3 weeks ago
EXCLUSIVE: Dame Joan Collins has occurrence successful her belly. After a profession that has spanned 75 years from post-war Rank Organisation starlet to Dynasty diva, this self-described “jobbing actor” has a hunger, ambition and power that thespians half her age, younger even, would envy.
For nan Cannes Film Festival, nan legendary dame, who doesn’t attraction overmuch for walking, is taking dancing lessons to alteration her to glide pinch gusto into nan Palais de Festival for nan opening nighttime gala connected May 12. “I thought I want to conscionable beryllium capable to get connected nan reddish carpet and not beryllium a lump,” she tells Deadline successful an exclusive interview.
“I’ve ne'er liked walking. Whenever I saw that the Queen aliases nan Queen Mother were having walks, I thought, ‘How tin they do that? How boring?’ The only clip I want to locomotion is erstwhile I’m stepping astir Selfridges section store,” she declares.
French character Laurent Lafitte (The Count of Monte-Cristo, Elle) will escort her past nan phalanx of photographers, up those tricky steps and connected into nan Grand Auditorium to witness Lord of nan Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson person an honorary life achievement Palme d’Or and past to watch Pierre Salvadori’s romanticist comedy The Electric Kiss.
Choosing to return Lafitte’s arm alternatively than return her hubby Percy Gibson’s is deliberate.
The dashing Frenchman plays a cardinal domiciled other Dame Joan in My Duchess, a searing play erstwhile it gets into its stride, directed by Mike Newell from a book by Louise Fennell. It reveals nan tortured last years of Wallis Simpson, nan Duchess of Windsor, nan American divorcee who recovered herself thrust betwixt king and state erstwhile Edward VIII renounced nan British throne to beryllium pinch “the female I love,” arsenic he famously put it successful his abdication speech.
In her day, nan Duchess, draped successful exquisite couture gowns, oozed élan, truthful it’s possibly due that she beryllium portrayed by an character who matches her successful nan glamor stakes.
But Dame Joan does more, overmuch more, than conscionable parade astir arsenic nan Duchess: She inhabits her.
My Duchess, nan first movie produced by John Gore Studios, nan movie institution established by Broadway powerhouse John Gore, will person marketplace screenings astatine Cannes, past connected May 13, Gore will big a luncheon statement for Dame Joan and Isabella Rossellini, who plays Maitre Suzanne Blum, nan Duchess’s lawyer, who, alternatively of caring for her client, chose alternatively to taunt and torment her.
In nan film, Blum’s psychological cruelty unravels nan Duchess mentally and physically, causing her to wilt earlier our eyes. Dame Joan captures that downward spiral by stripping herself of nan countenance of glamor that made nan Duchess truthful striking. Dame Joan had nary hesitation, she says, successful allowing nan film’s “glam squad,” arsenic she fondly calls nan hairsbreadth and constitution department, to peel distant her allure.
Ordinarily, nary 1 but her messes with the face, her breadstuff and food since she enrolled astatine nan Royal Academy of Dramatic Art successful 1950. But for this film, which she has pushed to get made for 30 years, she insists, “I didn’t attraction really I looked.”
For nan first clip ever, she handed her visage for others to deface successful nan sanction of art. “I didn’t do my hairsbreadth aliases my makeup. I conscionable laid backmost and they did it,” she says. “They put maine successful nan clothes. I had nary opportunity successful anything. I conscionable said, ‘You do what you want maine to look like.’ I put myself wholly successful nan hands of nan glitter squad.” Collins adds that complete nan years she had pored complete “thousands” of photographs featuring nan Duchess, sharing her spoils pinch three-time Oscar-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, who co-designed the film’s costumes pinch Charlotte Law.
“I knew precisely really I thought she should look, but I besides agreed pinch Sandy that she was now successful her declining years, truthful she wouldn’t person been truthful glamorous. She was besides a instrumentality insect, honestly Baz. There’s immoderate movie movie of her successful a bathing suit. It looks for illustration she conscionable came retired of a attraction camp,” she says, lowering her voice.
With nan Duke of Windsor’s decease successful 1972, nan movie traces his widow’s lonely past years. It’s chilling to spot really Blum treats her erstwhile she’s ill. She says that during nan filming of a segment wherever Blum is being abusive toward her, ”I had to retrieve that this bullying female is being played by Isabella Rossellini, who is Ingrid Bergman’s daughter! Off set, she was marvelous.”
“You see, cipher knows that she had a stroke,” Dame Joan reports. “She laic location successful bed. All of her jewelry was gone. All her paintings were gone. Everything. The location was falling apart. It was Miss Havisham. And she laic location deaf, dumb, unsighted arsenic well. She was unsighted and cipher came to spot her for 8 aliases 9 years. How shocking was that? They stopped everybody going to spot her. All of these things are true, and it’s elder maltreatment of nan worst kind, of nan worst kind,” she hisses.
Dame Joan says: “I cognize group whose parents person been robbed, virtually robbed because each nan group are not into each of nan phones and nan online banking, each of that. My kids, Tara and Alexander and Katy, they were each raised astatine school. I can’t fucking type. I had to do Siri. And of people I’ve sewage nan nails, truthful I can’t easy type,“ she says, displaying her crimson-painted talons.
“Luckily, Percy’s master astatine each of that,” she continues. “I can’t do immoderate of this, but astir group complete 60 can’t. And there’s a batch of us.”
She says that astir group complete a definite property successful London are fearful of going out. ”It’s a beautiful scary world, isn’t it?”
Yet, Dame Joan ne'er has struck 1 arsenic being fearful of anyone aliases anything. There’s a warrior female underneath nan pricey cashmere that adorns her.
Nodding, she responds that she’s not “a fearful person. I deliberation I’m very street-savvy and knowledgeable astir things. I’ve been there, done that, sewage nan T-shirt, arsenic they say.”
I’d arrived early for our tête-à-tête astatine London’s posho Peninsula Hotel, located connected Hyde Park Corner, a stone’s propulsion from Buckingham Palace — because Joanie, arsenic my Brit editor successful Los Angeles likes to telephone her, doesn’t suffer fools, and I’d alternatively not incur an icy glare.
Dame Joan and Gibson, who’ll soon observe their metallic wedding anniversary, unrecorded astir nan area successful Belgravia, and they’re intelligibly regular patrons, judging by really debased nan caput waiter genuflects erstwhile her sanction is cited. He leads nan measurement to a banquette discreetly nestled by a immense image widow that looks retired to a splendid position of Wellington Arch pinch its equestrian statue of nan Duke of Wellington erected connected apical of it.
The dame and I person a small history too, having covered, not ever kindly, her late-1970s peculiarly “crappy crap” years, arsenic she position them, with The Stud and The Bitch, some based connected her precocious sister Jackie Collins’ bonk-busting books. Later, erstwhile based successful New York, Kelvin McKenzie, my then-editor at The Sun, had a wont of ringing maine up astatine 3 a.m. afloat of madcap ideas for illustration jumping connected a formation to return Joan Collins flowers because he’d heard she has a cold. Well, by this clip she was immense arsenic Alexis, truthful immoderate excuse to get her successful nan paper.
The nosy 1 was being dispatched to Saint-Tropez to activity an question and reply astir her acrimonious divided from Swedish vocalist Peter Holm. “Oh, nan Swede,” she says pinch a venomous edge. “Michael Caine called him nan Swedish comedian, astir arsenic funny arsenic this glass,” she trills.
Later connected during that assignment, I encountered her connected a backstage beach. Flowers were presented, a withering quote astir nan Swede was uttered, and a suitable photograph was taken. She was happy.
Stephen Sondheim’s Follies number “Good times and bum times, I’ve seen them all. And, my dear, I’m still here,” has her written each complete it.
What accounts for nan longevity of her career, I inquire arsenic she sips an Americana — pinch acold beverage — and toys pinch a sheet of smoked salmon, slices of avocado and fries (my fries).
“Well, first of all,” she begins, “I don’t deliberation you person to want to beryllium famous. If you want to beryllium famous, you’re going to beryllium miserable. I don’t attraction astir being famous. When I was highly famous, it was erstwhile I was doing Dynasty, it was OK. I sewage mobbed. I couldn’t spell and look astatine nan bras successful Bloomingdale’s without personification coming up and saying, ‘Can I person your …’ We didn’t person compartment phones then. And I recovered it a spot irritating, but I thought, ‘This will pass. It ain’t gonna last,’ and past I tin spell backmost to conscionable being a jobbing actor, which I did. And truthful I’ve had very fallow periods successful which I’ve been capable to unrecorded a really awesome life.”
Chewing astir that connection for a millisecond, Dame Joan adds that erstwhile she thinks astir it, she’s besides had “some really horrible experiences,” specified arsenic being sued by Random House, and she’s endured “terrible divorces successful which my husbands person said horrible things astir maine and asked for money. And Katy’s mishap [her girl Katyana survived a horrific car mishap erstwhile she was 8], but I person a awesome family now. I person awesome friends, and I person a awesome husband.”
There are nary stars successful her eyes, however. “Well, I mean, I don’t see myself a movie star. I see myself a moving actress, immoderate epithets they want to say. I’ve done truthful galore things. I’ve done truthful overmuch TV. I’ve done truthful overmuch theater. I’ve done a batch much theatre than group realize. Not that I attraction what group recognize really, but we person …”
She wants to return nan shape show she performs with Gibson backmost connected tour, and she has nan chops for it. I’ve seen her galore times connected stage, but I retrieve her arsenic nan scheming socialite burglar Fay Cheyney successful Frederick Lonsdale’s The Last of Mrs. Cheyney at Chichester Festival Theatre, earlier she transferred pinch it into nan Cambridge Theatre. At nan first-night party, she said of a caller show she’d filmed successful L.A. called Dynasty. Not agelong afterward, I was successful NYC, and Collins’ look graced each mag screen and she appeared nighttime aft nighttime connected nan talk shows.
Now, pinch her 93rd day successful a mates of weeks [she will termination me, sorry Dame Joanie], she’s hotter than she’s been successful an age.
In nan early 1990s she visited nan 14-room villa connected nan separator of successful nan Bois du Boulogne that erstwhile had been location to nan Duke and Duchess of Windsor.
She was shown astir by Bahamian-born Sydney Johnson, a erstwhile valet and major-domo to nan Windsors. “He showed maine around, and nan spot was immaculate. It had each been redone by these people. And he showed maine to nan the Duchess’ bedroom, bath and closet,” she says, pausing to add, “And he opened nan closet and showed maine immoderate of her dresses, and successful nan closet were 2 mannequins, 1 of nan Duchess and 1 of nan Duke.
“He was wearing a kilt. She was wearing a very chic benignant of dress, and they were teeny. They were some astir 5 foot. And I said, ‘Is this their size?’ And he said, ‘Well, much aliases less.’ And past he said, ‘Do you want to spot her lingerie?’ In nan drawers were these exquisite panties and camisoles, each of a benignant of very soft satin peach and cream,” she explains.
All this was a prelude to what Johnson had to show her next. ”He said, ‘I was there, and Madame Blum came successful and she destroyed nan Duchess aft nan erstwhile King died. And truthful he told maine each these stories.“
She divulges that Johnson worked for Mohammad Al-Fayed — nan begetter of Dodi Fayed, who died pinch Princess Diana successful nan Paris car clang — who had taken connected nan ownership of nan Windsors’ erstwhile location successful nan Bois de Boulogne. ”I cognize 1 isn’t expected to mention his name, is one? He was nan proprietor of Harrods then. Yes. I cognize he’s benignant of unmentionable, but anyway, he was nan one, and I went pinch my friend Jeffrey Lane,” she adds referring to her longtime friend and communications adviser.
Intrigued, she publication each tome and article and watched each documentary connected nan Duchess and her lawyer. Years went by, and nan writer Louise Fennell was 1 of galore she’d spoken to astir nan Windsor story. “She said, ‘Oh, I’d emotion to constitute that.’ And truthful she started penning an outline. And past you cognize really it is, you’re doing different things and it was connected nan backmost burner, but it was ever successful my mind.”
Fortuitously, she was seated adjacent to John Gore astatine a King’s Trust meal and asked if he’d for illustration to publication a script. “I was really hustling!” The likes of Netflix leader Ted Sarandos, had “humored” her, she says, only ne'er to beryllium heard from again.
A twelvemonth aliases truthful later, Gore, who’d conscionable group up John Gore Studios, called for nan script.
He rang her, she says, and “he said, ‘I deliberation I want to do this.’ It is miraculous that this happened truthful fast, moreover though I’d been benignant of reasoning astir it and pushing it and having this sweat for much than 30 years.”
Gore tells america that he wondered beforehand whether aliases not Dame Joan has nan aforesaid “vivaciousness” she displayed successful her Dynasty days. “I saw each nan magic successful action,” he recalls, “and I was reasoning possibly offering her thing successful a Hammer movie because we ain Hammer, and she did tons of Hammer stuff.And past she said, “But I’ve been moving connected this thought for a agelong time…” And I said, “You’re excessively bully looking for Wallis Simpson.Doesn’t make immoderate sense. “Then she said,”You’re going to spot everything travel away,no makeup” And that’s erstwhile I thought ,okay, this is going to beryllium thing unsocial and special.”
Having publication really potty she is abut nan Duchess, are nan stories existent that she acquired a sapphire and gem broach that erstwhile belonged to nan Duchess astatine an auction successful Geneva? “No,” she shoots back. Then she smiles and says: ”A friend of excavation gave maine a scarf of hers that he bought astatine auction, a beautiful achromatic and achromatic silk scarf.”
I had queried nan broach because I erstwhile worked connected a newspaper, nan Daily Mail, and they felled forests to show nan world astir each point of jewellery nan Duchess ever possessed.
“No, I can’t spend that,” she says of nan precious gemstone that was ne'er hers.
Was it Hermès,I enquired of nan precious neckwear successful question.
“No, it’s not, but it’s exquisite,” she says revealing that it was a gift from Mark Rozzano, a friend of hers, who produced different caller film, A Murder Between Friends, and he’s besides “obsessed by nan Duchess.”
Giggling, Dame Joan shares that she does person “a complete copy” from Butler & Wilson of nan broach designed for nan Duchess by Cartier successful 1940.
“It’s pinkish and sapphires, but it’s a fake.But it’s a beautiful fake,” she assures.
There were each kinds of rumors astir nan Duchess,Dame Joan says. “I mean, there’s truthful much stuff about her. I had to refine it successful my mind,” she says brushing imaginary crumbs from her cashmere, cowl collared coat.
Leaning person complete nan table, she drops her voice. “I deliberation he was obsessed by her, and I deliberation his obsession was … He was very funny. He had awesome pep, he had tremendous style, and I deliberation that she was nan only personification who ever made him hot. You cognize what I mean? He was capable to do that,” she says ripping disconnected a portion of breadstuff and popping it successful her mouth, which is possibly thing she wouldn’t person been taught to do erstwhile she attended Francis Holland School for Girls successful Regent’s Park.
Crikey!
We move onto a safer topic.Is it unfair that nan Duchess’s sanction been maligned each this time, I inquire her?
“ So much, truthful badly,” is her contiguous response.
“That’s 1 of nan things that erstwhile I was reference astir her, and I’ve been reference connected and disconnected for a agelong time, and I ever thought, ‘Oh my God’, nan hatred that this female brought upon herself for thing that was not her fault. And truthful successful immoderate way, I dream that this movie will make group spot her successful a different light, that she wasn’t nan monster bitch that everybody thought. And nan family, I mean, peculiarly nan Queen Mother was really horrible,” she splutters.
“I do person nan line, which I opportunity Prince Charles was nan only 1 who ever was bully to me,because he was, and he would sojourn her,” she adds.
She believes successful karma and exercise, she says arsenic we move distant from nan mediocre Duchess. “I judge successful karma and I deliberation you get nan look you deserve. I mean, if you booze and fume cigarettes and eat nan incorrect food, you’re not going to look truthful bully erstwhile you’re complete 60 aliases immoderate I am,haha,” she chuckles. “And I do return attraction of my tegument and I do exercise. And I do deterioration makeup.”
What exercise? Is it yoga?
“Well, I did it this morning. It’s a batch of level work. It’s equilibrium activity and walking,” and she’s training pinch choreographer Paul Robinson [he was in 42nd Street at nan Theatre Royal Drury Lane,way backmost erstwhile pinch Catherine Zeta Jones] who besides showed her immoderate moves for nan movie and for nan Cannes reddish carpet.
When I inquire astir caller big-screen movies she’s liked, she goes each coy. “Well, I don’t want to beryllium horrible,” she says pinch a laugh.
Oh, please do,I request ever truthful humbly.
“No.No, I’m not going to,” she decides firmly.
But,she pipes up, they went to spot Baz Lurhmann’s EPiC: Elvis Presley successful Concert at BFI IMAX.
“It looked phenomenal, but it made maine really sad because I knew Elvis, not very well, but I met him erstwhile I first went to Hollywood. He was truthful beautiful. And they put each these closeups of him sweating and fat. I said to Percy, “ I can’t carnivore watching nan disintegration of a existent person.” And he only lived to beryllium 40 something,” she exclaims.
Excessive eating didn’t help,she suggests. “Fried banana sandwiches. Not a bully idea,” she tuts conscionable arsenic I scope for different chip.
She relents ove nan “horrible” movies and tells maine that she didn’t attraction for The Naked Gun starring Niam Leeson who she “loves.” That movie “came and went,it was very disappointing,” she sighs.
Dame Joan loved nan films of nan ’80s and ’90s. Especially “the Tom Hanks and nan Meg Ryan comedies.”
She reckons that she’s watched Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather “about a 100 times,” ne'er tiring of it.
What she enjoys about watching classical movies is nan chance ‘to study nan actors” and watch nan image complete and complete again. “Each clip I’ll announcement thing caller that nan actors person chosen to do.”
Recently she screened Preston Sturgess’s 1941 screwball The Lady Eve with Barbara Stanwyck and “Henry Fonda to do a Cary Grant, she was awesome Barbara Stanwyck.”
What astir Barbra Streisand? “She’s great. I met her erstwhile she was 19. I was getting joined to Tony [Newley] and he was connected Broadway and everybody said “You’ve sewage to spell and spot this nineteen -year-old woman astatine this club, and it was Barbra.”
Bette Davis? “I worked pinch Bette Davis on The Virgin Queen.She frightened maine to death. It was my first American movie and she kicked maine crossed nan set.”
She loves Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson, adores Alan Rickman’s films. “He was specified a superb character wherever he had to do little, because his look said everything,” she marvels arsenic we chat astir Rickman and Thompson in Love Actually. Hugh Grant is connected her “wonderful” database arsenic is Brad Pitt. “I deliberation Brad’s a awesome actor.I think he doesn’t get what he deserves because of his looks.”
She’s a immense instrumentality of Kate Winslet’s.”She’s fantastic! So brave!I couldn’t do that.Stand successful a movie wholly naked,no way,” she says referring to Winslet in Francis Lee’s underrated masterpiece, Ammonite.
I mildly reason that Dame Joan has herself been successful akin states of undress.“Let’s not spell there,” she guffaws.
How overmuch slumber does she get,I task to ask? “About 8 aliases 9 hours,” she replies, isolated from she often wakes astatine 3 successful nan greeting and sounds a book aliases scrolls Instagram looking astatine nan images avoiding nan comments though she occasionally spots a hate-fuelled missive.
Is she hurt by immoderate of nan nasty things that are written connected societal media? “My children could wounded me. Percy could wounded maine but I’m not going to wounded by immoderate keyboard warrior,” she snorts.
This defiant warrior dame judge does rock.
