Actress Charlize Theron with two of The Italian Job Minis

"We are aware that everyone loves the original over here," Theron said. "We haven't tried to remake it - it's just a nice respectful nod to it."

Wahlberg said he hoped Michael Caine would approve. "I'd love to know if he saw the movie or liked it," he said.

Stunt Mini drivers performed outside the event in London's Leicester Square.

They drove the cars, used in the film, down the red carpet on two wheels.

But the US-made blockbuster has swapped the streets of Turin for those of Los Angeles.

Wahlberg plays Charlie Croker - the character originally played by Caine in the 1969 original.

The famous stairs scene is kept in the new version

Wahlberg said he had not seen the original until he received the script for the new version.

"Probably about 30 minutes after I put down the script I had to see it immediately," he said.

"I had been crowned the king of remakes because I had done the Planet Of the Apes and The Truth about Charlie.

"So the last thing I wanted to do was go down that street again but the script was great."

Director F Gary Gray wanted to pay homage to the original "but also wanted to do something very different", Wahlberg said.

The updated version has made more than $100m (�62.5m) in the US, and is released in the UK on Friday.