These stars shine bright

[+] Click to enlarge (Norman Jean Roy/Vanity Fair)

(Norman Jean Roy/Vanity Fair)

Modern cinematic glamour by way of 1930s Shanghai was the look Vanity Fair fashion and style director Jessica Diehl planned for the cover of the magazine’s 17th annual Hollywood issue, due on newsstands Thursday. What she didn’t anticipate was Titan the lion cub teething on Rashida Jones’ Tom Ford gown. But the young lion’s appetite was no rival to the ambitions of these fresh Hollywood faces. “We picked 14 actors and actresses who are constantly working and are in the movie theaters now and throughout the year,” says Jane Sarkin, VF’s features editor. And then there’s the 80-year-old man behind the bar. “Everybody was awed,” says Sarkin, “by the presence of Robert Duvall.”

The old-school studs

Ryan Reynolds, 34, won critical praise for his locked-in-a-coffin performance in “Buried” last year, then buffed up for his forthcoming role in “The Green Lantern” this summer. Jake Gyllenhaal, 30, (second from left) romanced Anne Hathaway (third) in “Love and Other Drugs,” and will star opposite Jessica Biel in the black comedy “Nailed” this year, in addition to his role in the action thriller “Source Code.”

MORE: VANITY FAIR IN HOT WATER AGAIN?

The variety act

The foxy co-Oscar hosts switch genres this year: After last year’s comedy with Gyllenhaal, 28-year-old Hathaway will play Catwoman in Christopher Nolan’s new Batman movie, and James Franco, 32, will follow up his harrowing “127 Hours” performance with the upcoming stoner comedy “Your Highness.”

The scene stealers

“The Hurt Locker” star Anthony Mackie, 31, will break out this year with three big movies, starting with the sci-fi thriller “The Adjustment Bureau.” His two dates shined on-screen last year — Jennifer Lawrence (the youngest of the shoot at age 20) in “Winter’s Bone,” and Olivia Wilde, 26, in “Tron.”

The power players

Jesse Eisenberg’s portayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in “The Social Network” made the 27-year-old actor a household name this year, as 27-year-old Mila Kunis’ turn as a seductive dancer did for her in “Black Swan.” Joseph Gordon-Levitt, 29, excelled in his supporting role in “Inception,” while “Social Network” actors Andrew Garfield, 27, and Rashida Jones, 34, are looking at more exposure next year — Garfield as the new Spider-Man, and Jones in three comedies including “Friends With Benefits,” which costars Kunis. In the background, 80-year-old Oscar winner Robert Duvall, whose performance in last year’s indie “Get Low” won raves, tends bar.

The up-and-comers

After two breakout roles this year in “Country Strong” and “Tron,” newcomer Garrett Hedlund, 26, will play Dean Moriarty in this year’s “On the Road.” Noomi Rapace, the 31-year-old Swedish actress who originated the titular role of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” will make her entrance on the Hollywood stage this year in Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes” sequel.