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“Water for Elephants” and “Thor” debut with glittery, star-packed premieres

Posted on 18. Apr, 2011 by Ben Scuglia in Now U Know

Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson on the red carpet, at The Ziegfeld Theatre, in NYC, during the premiere of 'Water For Elephants'

Two star-packed films held glittery premieres on opposite ends of the globe over the weekend. “Water for Elephants” rolled out the red carpet in New York, while “Thor” was unveiled in Sydney, Australia.

“Water for Elephants” costars Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon dashed across the street at their premiere for an impromptu autograph session. Pattinson later told MTV.com—which was live-streaming the festivities—the presence of screaming fans was very much like a “Twilight” event.

Witherspoon, for her part, joked that she and her costars—including the titular elephants—ad-libbed the entire film. She also thanked fans who waited in the rain for over a day to secure an opportunity to meet Pattinson. The matinee idol deflected her compliment, but Witherspoon wasn’t having it. “Let’s not kid ourselves,” she joked. “They like me, it’s okay. But I’m a consolation prize.”

Pattinson also revealed that he wrapped “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn” just hours before jetting to the Big Apple. “It was a mad dash to get here,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chris Hemsworth returned to his native country for the premiere of “Thor.” He was joined by director Kenneth Branagh and several costars, among them Jamie Alexander and Tom Hiddleston, who plays Thor’s nemesis, the trickster god Loki.

L-R: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Director Kenneth Branagh, Jaimie Alexander (Sif).and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) at the premiere of 'Thor' in Sydney, Australia - photo: Splash

Hemsworth described his rocketship to stardom as “crazy” and “surreal,” noting that he’d been “working and auditioning, trying to get in. And to land this job with these people, in this type of film, is an absolute dream.”

He told Australian TV that one of his videotaped auditions involved his mother running lines with him and reading the part that was eventually played by Anthony Hopkins in the film. (Hemsworth’s older and younger brothers are also actors, so performing clearly runs in the family.)

Next up for him is the superteam flick “Avengers” bringing together Thor with other Marvel comics characters. Hemsworth promised “a lot of tension and adventure.”

Branagh talked bout squeezing in acting jobs as he worked on “Thor”—such as “My Week with Marilyn,” coming later this year—and said he took the jobs “having stolen all the secrets” of Hopkins, costar Natalie Portman and Hemsworth. “Hopefully I can use some of what I’ve learnt and put it into what I do,” as an actor, he said.

Highly anticipated: 'Thor' and 'Water For Elephants' world premiere in NY and Australia - photos: Splash

CLICK HERE for red-carpet interviews with Pattinson and Witherspoon.

CLICK HERE for Australian TV interviews with Hemsworth, Branagh and others from Video EZY.

Water For Elephants official movie website: http://www.waterforelephants.com/

THOR official movie website: http://thor.marvel.com/

Tags: australia, chris hemsworth, kenneth branagh, kennth branagh, new york, Reese Witherspoon, robert pattinson, sydney, thor, water for elephants