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The stars of Peter Jackson's King Kong walked down the red carpet in Wellington's Courtenay Place on Wednesday evening to the screams of thousands of waiting fans.
Some fans camped out all night to get a glimpse of the film's stars who have already traipsed up red carpets at premieres in New York, London, Paris and Tokyo.
With the Wellington premiere director Peter Jackson returned to where his dreams of making King Kong began.
Jackson said that even more than Lord of the Rings, King Kong is very much a Wellington movie. He said he still gets a kick out of the reaction by international audiences to images of his home town.
"When the New Yorkers were shedding tears looking at their city...the fact that it was Seaview by the big fuel tanks out there is pretty funny," Jackson told Close Up.
Wellington City Council event co-ordinator Melody Scales said while the event was not as significant as the world premiere of Lord of the Rings, it was still a huge event for the capital.
The red carpet was rolled out for the official parade to the Embassy Theatre as Jackson joined actors Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody, Andy Serkis and Colin Hanks for the occasion.
Watts, who plays Ann Darrow, told Close Up working with Jackson was an honour.
"Peter creates such a warm and welcoming vibe and everyone he works with becomes part of the family," said Watts.
She said the premiere was a bittersweet evening because while it was great to be in Wellington where the film started it was sad to say goodbye to people who became like family.
Adrien Brody plays one of Watts' love interests, reluctant hero Jack Driscoll. He said it was a dream to play a heroic, romantic part.
"I've been looking for a chance to find a really well written romantic lead...he's very unique, he's an intellectual," said Brody.
He said it is a very different process playing the Driscoll part when compared to his Oscar winning role in the Piano.
"It is remarkably satisfying...and the physical exertion all day is good. You go home somehow feeling at ease cos you've burnt off a lot of the anxiety or the pressure that comes with the work," Brody said.
None of the the actors worked harder, physically, than Andy Serkis, who took on the role of King Kong. Jackson and Serkis created Kong using the same technology used to create Gollum in the Lord of The Rings trilogy.
Serkis told Close Up that both characters had their own challenges.
"Gollum was a challenge because psychologically he was very interesting and had many, many levels to him...he had a lot of dialogue so it's easier to play a character who has lots of dialogue, as I discovered when I started to play Kong."
Serkis said Kong was complex because he had to understand Kong's psychology as well as study the behaviours.
"He's actually... he's very simple and truthful character, but that's not necessarily the easiest thing to play," said Serkis.
To prepare for the role Serkis spent time with four Gorilla's at London Zoo and also travelled to Rwanda to observe them in their natural habitat.
Peter Jackson saw the 1933 original King Kong when he was nine and it is the film that inspired him to become a filmmaker. He says the nine-year-old Jackson would think the film was pretty cool.
"The nine-year-old Peter Jackson wouldn't have dreamt about the sort of technology that exists today...but it's still the same story. It's the story that made me cry when I was nine and it still makes me cry today," says Jackson.
The $295 million film opened in the United States a week ago and is now screening in New Zealand.
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