Stormbreaker stars praise island

Bill Nighy and Alicia Silverstone are among the Stormbreaker stars

Stars of the film Stormbreaker paid tribute to the Isle of Man, where most of it was shot, at the film's premiere.

It is the first film featuring teenage spy Alex Rider, from the bestselling children's books by Anthony Horowitz.

Shot almost entirely on the island, one of its stars, Bill Nighy, said many UK films "would not get made if it was not for the Isle of Man".

Stormbreaker also stars Alex Pettyfer, Ewan McGregor, Alicia Silverstone, Sophie Okenodo and Missi Pyle.

The film is expected to be one of the biggest UK-made movies this year.

Nighy, who starred in Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean, said: "I've been to the island lots of times on many different films and thank God for the Isle of Man.

The Isle of Man is a great film location, I mean it's everything, England, France Germany... it's a chameleon of an island Anthony Horowitz Stormbreaker author

"Virtually all British films under a certain budget would not get made if it was not for the Isle of Man and Isle of Man Film. I like [the Island] very much."

Nighy had recently described the island in an interview as "a cross between Cornwall and Ireland".

American actress Alicia Silverstone, best known for her role as spoilt rich girl Cher in Clueless, also said she enjoyed her time on the island.

She said: "We had so much fun, it was ridiculous, it wasn't really a job.

Alex Pettyfer plays the Alex Rider, the teenage spy

"Missi Pyle and I would ride our bikes everywhere and we went to a lovely vegetarian restaurant and really good health store. It was very nice."

The film is based on the Alex Rider series written by Anthony Horowitz, who also wrote the screenplay for the film.

He said: "The Isle of Man is a great film location, I mean it's everything, England, France Germany...it's a chameleon of an island.

"The great chase scene that opens the film, I'm not sure we could have shot that anywhere else."

The world premiere of the film was at Leicester Square. It goes on release in the UK on Friday.