Kong conquers capital

Star Naomi Watts on the red carpet. Picture / Mark Mitchell

Tens of thousands of fans lined Courtenay Place last night to welcome Peter Jackson and the cast and crew of King Kong home to Wellington.

The occasion may have lacked some of the sustained rapture and enthusiasm of the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King world premiere a couple of years ago, but the crowd were soon as warm as the balmy evening.

Jackson's progress down the 200m red carpet was slow as he took time to sign autographs - many on giant inflatable bananas brandished by the crowd.

The Embassy Theatre, scene of the film's New Zealand premiere, was decked out to resemble New York's Alhambra Theatre, from which Kong makes his escape and goes on to rampage through the city.

Outside the theatre, props included a vintage Curtiss Helldiver biplane and New York taxis and police cars.

Naomi Watts, who plays Anne Darrow, added Hollywood-style glitz and glamour along with her co-stars Adrien Brody and Andy Serkis.

Some of New Zealand's most glamorous also made an appearance, including the Black Sticks' Honor Dillon, who bought her partner, All Black Dan Carter.

Rugby great turned dance champion Norm Hewitt was also cheered along the red carpet, as was musician Dave Dobbyn.

Earlier, Jackson showed off a 20cm model of Kong he made 32 years ago using wire and strips cut from his mother's fur stole.

"I was 12 years old and I'd never seen her wear it, so I figured she didn't want it any more," he said.

The model - looking slightly threadbare but convincing - was passed around the cast.

Watts said it was good to hold Kong in her hand for a change.

Jackson's new realisation of the giant ape is far removed from his childhood model and more realistic than the gorilla of the original 1933 movie.

The new Kong was created to look almost 8m high and weigh 3700kg.

Even though the film-makers had The Lord of the Rings trilogy under their belts, it was still difficult work for the Oscar winners.

"Sometimes the shooting is extremely arduous because it's not an exact science," Jackson said.

He described a scene where Kong fights off a dinosaur while trying to keep hold of heroine Anne Darrow. Stuntmen in blue suits - who would be obscured during editing - had to pick Naomi Watts up and shake her.

"I'd just say, 'Okay, shake her around' and we'd roll two or three cameras... We would do these two-minute-long takes of just chucking her around and somewhere in there we would find the two seconds we wanted in the movie."

Jackson, who has been travelling the world to promote the film, said today would be a welcome day off.