Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue debuts with slightly more diversity, touts Hathaway, Franco, Oscar noms

Nothing says Oscar season quite like gathering the year's freshest crop of Hollywood must-haves together in skin-tight (and skin-revealing) gowns and dapper coats and bow-ties.

Pale arms drape over dark suits, men clutch drinks and Olivia Wilde wears next-to-nothing in this year's Vanity Fair Hollywood Issue, due out on stands Thursday.

"No teenagers, no penguins, no (full-on) nudity, just the most exciting actors and actresses of the moment,"Vanity Fairdeclares.

And indeed, with a theme that harkens back to"the glamour of 1930s Shanghai, an era of smoky, alluring elegance,"according to fashion and style director Jessica Diehl, the shoot tries to push past conventional covers.

Vanity Fair wascriticizedlast year for featuring only fair-skinned actresses on its"New Hollywood"cover in a year when many other non-white actresses were having their moment, most prominently Gabourey Sidibe for her turn in"Precious"and Zoe Saldana in"Avatar."

With the Academy Awards less than a month away, the publication this time brought together some of the industry's most disparate hard-hitters in one large pull-out cover in what can be called a deliberate departure from last year's controversial fair-skinned layout.

This year, Vanity Fair includes a wider array of diversity, including"The Hurt Locker"star Anthony Mackie - who is all but overshadowed by a nearly naked centerpiece Olivia Wilde, Robert Duvall, peeking out from behind Mila Kunis' alluring gaze, and Rashida Jones, who drapes gracefully in a floor-length leopard print gown whilst feeding a lion cub.

Thebuzzthis year?

None of the actors on the cover panel of the spread are people of color.

Last year's controversial Hollywood Issue drew criticism for its lack of diversity. (Vanity Fair)

Hollywood hunks Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal and James Franco surround Oscar host Anne Hathaway in the glamorized cover, and though she is undoubtedly gorgeous on the cover,"white hot"might not be the best term to use - it's a touchy subject.

The complete celebrated list includes Ryan Reynolds, 34; Jake Gyllenhaal, 30; James Franco, 32; Anne Hathaway, 28; Jennifer Lawrence, 20; Anthony Mackie, 31; Olivia Wilde, 26; Jesse Eisenberg, 27; Mila Kunis, 27; Robert Duvall, 80; Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 29; Andrew Garfield, 27; Rashida Jones, 34, Garrett Hedlund, 26, and Noomi Rapace, 31, the original Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

jchen@nydailynews.com

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