The Making of PEOPLE’s Epic 50th Anniversary Cover: 11 Stars, One Corgi and Some Photo Magic

All the details about our celebratory cover photographed by Art Streiber

How do you get the most popular stars in America together for one photo shoot? It’s practically impossible. So to create our 50th anniversary cover, we relied on a lot of air travel, plenty of hard work and a little bit of magic.

As we anxiously awaited the end of the Hollywood strikes, Ilana Schweber, PEOPLE’s director of photography, and Art Streiber, the photographer for the 50th cover, were already working on how to make this commemorative cover come together.

The idea was to make the scene the ultimate garden party, where everyone is welcome.

“We knew right away that we didn’t want a long table like the Last Supper where everyone’s on one side,” Schweber explains. “We wanted something more casual, something that felt like the reader could be part of this special event.”

After settling on the overall framing, and armed with sketches and mood boards, Streiber photographed stand-ins for our cover stars — Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Viola Davis, Michael J. Fox, Dwayne Johnson, Nicole Kidman, John Legend, Matthew McConaughey, Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey and Reese Witherspoon — to help envision what the final cover would look like. We also wanted to give every star a moment on the front cover, so we set out to create two images, each available on newsstands nationwide. As a nod to PEOPLE's Royals coverage, we also included a Corgi named Kara.

Streiber knew the project would require plenty of flexibility, and he shot the stars in a variety of different placements. “We weren’t sure where everyone would land in the final frame,” he says. But the endeavor also required precision: The placement of every chair and table was measured exactly. Those stage markings and each piece of furniture traveled to every shoot; the crew also carried the same glassware (for toasting) and other props so that each detail would be the same. “We minimized the variables while maximizing our options on the backend,” Streiber says.

“The tabletops were custom-made by my set designer, Anthony Altomare, in order to be just the right size to fit two people and squeeze five or six people into a double-page spread.” (Altomare and his assistant, Scott Stone, even modified a hard case normally used for photography gear to safely carry the stemware and party poppers.)

The photo shoots took place in four cities — Nashville, Los Angeles, New York and West Palm Beach — and each of the stars was offered their favorite drink to celebrate PEOPLE's 50th. For Dwayne Johnson, it was his Teremana Tequila, for Michael J. Fox, a Diet Coke. McConaughey chose his Pantalones Tequila, and shared the inspiration for the name with Streiber: “In all seriousness, [McConaughey] said, "it’s the lack of pants that got us here. Our kids are here because my wife and I weren’t wearing pants, and I’m here because my parents weren’t wearing pants, and we’re all here because people were having a good time without their pants on.’ That’s poetry.”

Streiber, who has created many composite photos in his career, says that although his job might have been easier if everyone could have been in one room, the finished project is no less special. “The authenticity in creating this particular cover is being honest with readers and saying, ‘This is our dream scenario’,” Streiber explains.

“We wanted to go out of our way to make the dream look as unimpeachable as possible," he says, crediting retoucher Angie Marie Hayes for making sure the shadows and light and other details looked just right.

Schweber adds: “The magic of the movies made it happen. And it’s been so fun to see it come together.”

For more on our 50th Anniversary, check out our special digital issue, and pick up the latest copy of PEOPLE, on newsstands April 12.

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