Playboy July 2004

COVER STORY Before Alias's Jennifer Garner, there was Peta Wilson. The star of TV's La Femme Nikita was the first actress to play a government assassin with an ass to die for. Photographer Patrick Demarchelier stripped the spy of her guns and garments. You won't need truth serum to confess your love for this femme fatale. Our Rabbit goes undercover in the darkness of Peta's robe. FEATURES 82 THE WRECK OF THE LA CONTE On a winter day in 1998 five Alaskan fishermen set sail into one of the worst arctic storms on record. When their boat sank, they spent seven hours roped together as 70-foot waves crashed on top of them. The step-by-step account of one of the most daring helicopter rescues ever. BY TODD LEWAN 88 THE NAKED PAGE PROJECT For our 50th anniversary issue an acclaimed novelist wrote about the blank pieces of paper he collects from famous writers. He asked readers to mail him the empty page included with the story. Inside the hundreds of envelopes he received: rants, pleas, secrets, drawings and a paper airplane or two. BY JONATHAN SAFRAN FOER 92 THE PRESIDENTIAL SEX QUIZ Clinton didn't invent sex in the Oval Office. Test your knowledge of our past presidents' sexual antics: Who was the first commander in chief to get caught cheating? What was LBJ's pet name for his penis? (Hint: It wasn't Johnson.) 94 SUPER CARS Whether you want to spend $250,000 or more on a new car is your call, but you owe it to yourself to get to know the best from Lamborghini, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Chrysler. After all, sticker shock isn't fatal. BY KEN GROSS 114 PAPARAZZI APPRENTICE Tabloids are offering more money than ever to shutterbugs who stalk the rich and famous. We embedded our reporter in L.A.'s most hated army—celebrity photographers. Will he survive close encounters with Meg Ryan, Bruce Willis and Sir Paul.McCartney's security goons? BY DAVID PEISNER 129 CENTERFOLDS ON SEX: SERRIA TAWAN Serria teaches you how to avoid unforced errors. 130 20Q CHRISTINA APPLEGATE The delectable actress who played Kelly Bundy is back, starring in this summer's big comedy, Anchorman. In PLAYBOY she talks about ball-scratching ballplayers, jury duty and the joy of cursing in nursery school. BY ROBERT ABELE FICTION 84 POWDER A small-town virgin moves to Chicago and finds himself humiliated on the job and a loser with big-city women. After he visits a strange doctor, his boss promotes him, women pay to have sex with him, and he falls in love. But will his luck continue even when the magic powder runs out? BY THOM JONES INTERVIEW 59 MICHAEL MOORE Whether you cheer him or jeer him, you can't ignore this best-selling author and Oscar-winning filmmaker. His new documentary accuses President Bush of benefitting from the war on terror. In a turn-the-tables Playboy Interview, we demand that Moore answer our questions on Bush, Bin Laden and his badgering of former NRA president and Alzheimer's victim Charlton Heston. BY DAVID SHEFF PICTORIALS 74 SWING TIME Sexy swingers untangle themselves at the Lifestyles Convention to pose—and share orgy stories. 100 PLAYMATE: STEPHANIE GLASSON Miss July aspires to be a real estate mogul. She could sell us anything. 132 PETA WILSON Feel free to spy on the actress who played La Femme Nikita. NOTES AND NEWS 13 PLAYBOY'S SUPER BOWL CELEBRATION Jenna Bush, Nicole Richie and Jaime Pressly catch passes at the biggest pigskin bash of them all. 14 SHAQ'S NBA ALL-STAR MANSION PARTY A slam-dunk gathering with Shaquille O'Neal, Laila Ali and Crispin Glover. 51 THE PLAYBOY FORUM Forcing websites to accommodate the blind; why does Wall Street get a free pass during scandals? 165 PLAYMATE NEWS A tale about the Bunny costume that almost never was; Rebekka Armstrong on living with HIV DEPARTMENTS 5 PLAYBILL 19 DEAR PLAYBOY 23 AFTER HOURS 43 MANTRACK 47 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR 112 PARTY JOKES 153 WHERE AND HOW TO BUY 169 ON THE SCENE 170 GRAPEVINE 172 POTPOURRI FASHION 120 DOG DAYS OF SUMMER Just because it's warm doesn't mean you can't set girls' tails wagging. BY JOSEPH DE ACETIS 126 SKIN DEEP The days of soap and water are gone. The best new products for your face. BY JOSEPH DE ACETIS REVIEWS 33 MOVIES Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks imagine the worst layover ever; get caught in Spider-Man 2's web. 36 DVDS Cold Mountain and Bad Santa on our list; dreams about Dreamers. 37 MUSIC Beastie Boys love NYC, Sonic Youth returns, and Polyphonic Spree triumphs. 38 GAMES MLB SlugFest: Loaded—does virtual baseball beat the real thing? 40 BOOKS Lee Child's new military thriller; lessons on how to rock.