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ITN
Mamma Mia! Thousands turn out for premiere
Mamma Mia! Thousands turn out for premiere
A temporary lemon grove was installed at the London première of Mamma Mia! the film, as Hollywood's A-list strutted their stuff in front of adoring fans.Leicester Square was transformed to resemble the location of the big screen adaptation of Abba-inspired smash hit musical.Thousands of fans turned out to catch a glimpse of stars like Tom Hanks, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Julie Walters at the world première.The film is described as "a celebration of a mother, a daughter and three possible fathers."It features 22 Abba hits and is based on the play which has drawn in an estimated 30m viewers and £1bn worldwide.In June 2005, it became the longest running Broadway show ever in Las Vegas and this year became the longest daily running show in the history of Russian theatre.Sporting a beard, Firth said the experience of being in the movie was "delightful and mortifying".He described singing in front of Andersson and Ulvaeus as "sheer terror."I love singing but I have only really ever done it in the shower."Producer Ulvaeus said: "It's an amazing fairy tale I think. These songs that we wrote more than 30 years ago are the reason why I'm here right now."Streep's involvement in the film came after she sent a fan letter to the producers of the stage production, having been impressed by a performance in New York.They kept the note and later returned the compliment by asking her to star in the film.
ITN | July 1, 2008
