Category Archives: Joan Collins

Isabella Rossellini Joins Joan Collins In New Movie About Wallis Simpson’s Final Years

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Isabella Rossellini will follow her Oscar-nominated performance in Conclave with a role in a new historical drama.

On Wednesday afternoon, it was revealed that the Italian actor will join Dame Joan Collins in The Bitter End, an upcoming film about the final years of Wallis Simpson.

Dame Joan told The Guardian in 2023 that the movie would tell “the true story of the last years of the Duchess of Windsor after the Duke dies”, claiming that Simpson “was abused by this woman who took her over and took away her objects, her money, and left her practically destitute”.

In the film, the Dynasty legend will play Wallis Simpson, while Isabella will portray Suzanne Blum, described in a press release as “the formidable French lawyer and confidante of Wallis Simpson, who at the hands of Blum found herself ensnared in a menacing grip of obsession and coercive control”.

Dame Joan Collins pictured at an Oscars after-party in 2024
Dame Joan Collins pictured at an Oscars after-party in 2024

via Associated Press

Wallis Simpson married King Edward VIII 1937, after he abdicated from the throne so they could tie the knot.

After the pair visited Germany that same year without the proper approval, they were accused of being Nazi sympathisers, and Simpson spent much of the rest of her life in exile, particularly after the former monarch’s death in 1972.

Simpson’s final years were marred by several health issues, and she eventually died in 1986 at the age of 89.

The Duke and Duchess of Windsor pictured together in 1941
The Duke and Duchess of Windsor pictured together in 1941

via Associated Press

Dame Joan previously said of the movie: “First of all [Simpson is] full of pep and she’s got her young acolytes around her, then bit by bit she is destroyed by circumstances.

“It’s a very good script and it’s a great part for me. I’ve always been fascinated by Wallis, because I think she was unfairly treated.”

Wallis Simpson has recently been played by Lia Williams in The Crown and Oscar nominee Andrea Riseborough in Madonna’s film about the couple, W.E.

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Joan Collins Laughs Off Bread Roll Incident After Being Pelted By ‘Drunken Diner’

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Dame Joan Collins has laughed off a recent incident that saw her being “pelted” with a bread roll while out for dinner.

The showbiz legend has revealed she was at an event at the private members’ club the Chelsea Art Club earlier this year when the incident took place.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, the Dynasty star explained she’d been enjoying a “private dinner” in honour of her former PR Stella Wilson’s birthday when she was accosted by a fellow guest.

“A drunken diner who inappropriately wanted to sit with us got upset and threw a hard bread roll at me,” Dame Joan explained, joking: “And she didn’t even have the decency to follow it up with the butter.”

Stella told the tabloid that the star and her husband Percy left shortly after the incident.

She explained: “I was disappointed she had to miss the rest of my birthday but I completely understood why she left. I would have walked out too.

“Thank goodness it was only a bread roll. That was the frightening part of it.”

After celebrating the 70th anniversary of her big-screen debut last year, Dame Joan has two big projects coming in 2022, including an appearance in the musical Tomorrow Morning and the comedy The Gentle Sex.

She received a damehood for her services to charity in 2015.

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Joan Collins Blasts William Shatner’s Trip Into Space: ‘What A Fool’

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Getty/Reuters

Joan Collins and William Shatner

Dame Joan Collins has called William Shatner a ‘fool’ following his recent trip into space.

The 90-year-old Star Trek star became the oldest person in history to travel into space earlier this month, in a rocket built by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space travel company, Blue Origin. 

During an appearance on this week’s Jonathan Ross Show, Joan, who starred in an episode of Star Trek alongside the Captain Kirk actor, made it clear that she didn’t approve of him leaving the planet.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it? What a fool. Who wants to do that? No, absolutely not. Did you see Bill Shatner?’ Joan told Jonathan.

“He was in the air and they were turning him upside down. Let’s take care of this planet first before we start going off.”

Mario Tama via Getty Images

William Shatner speaks at the landing pad of Blue Origin’s New Shepard after they flew into space on October 13, 2021 near Van Horn, Texas. 

When Jonathan asked fellow guest Brian Cox if he would travel to space, the Succession star agreed with Joan.

“No, absolutely not,” he said. “I think it’s ridiculous. I remember watching [Sir Richard] Branson and Bezos going up for their 11 minutes or whatever…

“No, we do not need more spaceships. We’ve got enough crap flying around up there. We do not need any more.”

After his brief trip into space, a deeply emotional Shatner struggled to put into words the significance of his journey. 

“I’m so filled with emotion about what just happened,” the screen legend said. “It’s extraordinary. I hope I never recover from this. I hope I can maintain what I feel now.”

“It has to do with the enormity and the quickness and the suddenness of life and death and the … oh, my God,” he continued, burying his face in his hands.

“The moment you see the vulnerability of everything. It’s so small. This air which is keeping us alive is thinner than your skin. It’s a sliver, it’s immeasurably small when you think in terms of the universe.”

Mario Tama via Getty Images

Blue Origin’s New Shepard lifts-off from the launch pad carrying 90-year-old Star Trek actor William Shatner and three other civilians.

Prince William also recently spoke out against space tourism, saying the wealthy should be “trying to repair this planet, not trying to find the next place to go and live”.

In response, William defended his trip in an interview with Entertainment Today, saying: “He’s a lovely Englishman. He’s going to be king of England one day. He’s a lovely, gentle, educated man, but he’s got the wrong idea.

“The idea here is not to go, ‘Yeah, look at me. I’m in space’. No, I would tell the prince, and I hope the prince gets this message, this is a baby step of getting industry, all those polluting industries…off of Earth.”

The Jonathan Ross Show airs Saturday at 9.30pm on ITV.

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