Glossy Venice plans flashy 15-year bash

Venice publisher and editorial director Nancy Bishop never goes anywhere without copies of her magazine. Arriving at the Sony Pictures lot for a screening of “The Company,” the new film from director Robert Altman (whom Bishop calls “Brother Bob”), she distributes copies to parking lot attendants, security guards, publicists, anyone in sight, like a magazine Santa Claus.The full-color glossy published 11 times a year out of a mint green box on Abbot Kinney Boulevard, is doing more than surviving. In a time when slumping ad sales and intense competition have killed off some publications, Venice is celebrating its 15th anniversary with an 180-page issue.

Founded in 1988 by poet Walter Martinez (still a consultant), Venice is independently run. “We are about the human dimension of the artist,” Bishop says. “Their influences, how they prepare for a part; not the color of their underwear.”

That attitude has made it a Hollywood favorite. The list of celebrities who’ve graced the cover includes Gena Rowlands, Nicole Kidman, Morgan Freeman, Johnny Depp, Kevin Spacey, Mel Gibson and Michael Caine.

The magazine is also known for its parties. Next month it hosts the AFI premiere of Jennifer Connelly’s new film, “House of Sand and Fog.” Before that, though, Venice will toast itself -- with a celebrity-laden blowout Oct. 25.

-- Steve Baltin