A little slice of 1930s New York came to London tonight, as King Kong was unveiled in Leicester Square. The lights on the front of the cinema read "King Kong: The Eighth Wonder Of The World" and a red carpet glittered beneath the feet of the well-heeled, 30s attired guests. The guests, however, were practically outnumbered by the many members of the Kong cast who appeared to see the film off.
"It's fantastic to be in London. The people, the crowds…it's great," said a clearly exhausted and untypically subdued Peter Jackson. After attending premieres on two continents and in three countries (New York, Berlin and London) and fielding a raft of press questions for the last week, it was a broken man that disappeared into the cinema, but one still fiercely proud of his film.
"We've got to rush off and do Paris and Tokyo next. Next on my list? Holiday!" said Naomi Watts. She talked about the influence of Fay Wray, the original Ann Darrow. "She made this role iconic, so I needed her permission in some sort of weird way. But after she gave me her blessing, I felt it was mine now and I must make of it what I can."
Animation legend Ray Harryhausen was there, making history in a small way with his presence. "I was at Graumann's Chinese Theatre, in 1933, to see the first King Kong. I expect something spectacular and wonderful here."
"Every actor wants to work with Peter Jackson, it was great. Especially a film like this – it's going to be a classic. This is usually the film you watch other people do, not yourself!" said German star Thomas Kretschmann, who plays Captain Engelhorn in the film.
Jamie Bell was equally complimentary. "I think Peter Jackson's the best director working out there at the moment. I was really excited to be working with him."
"It was a wonderful opportunity for me. It's Peter's dream and Peter needed to fulfil his dream," said Adrien Brody, the film's less hairy leading man. "I enjoy learning new techniques, and the effects realm was very new to me. But I've always wanted to find a romantic leading man character and I, remarkably, found this."
Andy Serkis, who plays both Lumpy the cook and King Kong himself, was, as always, on great form. "When I watch Kong, I can actually see the choices in the acting that I've made. It was pretty thrilling seeing some of the finished shots. The work that Weta's done with my performance is extraordinary. It's mind-blowing really."
Sadly, Jack Black was feeling somewhat under the weather and managed to skip the press interviews altogether, presumably using some of his magical Wonderboy powers, but he did go out on the balcony above the cinema to give the crowd an impromptu musical performance (no sign of Kyle, which was a shame for fans of the'D) to screams of "Jack, I love you" (they weren't all from Empire, honest).
And like that, the cast and crew disappeared into the cinema to introduce the film, and Empire trooped back to the office, dreaming of damsels in distress and giant apes, as the biggest big ape film of the year began its conquest of the world.