WebMail
My BigPond
Stars dazzled the rain-soaked crowds at the premiere of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones in London's Leicester Square.
Actors Susan Sarandon, Rachel Weisz and teen starlet Saoirse Ronan braved a drenched red carpet on Tuesday night (London time) for the premiere.
The premiere also attracted a royal audience, as the film had been chosen for the Royal Film Performance, an annual event that raises funds for the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.
The royal contingent consisted of Prince Charles, with his wife Camilla, who wore a teal blue velvet dress and matching evening cape with a pearl necklace.
The Queen, who gets to choose the film for the annual gala performance, was not present.
Sarandon, 63, who plays the grandmother of a young girl who is murdered in the Oscar-tipped film, managed to smile despite the downpours battering the city.
Sarandon dressed in an elegant floor-length dress, which she covered with a long, black sequinned coat at the premiere.
The film's young star Saoirse Ronan, 15, - who plays the character Susie Salmon - arrived in a grey strappy chiffon dress despite the winter chill.
The American-born Irish teenager, said it had been 'nerve wracking' making such a high-profile film but said Sarandon had become like a 'mother' to her during filming.
She added: 'She's very maternal on the set. She did look after me. Just being around someone as experienced as that is great.'
Adapted by Jackson and his wife Fran Walsh from the best-selling 2002 novel by Alice Sebold, the film tells the story of a raped and murdered 14-year-old girl named Susie (Ronan), who watches from her heavenly vantage point while her family on Earth mourns her loss and tries to find her killer.
The book, narrated by the victim, sold more than 10 million copies around the world in book form. Sebold was herself raped at the age of 18 while on her way home from a party.
First reviews in London were not been kind, partly because Jackson has left out the rape and did not tackle the murder scene head on.
Jackson said earlier this month that he was taken aback to find that in early screenings audiences 'were simply not satisfied' with a scene of one character's death.
'They wanted far more violence,' he said.
He re-edited The Lovely Bones to 'basically add more violence and suffering'.
The stars will tread another red carpet in Wellington again on December 14 when the film has its New Zealand premiere at the Embassy Theatre. It will be released in local cinemas on December 26.
