Nat's bald decision

My map tells me that the location is beside the London Eye, and so I set off in search of the junket, ending up at the impressive entrance to County Hall, which housed the infamous Saatchi 100 exhibition.

As I check the directions again to be sure, I spot a few folk clad in black and dressed in "V" Guy Fawkes masks and I know I'm in the right place.

County Hall is an atmospheric, cavernous place, full of long corridors and velvet drapes. There are red and white goblets laid out in a "V" pattern, plus cookies with "V"s on them - now this is what I call a location.

And I'm glad it's such an exciting conference, because I have, the night before, seen and loved the film. An exciting and stylish futuristic piece with great performances, it comes from the men behind The Matrix trilogy and is just as exciting in its own way as The Matrix once was.

We have quite the panel today to discuss the film - stars Natalie Portman, Stephen Rea, John Hurt and Stephen Fry, plus the director James McTeigue and producer Joel Silver. As they arrive, we notice that most of them are wearing the colours of the film, black and red, and that Portman is absolutely tiny, like a doll with her beautiful features and slim physique.

But it's Hollywood power player Silver, who has produced movies such as Die Hard, Predator and Lethal Weapon, who explains that the project was actually planned well before The Matrix was even thought about. "We acquired the material in the late 1980s," he says. "I just thought it would be a fun movie. It was a different time then, particularly in America. When we made The Matrix, we hauled it out. James had worked with us on all The Matrix films. We rewrote it and cleaned it up a bit.

"I have made a lot of stupid action movies in my life, but what we found with The Matrix is that people were prepared to accept something more. It makes you think about things which are going on. I do blow up a lot of buildings again but they just talk about it a little more."

The film tells the story of Evey (Portman) who has a chance encounter with vigilante V, a man who's trying to awaken the public to the fact that they've been sucked into acceding their power to a totalitarian government, led by the corrupt Chancellor Sutler (John Hurt).

For Portman, it represented a unique opportunity to work on an action movie that also had a brain, too.

"When I received the script, I was shocked by the fact that a big Hollywood action movie could have substance and be provocative and make people feel strong things.

"I was like, 'this is crazy. I wanna do this'. This is the kind of entertainment I'm interested in doing. I was blown away - I was not familiar with the genre of graphic novels. To see great literature with historical relevance and literary allusions. It was beautiful - we made this movie out of deep respect and admiration for the original work.

"My character changes. Coming from Israel she was born in Jerusalem, it was very interesting for me to consider someone who goes from being non-violent towards violence to express her political beliefs. There are so many levels of interpretation and I appreciated that complicated view. What makes someone want to do this?

"I'm definitely politically aware. I go back and forth between reading everything and needing to take breaks - it can be so all-consuming. I'm on the aware side. There are a lot of things I care deeply about and try to involve myself in.

"In the film, you are always wondering what's going on behind the mask. Hugo's Weaving performance was so physically and vocally specific, it was not like acting with bluescreen."

In preparation for the role, she watched The Weather Underground, a documentary about a group of young American radicals in the late 1960s and 1970s who bombed the Capitol building and broke Timothy Leary out of prison. She read Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin's autobiography, and Faith and Treason, about the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.

But what she couldn't really have prepared for is the scene in which she has her head shaved. It has grown back now, and looks great, but was that a very traumatic moment?

"Obviously for the character it's a very traumatic experience, but for me, I got to choose it so it didn't feel like a violence committed against me. It was a pretty nice opportunity not to have to think about vanity for a while!

"I was very lucky to be supported and surrounded by these great actors. It was amazing - Fry would keep me laughing and happy between takes. He's clearly one of our sharpest minds and he's a great actor. He's also incredibly tall, which I learned a lot from!"

Speaking of Fry, he has a wonderful non-comedic role in the film, as Evey's boss, a man who is endangered by the fact that he has a few things to hide.

Fry, who's a huge 6ft 4in, replies: "I enjoy being part of action movies and I haven't been beaten up in a movie before so I was quite excited about the idea. My character is a talk show host and we don't really have that sort of thing here. Maybe Craig Ferguson, the Scottish comedian? It's an amalgamation of TV people, no one in particular I'm afraid. People like Jonathan Ross, Paul Gambaccini and other friends of mine are huge fans of graphic novels and really rate them. I was astounded by its power. In the 1970s, there was a wonderful spread of films, Logan's Run etc, where the big issue was about the individual and the state. And it's something we're thinking about again.

"It's a fantastic popcorn movie and also has people coming out of screenings talking about the way our country's going. It raises questions and if it can do it in a format that is so wholly entertaining, then so much the better.

"My view is, when you project into the future, you are never likely to be accurate in the details. We don't know what's going to happen. But it's certainly possible that freedom of the individual will be up in the air in a way we can't imagine."

And what did he think of his young co-star?

"I'm immensely impressed by Natalie. I mean, what is she, 12-and-a-half years old or something? She's a barely divided embryo and yet she speaks multiple languages, is immensely accomplished and a natural film actress. She's very bright and good-natured. She's quite something. She's going to be around at the top of her profession for a long time."

A Bit of Fry and Laurie is just about to be released on DVD and, as fans of good television will know, Fry's old comedy partner is currently wowing the US and UK channel Five watchers with his brilliance as grumpy doctor Gregory House. As you'd expect, Fry has something to say on the subject.

"There's nothing Hugh can't do - he's a superb actor. He decided to be handsome - how cheap and obvious. He is so extra flexible and adaptable. I wouldn't say he's stuck in TV episodic hell, but hooray for Hugh." cue much laughter

V For Vendetta is showing now at Vue Festival Place and nationwide