Jersey Girl London Premiere

It may not have been on the scale of a Leicester Square event but last night's Jersey Girl premiere at the Curzon Cinema in Mayfair still drew its share of eager fans, keen to get a glimpse of Ben Affleck walking down the red carpet. Sadly for them, though, it was to be a long wait. "He has bronchitis," director Kevin Smith told Empire before catching our slightly dubious look. "No, seriously. I got a call yesterday that he was in hospital. They were testing him to see if he had spinal meningitis but it turned out to be just bronchitis. I was like, 'oh yeah the British press will believe that!'. You'll all start calling him Bronchifer." His first film without potty-mouthed stoners Jay and Silent Bob, Smith is treading new ground with Jersey Girl, a far more conventional film about a single father raising his daughter in, you guessed it, New Jersey. Released a couple of months back in the States, the film tried desperately to stand on its own merit but, pairing Affleck with Jennifer Lopez, found itself swept up in the Gigli backlash and the couple's break-up debacle. "Yeah it does get dragged up," said Smith. "I think we're past the worst of it, though. It was pretty bad getting past the Gigli thing and the Bennifer thing but it seems like now the movie's just being taken for what it is. Their relationship will always be tethered to it in some way though." In lieu of Affleck, Smith's other lead was present to rave about the film, no not J-Lo or Liv Tyler, but Raquel Castro. Barely coming up to Empire's waist, the nine-year-old actress wasn't the least bit intimidated by the banks of microphones and flashing cameras. "The most fun is signing autographs, getting interviewed and having your picture taken. It's very, very cool." Empire has dim recollections of our own experiences at that age and one incident involving a nativity play, a cardboard halo and a great many tears. Not the kind of situation likely to bother Castro, though, as she plans her future in Hollywood. "I might be doing a show on Fox. It means moving to LA and I won't be able to go to school so I'll have to get a tutor. It's kind of a big choice to be making at this age." Kids today eh? They grow up so fast.