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KW Exclusive: A letter from the director, Laura Fairrie

As a teenager growing up in London, I received my sex education from Jackie Collins’ novels. Her books were passed around at school and then discussed at break in the cafeteria. When producers John Battsek and Lizzie Gillett asked me if I was interested in making a film about Jackie Collins, it was an irresistible idea. I already felt a connection to the outrageously sexy books and the author pictured on the back cover – a powerful woman with big hair, plunging cleavage and leopard-print shoulder pads. 

As a filmmaker, I was drawn to her powerful persona and loved the idea of looking behind the public image to find the true story. Talking to Jackie’s daughters, I discovered a woman who faced adversity, vulnerability, tragedy as well as triumph in her life. I realized she had created an image, modeled on her own fantasy female heroines, and used this persona like a suit of armor. Behind the glamorous and powerful Lady Boss was a woman whose story was relatable, universal, deeply moving and ultimately inspiring.

Laura Fairrie, director of Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story. Photo by Emma Woollarrd. 

Throughout her life, Jackie Collins was often dismissed as the “Queen of Sleaze” or looked down upon by the critics who judged her work at the beginning of her career. But the criticism ignores the fact that she consistently wrote female characters that unapologetically demanded the lives that they wanted. She devised her own brand of feminism, placing female sexual desire at the heart of her stories in a way that was bold and ahead of its time. Her books were risqué and they turned the tables on traditional gender dynamics. Jackie sold over 500 million books and empowered women to imagine a different life for themselves.

Jackie’s story was a dream to bring to life. The world she inhabited was a million miles away from the reality of the Covid-19 pandemic and at times it felt wonderfully hedonistic to be able to escape into the kitsch and hilarious aspects of ‘Jackie-land’. But underneath the glitz and the glamour is a story that is grounded in the reality of what it is to be a woman trying to make it in a man’s world. Jackie also was a brilliant mass of contradictions, a woman who rolled with the punches that life threw at her and an author who channeled the power of her fantasy heroines to survive. All of this I love about her, and I hope that this film inspires you as much as she inspired me while I was making it.

- Laura Fairrie 

The revolutionary icon lives on 

Still feeling empowered from last night's premiere? If you missed it, Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story is available on demand now through Sunday, July 25 via CNNgo and your cable provider. For more insight on the woman of the hour, start here:

• 📸 Take a visual tour through the decade that shaped the author. 

• 📰 Learn about the tragic story behind her luxurious mansion, and hear what it was like to grow up with Collins as “mum.”

• 📝 Read these reviews of Lady Boss from The New York Times, Variety, Town & Country and watch this video of director Laura Fairrie and Collins' daughters Rory Green and Tiffany Lerman, with the editor of Latino-Review Media.

• 🎥 Go behind the scenes on the making of the film with these CNN interviews, featuring Collins’ daughter Rory and director Laura Fairrie.

History of the Sitcom premieres on Sunday, July 11 

What’s even better than a Friends cast reunion? Getting insider access to nearly every sitcom ever made. Our next Original Series, History of the Sitcom, is an eight-part docuseries that includes more than 180 original interviews with comedy icons. Tina Fey, Dick Van Dyke, Judd Apatow, Mel Brooks, Jason Alexander, Norman Lear, Tracy Morgan, Lisa Kudrow, George Lopez and more share how the sitcom became an iconic American art form.

Watch the trailer here, and join us for an advance virtual screening and panel discussion moderated by Executive Producer Bill Carter on Thursday, July 8. RSVP to attend here. History of the Sitcom premieres with back-to-back episodes on Sunday, July 11 @ 9 PM and 10 PM ET/PT.

Exclusive screening for Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury

RSVP for a special advance screening of the new CNN Original Series, Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury, on Tuesday, July 13 at 8 PM ET, followed by a conversation moderated by CNN Pentagon Correspondent, Oren Liebermann. Panelists include:

• Michael Brenner, Seymour and Lillian Abensohn Chair in Israel Studies at American University in Washington DC
• Suleiman A. Mourad, Professor, Smith College

RSVP here to reserve your spot! 

Pride Month spotlight: LGBTQ+ identity and religion 

In the United Shades of America episode Out and Proud (Season 4, Episode 6), W. Kamau Bell visited Salt Lake City, Utah to explore the growing LGBTQ+ community living in the epicenter of the Mormon religion. Bell was joined by journalist and author Samantha Allen, whose book Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States explores the profound cultural shifts that are underway in unexpected places.

As Allen writes in her CNN Opinion column, Utah is key to understanding America’s LGBTQ+ future because it shows us "what LGBTQ progress looks like away from the coasts: messy, often piecemeal, but deeply necessary." Find this episode now on demand via CNNgo and your cable provider.