Tuesday, February 26, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : JOAN COLLINS UNSCRIPTED BUXTON OPERA HOUSE REVIEW .. FEBRUARY 24TH 2019


Joan Collins: Unscripted - Opera House, Buxton ..

By  Max Eden

Now, I never thought I’d see global superstar; Joan Collins, famous for her role as ‘Alexis Colby’ in Dynasty holding a Q&A with the lovely folks of Buxton and surrounding areas, but that’s exactly what we got in Joan Collins one woman show; ‘Unscripted’ currently touring the UK and it was all rather surreal.
The stage is simply set with just two chairs and a video screen behind, Collins is joined by her husband Percy Gibson who helps to moderate the show while microphones are passed around the auditorium and frenzied fans jump at the chance to ask a question.
The questions are always quite subdued and it’s best to not expect any question too juicy because they all normally go like ‘Hi I’m Jane, I adore you, how do you look like that?’ Or ‘What’s your favourite film?’.
Saying that, Dame Joan Collins makes the evening feel rather glamorous and when listening to her recount stories from her earlier career, massive juggernaut names from Hollywood are mentioned as friends; Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis.
Collins still looks and sounds fabulous and although this show is rather unorthodox in the way it’s unscripted, Collins is able to move answers a certain way so they can incorporate clips of past performances and it’s not until this show that I realised quite how talented an actress she really is.
Collins has had a number of very different roles, something that was highlighted as she cued a clip of a new film short she’s just starred in, titled ‘Gerry’ in which she wears no make-up and plays anything but A diva, as an elderly woman in a lonely flat.
I got a new perspective in to the life of Dame Joan Collins tonight both on a personal level and as an actress, I found it quite insightful. She holds a positive attitude throughout her life and that comes across when she’s dissecting her career so far and a comment from an audience member of ‘hows your journey been’ is dismissed, ‘it’s not a journey, it’s a life and it’s not over yet’. It’s that mentality which really is admirable.
By buying a ticket to this show, you get to be a sort of friend of Dame Joan Collins for the night - or at least feel like one. She recounts amusing anecdotes and stories from her career including a great story involving how she got Bette Davis back after she was a’b*tch’ to her on set, she makes you feel part of the conversation even if you don’t get to hold the microphone.
Verdict: A rare evening with a Superstar!
Reviewed: 24th February 2019
North West End Rating: ★★★★

Saturday, February 23, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : THE YORKSHIRE POST .. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 23RD 2019 ..


Weekend interview: Dame Joan Collins.....


Dame Joan Collins has been in the public eye for the best part of seven decades. She was in her late teens when she gained her first professional job and she’s still working and still looks in incredibly good shape. When she first walked on the set of the now almost forgotten British movie Lady Godiva Rides Again (it was a non-speaking part and she played, perhaps prophetically, a glamorous contestant in a beauty parade) did she ever imagine the success that lay ahead – being made a Dame, having homes around the world, 120 films and TV shows under her belt, and over 50 million copies of her memoirs and novels sold

Dame Joan doesn’t even have to think about her reply. “That would have been a tiny bit of a jump, don’t you think? At that age I was determined to become what I called a ‘serious actress’. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my heroines, women like Flora Robson and Celia Johnson, even Hermione Baddeley, and to be on the stage, for that is where the true ‘artistes’ were. Don’t forget I’d studied at Rada and ‘being on the films’, as they called it there, was considered common and not for ‘real actresses’. It has all changed, of course, because nowadays some of the best acting work is on television.” Collins was at least well prepared for the acting world when she started out. He father was a well-known and respected agent and he seems to have given his daughters – Joan and her novelist sister Jackie – some sound advice. “He certainly warned us against predatory men”, she recalls, adding that she decided to take the bus or the Tube home from the studios at one point, because one producer kept offering her a lift – having made his intentions abundantly clear. Later, when she was something of a “name” in the business, she was given two screen tests for the role of Cleopatra, in the 20th Century Fox film which had, back then, the biggest budget ever. A budget which kept spectacularly over-running. She did not get the part. Because, it is said, she rejected the attentions of a high-placed studio executive. The part went to her friend Elizabeth Taylor, who became notorious for her illnesses and absences from the set. Ever since, movie historians have speculated that, had Joan been the star, Cleopatra might have not become the financial disaster which brought Fox to its knees. Collins was among that last generation of actresses who were part of the so-called Hollywood “studio system”, when stars signed up to long-term contracts that tied them in for years. “The studio system was a marvel of its time,” she says. “You were taught how to walk, talk, present yourself, and even who to go out with! It was a complete cocoon the moment you walked in there. They protected you but also bullied you. You were a commodity to be handled with care and yet bought and sold for their profit. It was inevitable that as times changed this would also no longer be a practical business model. But if you think about the big agencies nowadays that ‘package’ films with the directors, actors and crew that they manage, the business model seems to have come around again. It is a strange world that we live in.” If she were starting out all over again, would she still have wanted to go into such a precarious business? “Oh, definitely yes. I would still want to be part of it. It’s a great profession when you have the vocation for it.” Her private life hasn’t always been as smooth until, after four marriages, she met Percy Gibson. They married at Claridge’s Hotel in London 17 years ago. Percy is a few years her junior and asked if she was worried about this “age gap”, Collins quipped, “If he dies, he dies”.



So does she now know the secret of a happy marriage? “It’s simple and it is just two words – separate bathrooms! We seldom spend any time apart actually, as we work together on all my projects, so it’s is really very rare when we aren’t together. What is also rare is that we don’t get on each other’s nerves… at least, not most of the time!” She remembers with a laugh that when she was on her fourth divorce she received a note from Elizabeth Taylor. It read: “I’m still ahead by three!” Collins is perhaps best known for playing the scheming Alexis Carrington in Dynasty and during her career she’s seen fashions come and go, but there are some things that still annoy her. “I don’t suffer fools gladly, that’s true”, she says, “and sometimes that gets me into trouble – especially when someone patronises me with that ‘haven’t you done well, little woman’ attitude. Bad manners, discourtesy and unpunctuality also annoy me.” Collins is coming to York’s Grand Opera House next week with her solo show – Joan Collins Unscripted. It takes quite a lot of chutzpah to face a live audience and to invite questions. So has there ever been a question from the audience that has left her completely speechless? Indeed there has, she confesses. “I was once struck dumb somewhere in Scotland when someone in the audience asked if Percy was wearing anything under his kilt…” She declined to reply, she recalls. Along the way, Collins has worked with some of the biggest names in the world of entertainment, including very good friend Paul Newman. “He and his wife Joanne were great friends of ours and I was once tending to the barbeque at his house in California, when he started slapping various ingredients together to make the most delicious salad dressing. We joked that he should bottle it…” Famously, he later did, and went on to make another fortune.
Collins is justly famous for her natural sense of fun – and her put downs to impertinent questions are legendary. She once “fried” an impertinent interviewer live on TV. But what is it that makes Dame Joan Collins laugh? “Oh, that’s easy,” she says, “truly witty, spontaneous people. Original thought and response”.


These days she keeps on working. She was a memorable Crystal Hennessy-Vass, in the hit TV sitcom Benidorm, and has appeared in American Horror Story. She is also tireless in her support for charities and has a lot of “other things” that she is considering. So is she, time and opportunity being equal, up for anything? “Everything!” she says, with a mischievous tone of “come on, just try me” in her voice. 
Joan Collins – Unscripted, Grand Opera House, York, February 26. For tickets call: 0844 871 3024.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

TV ALERT : HAWAII FIVE -O.. MARCH 8TH 2019 CBS 9/10PM ET..

Here is an exclusive shot of Joan as bestselling author Amanda Savage in the upcoming episode of 'Hawaii Five-O' which airs on March 8th on CBS 9/10pm et..
Will update with air date for Sky 1 UK when I get confirmation..

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

PHOTO UPDATE : JOAN COLLINS UNSCRIPTED .. THE LONDON PALLADIUM.. SUNDAY FEBRUARY 17TH 2019 ..


Lovely to catch up with Rene Horsch backstage
Joan celebrated her 17th wedding anniversary with a sell out performance of her hit stage show 'Unscripted' at the legendary London Palladium which was attended by her many fans and famous friends & family including Elizabeth Hurley, Julian Clary, Rupert Everett, Glynis Barber & Michael Brandon, Patrick Bergin and Joan's
Always great to see Elizabeth Hurley
brother Bill and fabulous wife Hazel and daughter Tara with husband Nick.. Joan wore two sensational new outfits created by Mark Zunino, who's associate & stylist Rene Horsch flew all the way from Hollywood with the stunning creations for Joan.. After the show Joan entertained guests backstage before going on to Claridge's for a reception organised by Hello! magazine, photos of which can be seen in the next issue..

Joan's tour of 'Unscripted' continues until February 27th.. See the following for details!


JOAN COLLINS UNSCRIPTED BOOK HERE!


Backstage With Joan and good friend Glen Chevannes

PHOTO UPDATE : DAVID DOWNTON BIRTHDAY PARTY .. CLARIDGE'S LONDON .. MONDAY FEBRUARY 18TH 2018 ..



Joan with David & Leslie Caron
Joan celebrated her good friend David Downton's birthday at Claridge's for a big party, where she met up with Hollywood legend Leslie Caron.. David who is Claridge's artist in residence has done many classic portraits of Joan over the years including this latest one, sketched at Joan LA apartment last summer...

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

VARIETY .. FEBRUARY 19TH 2019 ..

Joan and Jackie Collins TV series coming from 'Stan & Ollie' producer..

By Stewart Clarke | Variety
The colorful lives of movie star Joan Collins and her bestselling novelist sister, Jackie, will be dramatized in a TV series. Sony-backed Fable Pictures, the British film and TV producer behind “Stan & Ollie,” will make the series, having secured the TV rights to the Collinses’ story.
The series, which has the working title “Joan & Jackie,” will trace the sisters’ journeys from postwar London to Hollywood stardom as Alexis Carrington in “Dynasty” and literary fame as the author of “Lady Boss,” respectively. No broadcaster or platform is officially attached yet, but Sony Pictures Television will take the six-part show out internationally.
“I am delighted that such a prestigious team wants to tell our story, and I know my sister Jackie would be as excited as I am to be involved,” Joan Collins said.
Jackie died in 2015, but her daughters have given their approval to the series. “Our mother always told us when we were growing up that ‘Girls can do anything!’ and ‘Joan & Jackie’ will fabulously depict how true that is,” they said in a statement.
Award-winning playwright Penelope Skinner (“The Village Bike,” “Linda”) will pen the series. “I am thrilled to be working on the fascinating story of these fabulous, iconic and powerful women,” she said. “There is far more to Joan and Jackie than diamonds and shoulder pads. These are two very special sisters whose lives are both aspirational and inspirational.”
The actresses who will play the glamorous go-getting sisters who helped define the 1980s has yet to be confirmed, but Nina Gold (“The Crown”) is attached.
Executive producers include Caroline Harvey, who was previously head of development at Anthony Minghella and Sydney Pollack’s production company, Mirage Enterprises. Faye Ward (“The Crown”), Hannah Farrell (“Suffragette”) and Sally Greene (“Billy Elliot the Musical”) will also exec produce.

PRESS UPDATE : VOGUE .. FEBRUARY 19TH 2019 ..




Joan Collins Is The Toast Of LFW

Alice is the news editor of Vogue.co.uk
As fashion editors found their seats at Erdem’s autumn/winter 2019 show and browsed the works of art on the National Portrait Gallery walls, another guest was having slight difficulty navigating the lift system. Minutes ticked on and the 11am show did not start. Then, Dame Joan Collins waltzed in – shades on, flanked by team members and unflinching in attitude. Never mind the hold-up, that swagger was exactly what London Fashion Week was crying out for on a Monday morning.
To take in a front row view of the collection alongside Helen McCrory, Damian Lewis, Michelle Dockery and Alexa Chung, Collins plumped for a midnight-blue sequined floral dress, a cropped, collared black leather jacket and matching leather gloves, suede boots and a clutch squashed under her arm. Two pearls punctuated her earlobes. It was Hollywood Joan toned down for England.
Collins might have missed the show notes, but we like to think that she would have enjoyed the history lesson on Princess Donna Orietta Doria-Pamphilj-Landi, who wore the paintings from her Rome palazzo as kilts and sewed jewels into her clothes, when she was forced into hiding. While the Downton Abbey cast and theatre set, who religiously wear Erdem’s dresses, kept the style barometer of the front row at a safe level of "refined", the showbiz doyenne brought a pinch of the Italian royal's attitude behind the collection to the National Portrait Gallery. When in doubt, style it out, as Collins might say.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

EVENT ALERT : THE TIME OF THEIR LIVES .. L.A. ITALIA FILM, FASHION & ART FEST .. LOS ANGELES CALIFONIA .. FEBRUARY 21ST 2019 .. 08:45PM

For those in the LA area, don't miss your opportunity to catch Joan's 2017 film release 'The Time Of Your Lives' on the big screen on February 21st as part of The Los Angeles Italia Film, Fashion & Art Fest.. Joan's co-star in the film Franco Nero is the festival guest of honour and will introduce the film at 8:45pm at The TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on Hollywood Blvd.. See the following...
L.A. ITALIA FEST PROGRAM 2019


Friday, February 15, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : OX MAGAZINE ... FEBRUARY 2019 ..

Image result for ox magazine logo

What's On, Culture, Theatre, Film

AN AUDIENCE WITH HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY

                                                          By Darren Scott
With a career spanning seven decades across film, stage and television, Dame Joan Collins shows no signs of slowing down. And why the hell should she? The iconic actress recently enjoyed a scene-stealing role in Ryan Murphy’s American Horror Story, giving her even more to talk about on her forthcoming Unscripted tour.

You recently modelled for a very successful Kurt Geiger campaign. Is that something you thought you’d still be doing?

I would still be modelling? Well, you know, one of my friends is Carmen Dell’Orefice and she’s older than me. She’s [got] a very successful career of modelling. So I do think that there are no boundaries any more, to anything. Sexuality, age, anything.

Some people in certain quarters think that women can’t do certain things past a certain age. The press are always gunning for Madonna, for example.

Oh people… Listen, some people say that, but some people don’t. I mean, I think Madonna’s great. I saw the last tour she did. Astonishing. I quite like her.

I couldn’t do half the things she does.

I’m sure you couldn’t do one percent of the things she does! [Laughs]

Your tour is called Unscripted. Is it entirely unscripted?

Well it’s not entirely. It might be a story I’ve told before but I will be using a different vernacular, I will be doing a different way of telling it. So in that way it is unscripted. Percy [her husband] is now on with me, he’s the master of ceremonies. I relate much more with the audience. They ask questions and I answer – to the best of my ability. We’ve got lots of clips now of American Horror Story [Apocalypse], which I just did.

Now, this tour was initially postponed because of that series…

It was totally postponed. It was supposed to be September, and I wasn’t going to be finished in LA. They asked me if I wanted to do it and you don’t turn down Ryan Murphy. It’s like Aaron Spelling 30 years ago.

How did it come about?

I went to Elton John’s party, with Percy, at the Oscars. We were invited to the Vanity Fair after party. I wanted to stay at Elton’s but Percy said we should go to the Vanity Fair, ‘because you always went with Jackie’. For 20 years I went with my sister and that would be the first time… So we’re talking to Jon Hamm and then this girl at the next table says, ‘I want you to come and meet…’ and she says a name that I can’t hear. And it’s Sarah Paulson. So we sit, and then this guy looks very familiar but I don’t really know him, and then it suddenly clicked, and he’s saying, ‘Would you like to do my show?’ He’s just done the most marvellous Assassination of Gianni Versace, and he’s done American Horror Story, so I said, ‘Yes, of course! I would love to!’ We have a long talk about everything, but you know, I thought it was Hollywood talk. Never comes to anything, those kind of things. People always say it. And then two weeks later we had a call and he’s called my agent and said that he wants me to be in American Horror Story. Just like that.

And how was that for you?

It was interesting. It was very full on. Very long hours. So I’m glad that I wasn’t in everything. Fourteen-hour days. But he’s so inventive. I loved the roles. I loved playing Bubbles McGee, with the white wig! All of a sudden I have to give up my tour, I have to give up my summer in the South of France with my children and grandchildren and best friends. But it was worth it, I think. It was a lot of fun, but it was hard work. And then I got ill. Which I never do. I pulled a muscle under my ribs. So I was not too well for a couple of weeks. But it was a great experience. And I worked with one of the greatest actresses in the world, which is Kathy Bates, who’s become a really good friend.

Did you not know her? I just assume you know everyone.

No, I’d never met her. I was quite intimidated when I went to work for the first scenes we had together.

Really?

Well of course! She’s an Oscar winner, she’s a superb actress. Us actors, we do get intimidated by some people!

I don’t imagine you ever being intimidated…

Well, not that intimidated but, you know, you have to up your game a bit when you work with Kathy Bates. As opposed to working with... some people on some soap operas that I’ve done [clears her throat].

There are a lot of gifs and memes on social media featuring you as Alexis Carrington in Dynasty. You probably get asked all the time about the recent remake?

Nobody’s asking. I don’t think anybody knows about it. [Glint in her eye] No! Seriously. Well, the thing is about Dynasty and some of those shows of that genre, Dallas and Knots Landing – they were iconic and everybody was so impossibly glamorous and beautiful and gorgeously dressed in all of them. And Donna Mills still looks fabulous, we have dinner quite often. We also have dinner with Linda – not Evans, the other one, Gray, from Dallas. And Diahann Carrol, who became a really good friend. Everybody’s still plugging on, getting on with it.

You corrected a tabloid recently about your career...

Oh yes, they said the only thing I ever did was Dynasty.

Which is annoying, because you actually did massive movies at a wonderful time in Hollywood history.

I know – Island in the Sun, Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, Virgin Queen. I did about eight movies. Even Seven Thieves was a good movie. It was with him! [Points at a framed photo on the wall in Claridge’s] There he is, Edward G Robinson. I mean, I have been very, very lucky in that I worked with some of the most famous and iconic actors in the world. Every time I look or see a bio and see the films I’m in, I look and I go, ‘Oh god, I worked with Gene Kelly. I worked with Richard Burton, Rod Steiger, Gregory Peck, Eli Wallach. I was incredibly lucky. And at the time, being so young, it didn’t really sink in. And now I look back and I look at it and think, ‘God, who today’ – and I’m not blowing my own trumpet here – ‘who today is around who’s worked along with these extraordinary people? I mean, John Gielgud, Ralph Richardson. And now Kathy Bates, Sarah Paulson. I mean, I’m very blessed.

Who was the best to work with?

Paul Newman. First of all, he was one of the nicest people in the world. One of the most generous. He still makes his sauces and it all goes to his charities. But also, he’s huge fun. He got me cast [in Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys!] – the studio wanted Jayne Mansfield. They said, ‘Brunettes can’t be funny, blondes are funny.’ Paul went to the studio and said, ‘We know Joan, she’s very funny.’ He was a great friend. I saw him about two weeks – or was it two months? – before he died and I said, ‘How are you?’ He said, ‘Still got a pulse, kid.’ He was just a wonderful man.

What was Bette Davis like to work with?

Horrible. [Laughs] Oh you’ll have to read my book, I’ve told this story eight million times, you don’t want to hear it again. She wasn’t nice. I was one of six girls, all of us were between 18 and 20, playing her ladies in waiting. She wasn’t nice to us.

In terms of the tour – what’s been the strangest or unexpected thing you’ve been asked?

A very tall person asked how to put on false eyelashes and so I said, ‘Well come on up darling, I’ll show you.’ And they turned out to be a drag queen.
Joan Collins tours in the UK until 27 February

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

TV UPDATE : THIS MORNING .. ITV1 .. TUESDAY FEBRUARY 5TH 2019 ..

Joan now back in London to prepare for her upcoming tour of 'Unscripted', took time out to pop into the ITV studios to join Philip & Holly on the 'This Morning' sofa to talk about her stage show and her love of Palm Trees & Camels! Joan's tour of 'Unscripted' starts on February 15th at The Anvil Basingstoke .. See below for dates and link to book your tickets before it's too late!!
JOAN COLLINS UNSCRIPTED - BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE!

Sunday, February 3, 2019

EVENT UPDATE : GLOCK HORSE PERFORMANCE GALA .. TREFFEN AUSTRIA .. SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2ND 2019 ..

Joan with John Travolta
Before returning to London to prepare for her upcoming tour of 'Unscripted', Joan stopped off in Austria for the annual Glock Horse Performance Gala held in Treffen. Joan was guest of Center owner Gaston Glock.. Joan has attended the gala on numerous occasions along with other guests including Chuck Norris, Robbie Williams, Mariah Carey & John Travolta..
John Travolta with gala entertainer Mariah Carey

Friday, February 1, 2019

PRESS UPDATE : PRIME .. FEBRUARY / MARCH 2019

Check out the sensational cover of the latest issue of 'Prime' magazine featuring the following interview.. Available now!