Christmas shoppers may have got a shock when a huge gorilla appeared in the centre of New York. The 7.5-metre primate was a statue, however, erected for the premiere of King Kong in Times Square, where the film's stars, Naomi Watts, Adrien Brody and Jack Black, posed with director Peter Jackson.
Although a host of celebrities, including Donald Trump, Evan Rachel Wood, Jamie Bell and Tim Robbins, attended the screening, Naomi was particularly enjoying the company of one special guest - her boyfriend, Scream actor Liev Schreiber. The couple, who've been linked since meeting at a Museum of Modern Art gala in May, snuggled up cosily together at the after-show party.
Oscar-nominee Naomi jumped at the chance to work on the remake of the classic movie with the Lord Of The Rings director. "When I heard Peter speak about how this has been his passion since the age of nine, I just said I'll do it, sight unseen," she revealed.
To bring Kong to life Peter turned to Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in the Rings saga. The actor spent weeks studying gorilla behaviour, and Naomi says she found it easy to fall in love with the fictional creature because having "a real pair of eyes and a soul behind him really helped".
The resulting relationship certainly seems to have paid off, with critics hailing the film as "jaw-droppingly brilliant".
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
