Tuesday, October 30, 2018

PRESS UPDATE : INTERVIEW MAGAZINE... OCTOBER 30TH 2018 ..

THE IMMORTAL JOAN COLLINS FINDS HER WAY IN A NEW AGE

By 
Photography Bella Newman
Published October 30, 2018

Describing Joan Collins is one of the few instances in Hollywood where using the word “immortal” is not a cliché. The self-proclaimed working actor has been in the game for nearly three-quarters of a century, and has resurfaced this year onAmerican Horror Story: Apocalypse as Evie Gallant, a wealthy nuclear war survivor who looks plucked from Collins’s days playing the soap opera villain Alexis Carrington on Dynasty. Collins has not been seen outdoors without a statement shoulder since the Reagan administration, but as she explains to the fashion designer and filmmaker Tom Ford, she is not one to follow the herd. The two dear friends got together to discuss everything but their respective stories about Gina Lollobrigida.
TOM FORD: Joan, I’ve seen you on American Horror Story and, my god, you’re spectacular.
JOAN COLLINS: Really?
FORD: Your lines are perfectly delivered, and who knew how great you would look in black latex?
COLLINS: I have to say, when I looked through the crack in the door and saw that scene being performed, the look of shock on my face was not acting.
FORD: You have such a great sense of style, and you’ve become an icon. How did you find your style? How did you become “Joan Collins the public persona”?
COLLINS: Well, my mother had seven or eight sisters, and everybody was very concerned about how they looked—my mother always had daytime clothes as well as evening wear. At one point, I even wanted to be a designer, and I would design clothes for my aunts. We all had dressmakers at the time, because in the 1950s and ’60s the clothes in the shops were awful. Then, when Dynasty started, Nolan Miller said, “I think we’re going to put you in this little tweed suit with a pussycat bow.” I said, “No way! Do you know what Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent are doing in Paris right now? They’re doing nipped-in waists and big shoulders. They’re doing big hair, big earrings.” That’s what I wanted to do. So I talked to Aaron Spelling, and he said, “Well, that’s not how our leading ladies work in TV”—because he did Charlie’s Angels when they were all in little silk shirts and pants.
FORD: Right.
COLLINS: But he said, “I think it’s right for Alexis.” So Nolan and I had carte blanche. I loved the ’80s, and I still love the clothes. I won’t wear anything unless it’s got a full shoulder, or off-the-shoulder. I’m not the jeans-and-t-shirt type. Particularly torn jeans; I think that’s disgusting. Someone once said to me, “I bet you never wear track pants.” Well, of course, I do. There was a picture of me taken on set a couple of weeks ago with a white wig, an anorak, and track pants. I’m drinking a coffee. But I really like looking my best. I also went through a bohemian stage, wanting to look like Juliette Gréco.
FORD: It was a chic bohemian phase. I’ve seen those pictures. You know, I feel lucky to have been one of the last generations of children who were raised in a time when we had to put on a jacket and tie to take a plane. My mother wouldn’t answer the door without lipstick. So I admire you.
COLLINS: You know, if every actress in Hollywood wants to go around in torn jeans looking like they haven’t bothered—except that they’ve bothered a lot—then I don’t want to follow the herd.
FORD: You might not want to answer this, but what do you think of this new body type of having butt implants and these gigantic busts with tiny waists?
COLLINS: I find it bizarre, but every generation has its ideal woman, doesn’t it? Venus de Milo had a tummy.
FORD: Yes, but that was real. Now they have these implants. We’re maybe in a post-human phase where you can just create yourself to be whatever object you want to be.
COLLINS: I do wonder when I see those girls with cement put in their derrières what they are going to look like when they’re 60 or 70 years old.
FORD: I know.
COLLINS: It has to fall!
 FORD: Do you follow anyone on Instagram?
COLLINS: Only close friends. I should follow you!
FORD: I have a fake Instagram name. Of course, there is a “Tom Ford” Instagram account, but it’s purely corporate. Then I have a fake name that I use to be an Instagram voyeur.
COLLINS: That’s very clever. I only post anodyne pictures. I refuse to post anything political. About two years ago I tweeted, “Mrs. May, our prime minister, made an inspiring speech last night.” I got such hate mail. That’s when I decided I would never say anything controversial again.
FORD: It’s dangerous.
COLLINS: It is.
FORD: Another danger subject these days is #MeToo.
COLLINS: I don’t know if you have ever read any of my autobiographies, but there were a lot of #MeToo situations in there. At 18, I was drugged and raped by a man I went on to marry. I had never seen a man’s penis. I had only looked at a statue of Michelangelo’s and thought, “What’s that?”
FORD: It’s very small on Michelangelo’s statue. I never really quite got that.
COLLINS: The #MeToo movement is very empowering to Western women, but I wonder what is being done for women in other parts of the world.

TOM FORD:
WHAT’S THE SECRET TO A GREAT MARRIAGE?

JOAN COLLINS:
SEPARATE BATHROOMS.


FORD: Something I wanted to ask you, Joan—because I find you absolutely daring—is where does your fearlessness come from?
COLLINS: Maybe it comes from being a Blitz baby. I have vague recollections of Mummy and Daddy taking us down to the air-raid shelter at Edgware Road. My mother was terrified, because they’d see the bombs falling, but none of it really bothered me.
FORD: I admire that fearlessness in every way.
COLLINS: Well, when you get to a certain age, there’s really nothing to be scared of anymore. No one has ever said the word “fearless” to me before, but I suppose in a way I am. When they asked me to do American Horror Story, I thought it was marvelous. I didn’t know who I was going to play or what I was going to do, and I suppose few actors would go into a project without knowing who their character is.
FORD: I think of you as an incredible wit—the things that come out of your mouth at a dinner table are always incredible. Were you involved in writing some of your own lines in American Horror Story?
COLLINS: I did change one line, when I’m sitting at the table and say, “Well, when I was having dinner with Gina Lollobrigida…” It was not originally Gina Lollobrigida—it was another actress that people hadn’t really heard of who was not so relevant. I won’t say the other one’s name, but I just thought “Gina Lollobrigida” was so wonderful-sounding.
FORD: Next time we see each other privately, I’ll tell you a story about Gina Lollobrigida.
COLLINS: I’ll tell you one as well! By the way, did you watch The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story?
FORD: Absolutely. And, of course, I knew Gianni. I was on the Concorde with him the day before that all happened. This might sound like a silly question, but is stardom different now than it was in another time?
COLLINS: It used to be totally different! I really became famous when I came to Fox. I was already famous in England, as a pinup girl and a glamour girl—I was always featured with a dress cut down to my navel. But when I came to Hollywood, they put the full publicity machine on me. They inundated the papers and magazines with pictures of me in bathing suits and sexy little outfits. I think I did become sort of famous then, but that fame deteriorated very fast. I never thought of myself as a star, nor did I ever want to be a star.
FORD: Really?
COLLINS: I consider myself a working actor.
FORD: It’s so interesting to hear you say that, because I think of you as a star.
COLLINS: I don’t go with the trappings of stardom. I do my own hair, my own makeup. I style myself. I don’t have any Tom Ford clothes right now.
FORD: Joan! That is easy to remedy!
COLLINS: Maybe one day I will.
FORD: You just have to come for a fitting.
COLLINS: I will, but I don’t like the connotations of stardom. I did a picture at Fox with Jayne Mansfield, and she was the true star. She was followed by hairdressers, her publicist, she had an entourage, and she loved it every time anybody came on the set and took a picture of her. She would just glow and stick out that chest and really go for it. I liked Jayne, she was fun. But I know from my father, who was an agent, that being a star doesn’t last. The only person who has really managed to do it is Streisand, I think. She’s the only person who’s been a star for, what, 50, 60 years?
FORD: And she doesn’t work very often.
COLLINS: I don’t think she needs to.
FORD: You and Percy [Gibson] have been together for 16 years, and you seem to have a wonderful marriage. Every time we have dinner with you, I walk away thinking, “Wow, that’s a great couple.”
COLLINS: Thank you.
FORD: I know you’ve had five marriages.
COLLINS: Yes.
FORD: So what’s the secret to a great marriage?
COLLINS: Separate bathrooms.
FORD: If you can afford separate bathrooms, yes.
COLLINS: I think the actual secret is a certain amount of mystery. I don’t think one should know everything about the other. I met Percy in 2000. I liked him, and then like turned to love, and love turned to lust. But lust doesn’t last. As we all know, you wear yourself out.
FORD: Apparently proper lovemaking with foreplay burns 400 calories per hour.
COLLINS: Oh, really?
FORD: I investigated that. It’s the same as skiing.
COLLINS: Well, I don’t like skiing. I’d rather sit in a nice fur hat, sipping a cappuccino or a martini.
FORD: Is there anything we don’t know about you that you think people should know?
COLLINS: I like to watch Access Hollywood at night.
———
Photography Assistant: Gabriela Forgo.Post-Production: Tyler Phillips.
Special Thanks:Rene Horsch.

Saturday, October 27, 2018

EVENT ALERT : BRITISH ACADEMY BRITANNIA AWARDS .. THE BEVERLY HILTON .. LOS ANGELES .. OCTOBER 26TH 2018 ..

Joan attended the 2018 British Academy Britannia Awards held at The Beverly Hilton last night and was delighted to meet up with one of her favourite actresses Cath Blanchett..
Joan with Cath Blanchett..

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

EVENT ALERT : JULIENS AUCTIONS . THE PRINCES TRUST .. NOVEMBER 9TH & 10TH 2018 ..

If you fancy this stunning red coat, designed by Nolan Miller for Joan, you can bid on it at Julien's Auctions online now! Joan is wearing the coat in this shot at the premiere of La Cage Aux Folles in New York in 2004.. The coat is part of Julien's Icons &
Idols Auction which wraps on November 9th & 10th in New York at The Hard Rock Cafe.. Joan donated the coat to The Prince's Trust, who have put it up for auction with other items from Lionel Richie, Mick Jagger & Rod Stewart among others..

BID NOW AT THE FOLLOWING LINK .....
JULIENS LIVE BID ON JOAN;S COAT!

EVENT UPDATE : GERRY SCREENING .. THE ACTOR'S FUND LOS ANGELES .. OCTOBER 22ND 2018 ..

To support The Actor's Fund, a special screening of 'Gerry' was held yesterday, which included an interview & q&a with Joan, hosted by TCM host Ben Mankiewicz.. Also attending the screening was Joan's good friend Stefanie Powers...
Joan with Ben Mankiewicz & Stefanie Powers


Saturday, October 20, 2018

PRESS UPDATE : NEW YORK POST ... SATURDAY OCTOBER 20TH 2018 ..

Joan Collins had nightmares over her bloody ‘AHS’ role

Joan with Frances Conroy
When you pair grand dame Joan Collins and campy Ryan Murphy, things are bound to get weird.
So it’s no surprise that Evie Gallant, Collins’ wealthy, self-absorbed alter-ego in Murphy’s “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” was hacked to shreds by her hairdresser grandson, Mr. Gallant (Evan Peters), in a case of mistaken identity.
But not to worry — Collins returns to the popular series Wednesday, Oct. 24 (10 p.m. on FX) in a role that’s being kept mostly under wraps. (Murphy posted several photos to social media showing Collins in her new “AHS: Apocalypse” guise.) “I wear this gorgeous silvery white wig and I’m a movie star witch,” says Collins, 85. “It’s a really good episode. That’s all I can say.”
Her “AHS” roles have been memorable for Collins, who most recently spent four seasons playing the Grand Duchess of Alexandra on E!’s “The Royals” opposite Elizabeth Hurley and, in January, will fly to Hawaii to film a guest-starring role on “Hawaii Five-0” (CBS).
She says Murphy, a big admirer, first approached her about appearing in the eighth installment of his FX anthology series last February at a Vanity Fair party. “He said he wanted to write a role specifically for me and wanted to make it very interesting and good and something I could sink my teeth into,” she says. “He didn’t specifically say what it was; that’s the way Ryan works. He doesn’t tell his actors what they’re going to be playing.
“I only knew that I was going to be working with Evan Peters, who is such a wonderful young actor and a pleasure to work with. And I loved working with Kathy Bates [who plays Ms. Miriam Mead]. What an honor.”
Joan with Percy Gibson & Kathy Bates
Collins isn’t as gushing about the scene (in Episode 2) where Evie, clad completely in a black rubber suit (don’t ask), was eviscerated by her grandson, who assumed grandma was someone else with whom he’d had an earlier tryst.
“I’m a bit of a squeamish person, so I don’t really watch horror films or bloodthirsty films very much,” Collins says. “I was lying there for hours and hours under a sort of coffin with a board on top of me and a dummy in which all the blood was [shown]. I’ll never eat sausages again. I had to put my mind in a different place so I didn’t concentrate on it too much.
“I have to admit I had a couple of nightmares after that.”
Collins will continue touring with her one-woman stage show (“Joan Collins Unscripted”) in February in the UK — she had to delay the tour while shooting “AHS” — but the actress, best-known to TV viewers as Alexis Carrington on the original “Dynasty,” says she probably won’t headline another series.
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s a big commitment,” she says. “I’ve been approached … I’ve had a good long run and I take each step as it comes. I would love to do another series but maybe as a guest now and again — I don’t think I could do what [‘Law & Order: SVU’ star] Mariska Hargitay does, for example, be in a show for all those years and be on it every week, which is what I did on ‘Dynasty’ … it’s too exhausting and the same old thing all the time.”

EVENT UPDATE : GLSEN RESPECT AWARDS .. BEVERLY WILSHIRE HOTEL .. LOS ANGELES .. FRIDAY OCTOBER 19TH 2018 ..

Joan attended the 2018 GLSEN Respect Awards held at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel last night.
GLSEN (pronounced "glisten") was founded in 1990 by a small, but dedicated group of teachers in Massachusetts who came together to improve an education system that too frequently allows its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ) students to be bullied, discriminated against, or fall through the cracks. 
Over 25 years later, that small group has grown into the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe and affirming schools for LGBTQ students.
We face a pervasive problem with a set of new challenges. 8 out of 10 LGBT students are still harassed at school each year because of who they are.
We are working to change that.
Joan with Chris Tuttle Glsen Director of Communications
At GLSEN, we want every student, in every school, to be valued and treated with respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. We believe that all students deserve a safe and affirming school environment where they can learn and grow.
We accomplish our goals by working in hallways across the country -- from Congress and the Department of Education to schools and district offices in your community -- to improve school climate and champion LGBT issues in K-12 education.
  • We conduct extensive and original research to inform our evidence-based solutions for K-12 education.
  • We author developmentally appropriate resources for educators to use throughout their school community.
  • We partner with decision makers to ensure that comprehensive and inclusive safe schools policies are considered, passed and implemented.
  • We partner with dozens of national education organizations to leverage our shared expertise into creating great schools and better opportunities for every student. 
  • We empower students to affect change by supporting student-led efforts to positively impact their own schools and local communities.
    Joan with GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard
Every day GLSEN works to ensure that LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment. Together, we can transform our nation’s K-12 schools into the safe and affirming environment all youth deserve. 

Thursday, October 18, 2018

TV ALERT : AMERICAN HORROR STORY - EPS 7 TRAITOR .. WEDNESDAY 24TH OCTOBER 2018 .. 10PM / 9ET..



Don't forget to check out next Wednesday's episode of 'American
Horror Story' as Joan returns in a new guise.. The episode entitled 'Traitor' will air October 24th on FX at 10pm /9et ...

Sunday, October 7, 2018

EVENT UPDATE : THE CAROUSEL OF HOPE BALL .. THE BEVERLY HILTON HOTEL LOS ANGELES .. OCTOBER 6TH 2018 ..

Joan attended one of her favourite Hollywood events last night, as she made an appearance at The Carousel of Hope Ball at The Beverly Hilton Hotel.. The event which raises funds for her good friend Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes & Children's Diabetes Foundation.. The event also honoured Robert DeNiro, with entertainment by the legendary Gladys Knight & David Foster..

Friday, October 5, 2018

EVENT ALERT : GERRY .. VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PREMIERE .. FRIDAY OCTOBER 5TH 2018

Gerry             

Canadian premiere
Country of Origin: UK
Year: 2018
Running Time: 16 mins
Format: DCP
Related Links: Facebook
Cast: Joan Collins, Oliver Ford Davies, Stephen Greif, Shenine Rajakarunanayake, Lynne Verrall
Executive Producer: Angus Henderson, Neil Dwane, Stefan Allesch-Taylor, Esther Paterson
Producer: Hester Ruoff
Screenwriter: Victoria Hollup, Paul Agar
Cinematographer: Jaime Ackroyd
Editor: Jeanna Mortimer
Production Design: Ashling Johnson
Music: Andrew Allen-King
Production Company: Burton Fox Films
Print Source: Burton Fox Films

Facing years of loneliness and isolation while packing up her deceased husband’s belongings, Hilda unearths a long-buried secret. Gerry is based on issues faced by the elderly such as loneliness, isolation and heartache. Staring Joan Collins (Dynastyand many other TV series, most recently American Horror Story) in a terrific performance that earned her the Best Actress award at LA Shorts, where the film just premiered, this is more a character study than a drama—Hilda is representative of many women of that generation who repressed their own lives for their marriage, and now must try to break free from solitude to live a life previously denied to them. Lovingly shot in classic black and white and with an an old fashioned look and feel, this is a melancholic and sweet story about finding the courage to move on.