The Times bfi London Film Festival got underway in style this evening, as The Constant Gardener, the festival's opening gala, drew huge crowds and lots of stars to get things going. Sadly, said huge crowds and stars alike then got drenched by London weather that had distinctly failed to get into the spirit of things, but nobody's perfect.
"It's very sweet that so many people are here," said Rachel Weisz, star of the film. "I met people who wanted me to write on their arms!"
On a slight more serious note, she's clearly very proud of the film. "It's a piece of entertainment, it's a thriller, it's a love story – a very unusual love story. It's about some very important social and political issues, so it's got brains and it's got heart and it's got soul. It's got pretty much everything."
Ralph Fiennes arrived late thanks to a severely delayed flight (the weather really wasn't getting the festival buzz) but was clearly determined to make it – "I was wishing I could parachute in, in a tuxedo, that's all" – since he saw the chance to open the Festival as "a great privilege."
"I think it's a great story that LeCarré wrote and I think that Fernando Meirelles has taken it to the screen brilliantly," he said.
Meanwhile, Meirelles himself was on bouncy form, and thrilled that his film was so well received, while author John LeCarré proclaimed himself very proud of the resulting film – even the points where it deviated from his book. For the full interviews with Meirelles, LeCarré, Weisz and Fiennes, as well as co-star Danny Huston and festival-goers Anthony Minghella and Mike Leigh, visit our Red Carpet Q&A section.