In just over two weeks on 11 December, The Return Of The King will have its UK premiere in London. If that wasn't reason enough to grab your camping gear and Calor gas stove and head for Leicester Square right this minute, then the fact that it's the 300th film premiere to be held at the Odeon should swing the deal for you. Empire Online readers wanting to add to their mental database of useless film knowledge for regurgitation in pub quizzes should also note that the first premiere at the Odeon was The Prisoner of Zendastarring Ronald Colman. The film premiered 2 November 1937, the night the Odeon opened. Amongst the ranks of paparazzi on the night of the 11th, there'll be a representative from the Myers family who've been covering premieres at the Odeon for 44 years. Harry became the Odeon's first official photographer way back in 1959, later passing on the position to his son Scott. To honour their involvement, and to celebrate 300 starry nights at the Odeon, the Odeon Leicester Square has launched Film Icons, an exhibition of photographs - many never seen before - which show everyone from Sean Connery to Nicole Kidman posing on the red carpet. The exhibition runs at ODEON Leicester Square between Thursday 27 November and Thursday 4 December 2003. It is free to the public and is open every day from 11.00am to 9.00pm. Competition for a nice patch of freezing concrete outside the cinema will be tight mind, so best stake your claim now.*
*Empire Online takes no responsibility for injuries or mental derangement caused by camping out in the cold at this time of year.