Friday, July 31, 2015

PRESS UPDATE : THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER ... JULY 2015 ..

The film, based on Georgia Byng's book series, stars Raffey Cassidy, Emily Watson and Dominic Monaghan.

ARC Entertainment has acquired all North American rights to the family film Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism, based on the first in the six-book Molly Moon series by Georgia Byng. A VOD and limited theatrical release is planned for Aug. 14.
Directed by Christopher N. Rowley and written by Byng, Rowley, Tom Butterworth and Chris Hurford, the film stars Raffey Cassidy, Emily Watson, Dominic Monaghan & Joan Collins
It tells the story of a young orphan girl, Molly Moon, who comes across a book Hypnotism, An Ancient Art, which allows her to hypnotize her way to London, where she becomes rich and famous, only to have her dog kidnapped and find herself subject to blackmail if she doesn’t participate in a jewel heist.
The film was produced by Byng, Lawrence Elman, Ileen Maisel and Simon Bosanquet and executive produced by Phillip AlberstatNorman Merry and Shezi Nackvi.
The deal was negotiated by ARC Entertainment’s head of acquisitions, Scott Moesta, with Byng representing the filmmakers.

PHOTO FLASHBACK : THE TWO FACES OF JOAN!

Joan looks ever the star in this classic 50's portrait...

Thursday, July 30, 2015

PRESS UPDATE : THE DAILY MAIL .. JULY 30TH 2015 ..


Never trust a man with a Satnav: JOAN COLLINS did. The result? A nightmare 5-hour drive - and a hubby lucky to be alive!


The drive was supposed to be leisurely: winding through the picturesque Provencal countryside and along the glorious beaches of the South of France.
Our destination? A friend's wedding in the hilltop town of Gordes. The mother of the bride had assured us it would only take two-and-a-half hours - 'three at the absolute maximum' - from our home in Saint-Tropez: 'You can find the directions on Amy and Chris's wedding website.'
When I suggested to the man of the house, my husband Percy, that he do this, he was adamant that it wasn't necessary. 'Satnav will tell us how to get there,' he pronounced firmly.
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A Satnav-led trip turned into a comedy of errors for Joan Collins and her husband Percy Gibson (pictured)
A Satnav-led trip turned into a comedy of errors for Joan Collins and her husband Percy Gibson (pictured)
Hmmm. So we set off at 11.15am in our rented car, which I considered plenty of time to get to our hotel, shower and change before the wedding at 5pm. So much so that I suggested we show our two friends who were staying with us how to get to Ikea en route. They would follow in their car.
Percy looked doubtful: it would take us half an hour out of our way.
'Well, I'm sure Satnav will show us the way,' I replied breezily.
I would come to regret forgetting the advice of our usual English driver Steve, who calls his Satnav 'Edna' and scornfully refers to her as 'bloody useless'.
We bid farewell to our Ikea-bound friends an hour later and I relaxed, admiring the magnificent roads - not a bump or pothole to contend with, and all that gorgeous scenery...
But the clues were there after another hour. 'We should be there soon, shouldn't we?' I asked Percy. 'Why are we heading towards that hugely steep, mountainous road?'
'The Satnav seems to be sending us that way,' he replied, 'but yes, we should be there soon.'
There was a slight quaver in his voice that only a wife of 14 years could detect. But his set concentration on the Satnav and the horribly winding road brooked no argument, so I lay back and listened to a Steely Dan CD for the third time.
We reached the top of the mountain another hour later. As far as I could see there were no signs of life or civilisation whatsoever.
'Are we close yet?' I ventured.
'Angry looking people were milling about and Percy, now furious with 'Edna' [his Satnav]'
'Angry looking people were milling about and Percy, now furious with 'Edna' [his Satnav]'
Through clenched teeth came a monosyllabic grunt and, since the winding road was making me feel queasy, I decided to shut up. Until I saw the sign to Marseille, yet another hour later. By then it was 3pm.
'That should be near, shouldn't it?' I chirped hopefully. The stony silence gave me my answer.
Suddenly the view changed and we found ourselves in the shabby outskirts of Marseille, with its grim buildings glaring at us menacingly. Nowhere near where we should have been by then - an hour and a quarter, at least, away from Gordes.
Angry looking people were milling about and Percy, now furious with 'Edna' hissed: 'She's taking us totally the wrong way. We're way off course.'
There were a few more adjectives interspersed in there but this is a family newspaper.
To make things even more heated, there was a strike by local taxi drivers demonstrating against Uber, the taxi service app.
A friend flying into Marseille for the wedding told me later that upon arriving at the airport, dozens of cabs lined up but refused to take fares, even after our friend offered €500 to take them to the venue, which is easily twice the normal fare.
We wended our traffic-bound way through the side streets. It was by now way past the three-and-a-half hours allotted for the trip. We were in the seamy backstreets of Marseille and stories of illegal immigrants breaking into vehicles kept running through my mind.
After finally getting out of spaghetti junctions, Percy announced victoriously: 'Not much longer now.' But his tremulous tone gave the game away. Not much of a poker player, my husband.
By this point it was nearly 4pm. I tried to figure out how little time I would need to shower, make-up, do hair and dress in time.
We passed endless signs but not one said 'Gordes' or anything remotely helpful.
Give me an old-fashioned map every time. And yes, I can read a map
Desperate for a rest room, we found a small garage and shop but when I asked where the toilets were, the shopkeeper gave one of those infamous Gallic shrugs: there weren't any. On we drove - I was now quietly hysterical and Percy quietly furious. Every time we passed a sign, he said, 'Won't be long now!' in increasingly strained timbres.
When we finally went off road to find a rest stop (the situation was reaching critical mass) he stayed in the car to have a serious chat with 'Edna'.
Which is when he discovered that the previous hirer of the car had programmed the Satnav to avoid all toll roads. So, instead of driving on the smooth direct motorways, we had been forced into following every winding road in Provence.
Tired and weary, we finally arrived, by some miracle, at the hotel five hours and 15 minutes after setting off. We had half an hour to spare before the start of the nuptials.
But, as is the way with these things, the comedy of errors continued. The hotel, though charming, was newly decorated and freshly painted, so after barging past the front desk attendant with demands for the key - God knows what the poor chap thought of us - we found the door to our room firmly glued shut with paint. 

The concierge and Percy pushed and shoved and finally had to call the handyman, who proceeded to push and shove as well, and finally managed to pull the handle off the door with a plaintive wail. All three then gave an almighty shove and broke through.
We had 15 minutes left to prepare for a glamorous wedding wearing full black tie and long dress. Like maniacal quick-change artistes, we managed to get it together and hit the wedding venue just before the bride walked down the aisle.
The wedding was a magical, romantic and picturesque event of the kind that only the South of France can provide in a fairy-tale setting, overlooking the majestic cliffs.
The bride looked ethereally beautiful, the groom handsome, but suitably apprehensive, and the mother of the bride endearingly choked up with emotion. Our tribulations with 'Edna' soon vanished in a haze of romance.
Until the next morning, of course, when we had to drive back. Having learned our lesson, it was motorway all the way and the trip was completed in less than two-and-a-half hours.
'Edna' in her wicked way still tried to take us 'off-piste' but we opted instead for our tried and true route - no scenery, several expensive tolls but clean rest-stops and no Gallic shrugs.
We drove back to our house where our house guests awaited, lounging by the pool, which is what I like to do when I'm on holiday - precisely nothing.
So it's no more 'Edna' for me. Give me an old-fashioned map every time. And yes, I can read a map.

PHOTO FLASHBACK : THREE'S A CROWD FOR JOAN & LARRY!

Joan teams up with Larry Hagman in this shot taken for the 1971 comedy drama 'Three In The Cellar' from American International.

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Monday, July 27, 2015

EVENT UPDATE : DENISE RICH ANNUAL YACHT PARTY .. ST TROPEZ .. JULY 19TH 2015 ..

Joan looks a vision in white as she attends her good friend Denise Rich's Annual Yacht Party aboard The Lady Joy in St Tropez last week...
JOAN with DENISE RICH

PRESS UPDATE : THE ORBITER / ORB MAGAZINE ... JULY 26TH 2015



ORB EXCLUSIVE: Africa’s Richest Woman Parties in Saint-Tropez, alongside Steve Schwarzman, Magic Johnson, Joan Collins & Denise Rich


It’s High Season in Saint-Tropez, that sliver of summertime when international nomads with money to burn, social heights to scale, and backstories too byzantine to decipher converge on the once untrammeled, now enameled fishing village nestled on the Côte d’Azur.
Denise Rich
Denise Rich with her companion Peter Cervinka
Isabel Dos Santos
Isabel Dos Santos at the Wonderland party
Every year at this time, Denise Richdocks her 157-footer Lady Joy (Madame’s middle name) sur les quaisand entertains her friends, and their friends, and their friends until the rooster crows or the bubbly runs dry. It’s a tradition, like the arrival of le Beaujolais nouveau.
This year, Denise’s gaggle of glamorati included many of the usuals—we’ll get to them, or some of them, in a minute—but there was an interesting new face, and a pretty one, in the person ofIsabel Dos Santos. She’s a woman much talked about in these circles, but seldom seen and never overexposed, in that she rarely talks to the media—even the ones she owns. Especially the ones she owns.
Behind that beatific, reserved, and gracious countenance beats the heart of a businesswoman, and a damn successful one. Financial experts agree she is the richest woman in Africa, the youngest billionaire in Africa (she’s 42), and the most influential businessperson in Angola. And maybe now in Portugal, as well.
Jos_Eduardo_dos_Santos and Isabel Dos Santos
Isabel with her father, the President of Angola, her husband, and her stepmother
On the Internet, Isabel is described as “the richest black woman in the world”— Oprah ranks #2—but this is not exactly accurate, because she is, just like Barack Obama, a mulatto, the child of an African father and a Russian-born mother.
Now, the important part—Isabel’s father is Jose Eduardo Dos Santos, who has been president and dictator of Angola since 1979, four years after the former colony achieved its independence from Portugal. Under her father’s guidance and benevolence, and with what everyone concedes are her own sharp instincts, she has assembled huge investments in telecommunications, media, retail, finance and energy, both in Angola and in Portugal. (Oh, and don’t forget the oil, the diamonds and the cement in her portfolio. There’s only one cement company in all of booming Angola, and not long ago she acquired 25% of it.)
Saint-Tropez partyAccording to Forbes.com, Isabel’s net worth exceeds $3 billion. In 2002, she married Sindika Dokolo, from a prominent Congolese banking family, in a ceremony in Luanda that reportedly cost $4 million. This aroused some grumbling in a country where 70% of the population lives on $2 a day, but there wasn’t any grumbling about that sort of  thing among the yachtsmen in Saint-Tropez. (If you want to know more, Forbes will fill you in).
Magic and Cookie Johnson
the Johnsons
Getting back to Denise’s party, this year’s theme was Alice in Wonderland, so her guests, many of whom support her cancer research foundation, stepped Through the Looking Glass and were greeted by every creature concocted by Lewis Carroll’s febrile imagination. All this happened to the music of DJ Cassidyné Milton Podell, who rakes in around 100 grand for spinning records at a party. (Presumably, Barack and Michellegot a discount for their 50th birthday shindigs.)
Samual L. Jackson and LaTanya Jackson
the Jacksons
Magic Johnson and his wife Cookie were there, along with their friends Samuel L. Jackson and his wife of 35 years LaTanya.  The Jacksons are staying with the Johnsons aboard Amadeus, the 230-foot yacht that Magic is chartering for $527,000 per week from Bernard ArnaultTMZ and Fox Sports are reporting this is the seventh year Johnson has chartered this boat and this summer he’ll be on it for six weeks. That adds up to an aggregate cost of 3 million dollars, but TMZ says that Jackson “chips in” for the time he and LaTanya are on board. Johnson, part-owner of the L.A. Dodgers, is worth 500 million so he’ll still have 497 million left on Labor Day. (I know you hate all this talk about pecuniary matters, ORB does too, but it will be useful next time you charter a boat.)
Saint-Tropez party
Victoria Silvstedt
Victoria Silvstedt, at left
Denise Rich and Joan Collins
Denise with Joan Collins
Steve and Christine Schwarzman came down from their villa in the hills above Saint-Tropez to mingle with just-divorced London hostess Lisa Tchenguiz; beloved international social figureRena Sendi and her husband Makram; luscious Swedish model and TV personality Victoria Silvstedt; jeweler and philanthropist Lorraine Schwartz; and cine-siren Joan Collins, who long ago bought an apartment in Monte Carlo just so she can while away her summers on the French Riviera. Hey, it beats sitting bumper-to-bumper on Route 27.

PHOTO FLASH BACK : THESE LADIES ARE PRESSED FOR CHAMPS!

Joan is surrounded by the press in this rare shot from 1979 as she announced a new film project with the late Sylvia Kristel as they were to star in 'The Lady & The Champ' from the bestseller by Joan's good friend the late Pat Booth.. Sadly the film was never made....

Sunday, July 26, 2015

PHOTO UPDATE : FRIENDS ALL ROSE FOR JOAN!

Joan with brother Bill & friends Francine LeFrak & Rick Friedberg
Joan looking sensational as ever enjoys her last few days in the South of France, before she sets off for an appearance in Las Vegas. Joan is scheduled to appear at The Official Star Trek Convention at The Rio Suites from 6 to 9th August..

ON THE COVER : WOMAN'S JOURNAL ... OCTOBER 1973 ..

Joan is all 70's chic on this cover for 'Woman's Journal' from October 1973 ..

PHOTO FLASHBACK : FOREVER STARLET .. THAT'S JOAN!

Here is an early portrait of Joan for the early 50's...

Saturday, July 25, 2015

ON THE COVER : PALM SPRINGS LIFE .. MARCH 2011 ..


This cover for 'Palm Springs Life' features Joan and good friend George Hamilton as they were  hosts of the annual 'Steve Chase Humanitarian Awards'...

PHOTO FLASHBACK : JOAN IS POISED FOR A TRULY ENGLISH POSE!

This fabulous classic portrait from 1988 is by John Swanell and features Joan wearing an Emmanuel gown...

Thursday, July 23, 2015

BLOGGER UPDATE : TIMELESS BEAUTY .. DOLCE VANITY .. JULY 23RD 2015 ..


I have a secret to tell, I love Joan Collins. Let me place exposure blame on my Nan for that, with her Saturday morning's watching Dynasty where Joan Collins played the uber bitch Alexis Carrington, with the only thing rivalling her shoulder pads was probably her voluminous hair.

There's something about Joan that you feel you're still getting vintage glamour and that's what you get with her Timeless Beauty collection. The packaging is reminiscent of vintage 1950s, you'd associate with seeing on your grandmother's dressing table, the golds, the weighty compacts, the sweet smell and musk in the air.

I Am Woman Eau de Parfum £50.00, let's note that this is Eau de Parfum so the staying power is potent. My mum when she smelt this was reminded of Opium. I remember Opium as a child, my nan wore it all the time and even had the soap. This perfume took Joan 2 years to make and 50 samples later this is the result.

Top notes: 
lemon, bergamot, orange, mandarin, peach nectar
Heart: 
rose, orange blossom, jasmine, herbs, moss
Base notes: 
musk, vanilla, amber, sandalwood, cedar wood, patchouli

When I first sprayed it, I was taken aback by the scent. Very strong compared to other perfumes I have but then remembering this is a true perfume, this is no EDT. Spraying it on the skin and allowing the skin to warm up the perfume and the scents. As it settles into the skin, I can smell the lingering musk, sandalwood and the slight after smell of vanilla. It begins to smell warm and a tad powdery. I could imagine this as begin a signature scent for some women possibly mid 30s+ this is a scent that is distinctive.

My favourite design out of the bunch is the Summer Kiss Compact Duo £34.00 it's a unique design with the lipstick next to the bronzer and a generous mirror. The lipstick sits outside of the compact when shut. The duo is clever if you need a touch up of bronzer here or there and swipe of lipstick, it's just there, no rummaging in your make-up bag for your lipstick. I was sent the lipstick named Marilyn (♥ - perfect Joan know's classic make-up she was taught by Marilyn's MUA) it seems to be a a very popular seller on QVC selling out whenever on. Marilyn is a warm rose that's moisturising and glides on effortlessly. It's almost butter like in its application and 1 - 2 sweeps on the lips are good enough to get this nice flush. The bronzer is light than most bronzers I own but very buildable and more subtle as a result on my skin, it has small flecks of gold running through the bronzer.
Lastly the Nail Lacquer £13.00 also in Marilyn. Giving that vintage paring, of nails that match the lipstick - something that now we're constantly told is a 'do not' (who makes up these rules?) Can we talk about the long tapered ribbed cap that accompanies this nail lacquer. How gorgeous is it, makes for an easy hold and application. My nan loved this colour, wasn't too bright or too dark and she was happy to have this on as a manicure. It perfectly matched the lipstick for a rounded off groomed finish. The application is thick but easy with a second coat giving those finishing touches. The nail shade feels more older in age than the lipstick.

Joan Collins Timeless Beauty is also available at QVC and the official website.

EVENT UPDATE : THE 2ND LEONARDO DI CAPRIO FOUNDATION GALA .. DOMAINE BERTAUD BELIEU .. ST TROPEZ .. JULY 23RD 2015 ..




Joan attended the 2nd Annual Leonardo Di Caprio Foundation Gala at The Domaine Bertaud Belieu Vineyard last night.. 
Joan with Jack Rich & Alan Nevins

PHOTO FLASHBACK : JOAN & RJ STOPOVER FOR DINNER!

Joan looks radiant in this rare shot with good friend and co-star Robert Wagner taking a break from filming the 1957 spy thriller 'Stopover Tokyo'.. They are surrounded by the waiting staff on a night out for dinner..

Monday, July 20, 2015

PHOTO FLASHBACK : JOAN'S THE BOSS WHO WONT BE DICTATED TO!

Joan gives good direction as the powerful football coach Pam Dugan in the 1984 light hearted drama 'Her Life As A Man'.. Here with co-star Robyn Douglass who has resorted to impersonating a man to get a job in the all male world of Sports reporting...

Sunday, July 19, 2015

PRESS UPDATE : ALBANY HERALD .. JULY 19TH 2015

                                                                                                           


Joan Collins make picks on Turner Classic Movies

TV diva is newest guest programmer for TCM By Jay Bobbin

.Featured lately on the E! series “The Royals,” the former “Dynasty” diva becomes Turner Classic Movies’ latest “Guest Programmer” as she joins channel staple Robert Osborne all night Wednesday. On her list: Rita Hayworth in “Gilda” (1946); Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy and Claudette Colbert in “Boom Town” (1940); a powerhouse female cast including Joan Crawford and Rosalind Russell in the 1939 classic “The Women;” and “The Opposite Sex,” Collins’ own 1956 remake of “The Women,” “Early on, we had this idea” to feature guest co-hosts, Osborne explains. “The first one was Stephen Sondheim, but we couldn’t get him on camera. Then we had Bill Cosby, and he did it on camera and was great, so we’ve had everybody on camera since then.”
However, Osborne admits, “It took us a little while to find a format. We started asking people to come on, and most were delighted and came up with really good suggestions.
We asked them to pick their favorite movies, but also to pick a couple they had discovered that maybe most people didn’t know. By their coming on, it would introduce people to those movies, and that worked out particularly well.”
That is, until a couple of “very famous guests who shall go nameless” clearly hadn’t seen movies they picked, notes Osborne. “We realized we really couldn’t do this unless people let us know they wanted to. I was in a movie theater one time and Whoopi Goldberg came over and said, ‘I love that channel! I watch it all the time.’ We invited her on, and she was great. And that was how we first got to know Sally Field (Osborne’s current Saturday co-host on TCM’s ‘The Essentials’).”
The same applies to Collins, a longtime personal friend of Osborne, though her husband made the pitch to him.
“I find it fascinating that someone with such beauty and charisma would be so enamored of
Rita Hayworth and (‘Boom Town’ co-star) Hedy Lamarr,” Osborne reflects.
“And it threw me that she picked both ‘The Women’ and her version of it. I just think it’s terribly interesting to hear why they like, or don’t like, a movie and why it’s worth seeing.”

ON THE COVER : COSAS UNA INTERNATIONAL ... 2002 ...

This cover from 2002 is for Spanish magazine 'Cosas Una International ' ...