PHOTO OF THE DAY : THOMAS MANAGES SOME TIME WITH JOAN!

Claridges general manager Thomas Kochs attended last night's performance of 'One Night With Joan'.. Joan recently appeared in the BBC documentary on the legendary hotel..

EVENT UPDATE: THE CONSERVATIVE BLACK & WHITE BALL .. FEBRUARY 5TH 2014..

Joan made an appearance at The Conservative Black & White Ball at Billingsgate Market last night with good friend Ivan Massow..

Joan & Ivan with George Osbourne

PRESS UPDATE : THE LONDON MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2014 ..

Julian Broad / Contour by Getty

04 February 2014| By Sophy Grimshaw

Joan Collins

What can audiences expect from your one-woman show?
“It encompasses stories from my life, about people I’ve met in Hollywood, like Bette Davis and Paul Newman and many others, interspersed with fun movie and TV clips. There’s a Q&A section, too. My husband Percy is the director and he wrote it, based on my memoirs.”
You’re notably candid about hard times, such as divorces and financial problems, too.  
“Yes, I think people welcome that because, for the majority of people, life isn’t easy. People who are in the public eye have just as many personal problems as people who aren’t; family problems, health problems, money problems. Just because one is well known, that doesn’t go away.”
You’re famous for having the intangible quality of being ‘glamorous’. What does glamour mean to you?
“It most definitely has to do with make-up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone over the age of 20 who I thought was glamorous, who didn’t wear make-up. It doesn’t have to be tons, but definitely lipstick. Lipstick is the most glamorous cosmetic. And I don’t like shiny faces, I like powder. But people can be glamorous without wearing sequins and feathers.”
So, who is  the most glamorous person you’ve met?
“Grace Kelly. She was exceedingly well groomed. I met her a few times in the south of France and she would wear a twin set and pearls, with beautifully done hair and very elegant make-up. Marilyn Monroe wasn’t looking particularly glamorous the day I met her. She was in a mohair sweater and her hair was rather mussy and she was very shy. We had a nice chat. I tell the story in my show.”
Are there better roles for older women  than there used to be?
“Definitely. I don’t know how old Cate Blanchett is [she’s 44], but she gives a stellar performance in Blue Jasmine. Helen Mirren never stops working, neither does Judi Dench or Meryl Streep. I think there is a move to embrace older people on screen. A lot of people are fed up with  movies that are just car chases and shootings and blood and swearing.”
You have a big Twitter following. What makes a good tweet?
“Don’t post selfies. I might post a photo of me with somebody,  I think that’s OK, but never just endless selfies. ”
You’ve been married to your fifth husband Percy for 12 years. Why is this the marriage that worked?
“It helps that we collaborate so closely on everything, including our work. He’s kind, funny and loved by all –  my children and grandchildren adore him.”
One Night With Joan is at the Leicester Square Theatre from 2 - 9 February. leicestersquaretheatre.com

PRESS UPDATE : THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER .. FEBRUARY 6TH 2014

Sales and finance banner Fortissimo Films has inked a deal for worldwide sales of Roger Goldby’s comedy "The Time of Their Lives."

Berlin — Joan Collins, Pauline Collins and Franco Nero will star in writer-director Roger Goldby’s comedy The Time of Their Lives.
The project, currently in pre-production and set for a summer 2014 shoot, will be introduced to buyers at the EFM by sales and finance banner Fortissimo Films.
Produced by Sarah Sulick for Bright Pictures, the movie’s behind-the-camera teams boasts three-time Oscar winner Tim Rice who will executive produce and oversee the soundtrack.
Collins plays a former Hollywood star who escapes her London retirement home and travels to France to gate-crash her ex-husband’s funeral while Collins stars as a housewife with a failing marriage who joins Collins on the trip. Along the way, the pair becomes romantically embroiled with a reclusive Frenchman (Nero). Fortissimo’s Nicole Mackey and Sulick negotiated the worldwide deal for global sales rights to the project.
Fortissimo chairman Michael J. Werner said: “We’re extremely excited to be adding this uplifting and timeless comedic road movie to our line-up. The growing global success of films that appeal to both the mainstream audience, as well as to an older demographic, is undeniable.”

PRESS UPDATE : SCREEN DAILY .. FEBRUARY 6TH 2014

Fortissimo acquires Joan Collins comedy

6 February, 2014 | By Michael Rosser

Fortissimo to introduce the project at the EFM and handle world-wide sales on the film.

Fortissimo Films has acquired comedy The Time of Their Lives, from writer-director Roger Goldby.
The cast includes former Dynasty star Joan Collins, Pauline Collins and the original Django, Franco Nero.
The film is in pre-production with filming set to start summer 2014.
Produced by Sarah Sulick for Bright Pictures, the film also has The King’s Speech designer Eve Stewart on board, together with three-time Oscar-winner Sir Tim Rice who will executive produce and oversee the soundtrack.
Joan Collins plays a former Hollywood star who escapes her London retirement home and travels to France to gate-crash her ex-husband’s funeral. Pauline Collins plays a housewife with a failing marriage who joins Collins on the trip. Along the way, the pair becomes romantically embroiled with a reclusive Frenchman played by Franco Nero.
The deal was negotiated between Fortissimo’s Nicole Mackey and Bright Pictures Sarah Sulick.

PHOTO OF THE DAY : JOAN IS JAKE'S BACK UP!

In advance of the upcoming final episode of the current season of 'Benidorm' in which Joan makes a sensational guest appearance, Joan's co-star Jake Canuso attended Joan's sell out show 'One Night With Joan' at London's Leicester Square Theatre.. Here is a shot of Joan with Jake after the show..

PRESS UPDATE MARIE CLAIRE ..FEBRUARY 2014..

19 Joan Collins Quotes We Wish We'd Said Ourselves

by Francesca Rice
08:00 | 04 Feb 2014

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Who doesn't love Joan Collins? She's the ultimate diva and, boy, do we wish we'd come up with some of her witty one-liners. Here are the grande dame's best quotes of all time...

1. 'Age is just a number. It's totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine...'

2. 'The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer.'

3. 'I've never yet met a man who could look after me. I don't need a husband. What I need is a wife.'

4. 'Show me a person who has never made a mistake and I'll show you somebody who has never achieved much.'

5. 'I have had to give up certain things in my life. One is shopping. Two is lunch with the girls. Three is cocktail parties, and four is studying my lines.'

6. 'The secret of having a personal life is not answering too many questions about it.'

7. 'The easiest way to convince my kids that they don't really need something is to get it for them.' 

8. 'Even when you win the rat race, you're still a rat.'

9. 'All of a sudden I found myself with the reputation of being a swinger and a home-wrecker. Beverly Hills wives were supposed to live in fear in case I cast my green orbs in the direction of their men. Ninety-nine per cent of this was total fabrication.'

10. 'But I wouldn't date a man who slept around. Absolutely not. I've divorced people for that.'

11. 'Dynasty was the opportunity to take charge of my career rather than waiting around like a library book waiting to be loaned out.'

12. 'I have always lived my life with enthusiasm and pleasure.'


13. 'After a certain age you get the face you deserve.'

14. 'I consider you as old as you look and feel. And in that case I feel about thirty nine, like Jack Benny.'

15. 'I've never chased fame. I came into this business to be a theatre actress. I was nine when I first appeared on stage. But I can't say I would turn my back on fortune. I'm someone who enjoys the benefits of money. I created a lifestyle for myself. Nobody else did it for me. Everything I have I've bought with my own money.'

16. 'I've fallen in love maybe five times in my life. But it's a long life. I do get crushes. Whether it's men or women or babies.'

17. 'I was thinking, who of the English actresses in the last 30 or 40 years have achieved as much as I have?'

18. 'It is unseemly to undress on stage. I won't do that.'

19. ...And our personal favourite: (when asked about the age difference between her and her young husband) 'If he dies, he dies!'

 

PHOTO OF THE DAY : JOAN'S GOT A TALE TO TELL!

This shot features Joan with John Alderton in an episode of 'Tales of the Uexpected' called 'Georgy Porgy'...

PHOTO OF THE DAY : STAR GUEST JOAN IS LOOSE AT LUNCHTIME!

Joan was the star guest on Monday's edition of 'Loose Women' on ITV1...

PRESS UPDATE : UK THEATRE WEB REVIEW .. ONE NIGHT WITH JOAN PRESS NIGHT .. FEBRUARY 2ND 2014

Joan Collins

Mon, 3rd Feb 14

One Night with Joan ay the Leicester Square Theatre

Joan Collins - One Night with Joan (Leicester Square Theatre, Inner London)>>

Receiving not one but TWO standing ovations last night, Joan Collins certainly garners great warmth from all see her, hear her, read about her and love her. A survivor, a mother, a writer, a wife, an actress … a global phenomenon!
The two hours in her company journeyed through her glittering career, ups and downs in marriage (now happily on number four) legal battles with publishers, negotiating and escaping the claws of the Hollywood casting couch and her dalliances with Joan Crawford and Bette Davies certainly provided richly textured tales of her A-List life and the superstardom she achieved as the iconic super-bitch in Dynasty.
As you would expect, Ms. Collins was stunningly turned out, changing in the interval into a knock-em-dead dress, which sparkled almost as brightly as the twinkle in her eye. With her tongue firmly placed in her cheek, each story, anecdote, family remembrance and losses where wryly expounded as just another episode in a catalogue of a wonderful life lived. From an idyllic childhood to signing on at the benefits office, from B Movie failure to international success.
How can one sum up Joan Collins? Well, she is Joan Collins.
Orlando Weston

PRESS UPDATE : THE GUARDIAN .. ONE NIGHT WITH JOAN PRESS NIGHT .. FEBRUARY 2ND 2014..

One Night with Joan – review

Leicester Square theatre
Collins delivers a strong night of old-school gossip, shameless name-dropping and celebrity score-settling that will delight her fans

Full Alexis … One Night with Joan at Leicester Square theatre last year. Photograph: Tristram Kenton

Not many celebrities garner admiration from both camp connoisseurs and Ukip supporters, which makes an evening with Joan Collins potentially combustible from the outset. Fortunately, the audience is more gay couples and soap fans than far-right extremists, and Collins's autobiographical revue show wisely avoids the political.

1. One Night with Joan
2. by Joan Collins
3. Leicester Square theatre,
4. London
5. WC2H 7BX

1. Until 9 February 2014
2. Box office:
   08448 733433
3. Venue website

It also avoids the personal to some extent, despite being about her life. Instead, we get rapid-fire edited highlights of a career that spiked massively with Dynasty and tailed off into B-movies and pantomime on either side. There's a bit of both to this show – directed by her husband, Percy Gibson (No 5, if you're counting). The threadbare set looks more am-dram I, Claudius than Alexis Carrington's boudoir, with a prop throne and a telephone on a side table that rings at strategic moments. ("And then Hollywood came calling!" Brrring brrring.) But Collins still musters the glitz, in bouffant wigs and sequinned sparkliness, as she reminds us how she's brushed shoulders with legends like Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Frank Sinatra, Marilyn Monroe and Paul Newman.

The fact that she's no longer in those circles (she enthuses about her role in the upcoming series of Benidorm) makes her the perfect celebrity gossip, in a way. This is a night of shameless name-dropping and score-settling, and her anecdotes – augmented by slides and video clips, if not always punchlines – illustrate how she was desired by men, envied by women, mistreated by Hollywood, and deserving of at least the success she had, if not more.

Spontaneous it ain't, but showbiz trivia fans will be enlightened, and her catty, sometimes brittle showmanship is redeemed by self-mockery. "I was determined to play only serious roles," she says as clips from Cinzano ads and The Empire of the Ants play. Footage of her mid-1990s courtroom performance, though, channelling the full Alexis against her book publishers, is remarkable. Sceptical punters might not be swayed, but for her fans it's plenty enough. In fact, just being in the same room as her is enough.

PRESS UPDATE : EF-ENTERTAINMENT FOCUS REVIEW .. ONE NIGHT WITH JOAN PRESS NIGHT ..FEBRUARY 2ND 2014

One Night With Joan review

Posted on February 3, 2014 By Lee Gunther Theatre Reviews

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Cast:	Joan Collins
Director:	Percy Gibson
Theatre:	Leicester Square Theatre, London
Duration:	105 mins
Start Date:	February 2, 2014
End Date:	February 9, 2014

Undoubtedly one of the most enduring stars of our time, Joan Collins takes to the stage in a one-woman show revealing there’s more to her than shoulder-pads and husbands.

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One Night With Joan pretty much does what it says on the tin. The glamorous actress takes to the stage to regale the audience with tales of her extraordinary life, but don’t expect too much scandal, this is more of a glossy overview than a revealing tell-all. Rushing through a happy childhood, the real fun starts when Collins makes her mark on Hollywood and the name-dropping comes thick and fast.
If you are a fan of the golden age of Hollywood you will be bowled over by the magnitude of stars Joan worked with, met or married. From Bing Crosby to Paul Newman to Richard Burton, Collins shared sc
reen-time with some of the most iconic figures in film, it’s a shame she didn’t go into further detail on some of her experiences, but there is a time limit on the show and a restriction on how much she’s actually willing to share. Some of the classic clips are fantastic, raising nostalgia and more than a few laughs – Joan is very happy to laugh with the audience and carries a self-deprecating tone throughout. It’s actually astonishing how much work Collins racked up, but as she pointed out herself, she did have a life before Dynasty.
Collins does expand on a few salacious encounters, including some timely advice from Marilyn Monroe (who Collins supposedly beat-out for the role in 1955 breakthrough The Girl In The Red Velvet Swing) and a tense on-set exchange with the legendary Bette Davis, which saw Collins kicked across the set during filming for The Virgin Queen.
Inevitably Dynasty gets the biggest reaction of the night as Joan talks us through her heyday (which lasted a decade) where she was one of the most popular TV stars in the world. As the shoulder-pads got so big they had to walk through doors sideways and the on-screen fights got so impassioned that Collins ended up unconscious, there were lots of stories to keep the laughs coming. The clips got great reactions – especially the catfights, which will always have a cult appeal.
Joan is a consummate professional throughout. A few stumbles over the script are quickly rectified and Joan holds the audience well. There are times when things feel slightly rushed, but when you’ve lived a life like this there is a lot to pack in. The stark stage is backed with a screen and the only prop is a pointless telephone, which rings every now and again with little effect. But the audience is not here to marvel at set designs so it’s of little significance.
The night ended with a short Q&A chaired by her husband Percy and Joan left the stage with the audience wanting more. And that was the problem, the show didn’t go deep enough. We wanted to know more about the real Joan Collins. While she name-dropped with alarming frequency, she rarely gave away much more than we already knew. It was a fun and interesting night and a real glimpse into a household name but those looking for a deeper insight may leave disappointed.

Joan Collins