magazine covers.

  

. 1 .

Alexander Skarsgard 

Interview, June 2011

. 2 .

Penélope Cruz

V, July 2011

 . 3 .

Robert Pattinson

Vanity Fair, April 2011

. 4 .

Spider-Man

The New Yorker, 17 January 2011

. 5 .

Granta, summer 2011

. 6 .

Alexander Skarsgård

Out, November 2011

. 7 .

Freida Pinto

Interview, August 2011

. 8 .

James Franco

Flaunt, 2011

Essential Trailers: 2011

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy's trailer is everything a trailer should be—short, thrilling and surprisingly engaging. It's hard to warm up to a spy movie populated by senior, aging actors (Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, John Hurt), but the trailer's tight editing and superb music (Danny Elfman's Wolf Suite Pt 1) assert that this movie will easily hold up against any wham-bang, big movie out there. You hear that, Mr. Tom  Mission-Impossible-Ghost-Protocol Cruise?

Here are five standout trailers from 2011. The other one's unofficial, but who cares right?

. 1 .
X-Men: First Class

. 2 .
Carnage

. 3 .
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

. 4 .
Pina

. 5 .
Drive

(unofficial trailer)

Essential Track: 2011

The Chromatics' addictive, techno thumpin' track, "Tick Of The Clock," sets the tone of Drive to a tee.

Time to boogie, Mr. Gosling.