Best-selling writer Jackie Collins dies

Jackie Collins, the author of dozens of best-­selling raunchy novels – including Lady Boss, Drop Dead Beautiful, ­Confessions of a Wild Child, Goddess of Vengeance, American Star and Hollywood Wives, which dramatised the lives of the rich and ­treacherous – has died at the age of 77. ­Publicist Melody Korenbrot says Collins lost her battle with breast cancer on Saturday in Los ­Angeles. The Collins family, which includes former Dynasty actor Joan Collins, described her as a true inspiration, a trailblazer for women in fiction and a creative force who entertained millions of readers for over four decades. Her first novel, The World is Full of Married Men, was published in 1968 and became a scandalous best-seller. Hollywood Wives, her best-known novel, which sold more than 15 million ­copies, was published in 1983. In all, she wrote 32 novels, which have collectively sold more than 500 million copies. – AP

Statham set to star in Layer Cake TV sequel

Furious 7 star Jason Statham is reportedly teaming up with author J J Connolly to star in a TV adaptation of Connolly's novel Viva La Madness. Connolly is best known as the writer the novel Layer Cake, and the screenplay adaptation for the 2004 film version that launched the directorial career of Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class, Kingsman: The Secret Service), to which Viva La Madness is a sequel. The plot finds the anonymous narrator from the first novel stranded in the Caribbean as a result of his criminal activities in London. Looking for a way back into that life he knew, he joins forces with two London gangsters. Producer Gaumont, which helped to bring Hannibal – the acclaimed TV adaptation of the Thomas Harris novels featuring serial killer Hannibal Lecter – to our screens, is looking for a network partner in the States. Statham will next be seen on the big screen in Mechanic: Resurrection, which is due out in August next year. – The National staff

First Beatles contract sells for $94,000

The first recording contract signed by The Beatles has sold at auction for US$93,750 (Dh344,320). New York-based Heritage Auctions says the 1961 contract was for a recording of a rock and roll version of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. The single, recorded during a session in Hamburg, was released only in Germany, but it led to The Beatles being discovered by manager Brian Epstein. It was recorded before Ringo Starr joined the band, so the contract was signed by drummer Pete Best, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison. The contract was sold on Saturday by the estate of German Beatles collector Uwe Blaschke. The identity of the buyer was not revealed. – AP

50 Shades star says men avoid her now

Dakota Johnson's role in the film version of the best-­selling novel 50 Shades of Grey has made men reluctant to approach her at parties, she revealed during a recent appearance on Ellen De­Generes's US TV talk show. In the film, Johnson plays ­Anastasia Steele, who ­becomes involved in a highly charged relationship with Christian Grey. Although the film was not released in the UAE, E L James's successful series of novels, on which it was based, are widely ­available in bookshops here. – The National staff