Nicole Kidman's face is almost unnaturally perfect. Up close, her alabaster skin is flawless, helped only minimally by light make-up and siren-red lipstick. Her light blonde hair is swept up. Tall and impossibly slender, she looks a decade younger than her 40 years.

The heaving mass of fans, professional autograph hunters and TV crews pressed up against the barricades at the red-carpet premiere of The Golden Compass at London's Odeon cinema in Leicester Square last Tuesday braved the cold and rain for the barrage of attending celebrities. They were happy to scream the names of anyone minutely famous, but it was clear who they were waiting for.

One by one, the arrival of Daniel Craig, his Bond and Compass co-star Eva Green, and Sam Elliot elicited a war cry of star-struck shrieks.

Even the film's director Chris Weitz, who was parading around his bear-costumed baby like the tot was part of the movie's merchandising, caused many sore throats.

But when Kidman arrived with her country-singer husband Keith Urban, it was as if peace had been achieved in the Middle East. The enamoured crowd shifted into full-blown frenzy as the lady waved, signed a few autographs, smiled for the camera, did a few quick interviews with important media - which didn't include the TV crew from a little country called Singapore - and hastily skipped into the theatre.

At a media conference for The Golden Compass earlier in the day at the swanky Claridge's Hotel in Mayfair, it was equally clear who the international press had flown into London to see. There was an obvious celebrity hierarchy - Nicole Kidman was No 1, everyone else shared second place.

Most of the tape recorders were placed in front of the Australian actress, leaving her co-stars Craig, Neil and Green enough space on the table for a lazy game of Scrabble - even though she has a total screen-time of about 20 minutes in the film.

She plays Mrs Coulter, the beautiful baddie in a world of flying witches, talking animals and wicked empires. Based on the first book of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, The Golden Compass starts out as a simple story about a little girl who tries to rescue a kidnapped friend and ends up on an epic quest to save the worlds.

Ms Kidman, reporters wanted to know, what fairytales did you grow up reading? "I grew up with a lot of literature just because my mother used to always read to me - a lot of Roald Dahl and, obviously, the Narnia chronicles."

Nicole, more journalists asked, is it true you didn't want to be part of this project initially? "I actually didn't want to work. I was at a place in my life when I was feeling a little lazy and wanting to hang out. Then Chris (the director) sent me a letter and Phillip Pullman (author of His Dark Materials) sent me a letter. With those two letters, I was seduced."

Was it hard working on a film with so much CGI, the press wanted to know. "I'd never actually done (green screen work) to this degree, but I've said that at drama school, the mime class was a class that I would wag (an Australian slang for playing hooky) a lot. And I would also wag accent class. And the two things that I've used most in my career are accents and, now, mime work. So I say to all actors out there - go to your mime classes 'cos it's the future!" she replied.

The moderator of the press conference had to ask the other stars questions of his own, so they could have the chance to speak. Up to that point, the young star of Compass, 13-year-old Dakota Blue Richards, had been busy doodling, while Green smiled politely in a corner, and James Bond chewed on mints.

Weitz attempted to draw attention to his young star, saying: "Dakota, in a way, had a harder job than any of us to do … It was, 'Dakota, could you please fall down in this fake snow made of toxic styrofoam and try not to inhale it?' And then it was, 'Thanks for doing your day of shooting - now you're off for four hours of tutoring'.

"I'd often ... think, 'Wow, I'm glad I'm not doing her job'. But the wardrobe …”

The journalists chuckled politely, but soon directed their attention back at the former Mrs Tom Cruise.

The inevitable "religion" topic was brought up. Religious and conservative groups in the US and around the world are calling the film "anti-religion" and "anti-God", and protesting because of the film and books' supposed atheist leanings.

"I don't believe that when you see the film that it'll be the same (as the books). I think that's an alarmist approach to it right now. When you see the film, that (apprehension) will be dissipated," said Kidman. "I don't want to make a film that's anti-religious or anti-Catholic. I come from a Catholic family, so that's not something my grandmother would be very happy about. And I really don't think that's what I'm involved in."

In Compass, the soul of every person appears as an animal companion called a "Daemon" (pronounced "demon"). What, a Japanese journalist was curious to know, would Nicole's Daemon be if she had one?

"It changes," answered a playful Kidman. "Yesterday, it was a kitten. Because I love milk. And I like to be petted and taken care of. And sleep a lot. Today, it's a tiger."

Who cares what the film has to say about God? We just want to know what furry critter Nicole thinks she is. That is the power of a major Hollywood celebrity. Even when the attention was on someone else — in this case, when the director was answering a question - all it took was a tiny sneeze from Kidman, and the spotlight swung dramatically back to her pretty, sneeze-y face.

"Sorry," she whispered.

It's very evident that Kidman is still a massive star even if the A-lister hasn't had a box-office hit in the last six years. Despite the Oscar success of The Hours in 2002, her films haven't made a dent at the box-office since 2001's horror flick The Others. Since then, her string of mediocre films like The Stepford Wives, Bewitched and The Invasion were critical flops and box-office failures.

Kidman needs a hit, and even though she said she accepted a part in Compass because "the intricacies of the characters allow strong performances", one can't help but think it also has to do with the fact that the film is being touted as the new big trilogy in the same vein as The Lord of the Rings series.

If this first film does well, Kidman will be assured of being in a blockbuster hit for years to come. In fact, the film is made almost like a teaser to the rest of what seems to be an interesting adventure. It even concludes in an extremely open-ended manner, begging for sequels. Clearly, Kidman isn't the only one desperate for success.

"I have no shame. It's purposely left that way," admitted Weitz with a laugh. "I figured if it was going to do badly, it didn't matter if it did badly with a sense of closure or without a sense of closure."

Of course, if the film does flop, the headlines won't scream his name - they would read: "Nicole Kidman Fails Again. Christian Fundamentalists Win". That is the downside of constantly getting all the attention. Even if you're almost unnaturally perfect.

The Golden Compass opens in cinemas here on 6 Dec. - TODAY/ym