Bullock and Kidman honour original Practical Magic director at sequel premiere

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman made sure to acknowledge their original Practical Magic director Griffin Dunne at the premiere of the sequel on Monday.

The Oscar-winning actresses first played the Owens sisters in Dunne's 1998 film and recently reprised their witch characters in a long-awaited sequel after 28 years.

The first film was a critical and commercial failure when it was released but went on to become a beloved cult classic.

Because Dunne never got to enjoy the first film's belated success, the actresses made sure to recognise the 71-year-old's important role in the franchise at the Practical Magic 2 premiere in Los Angeles on Monday.

"We thought, 'This is going to be such an amazing film. People are going to love it.' And then it got quiet. (They) were like, 'How many women in a film do you need? How many tones do you need? What kind of film is this?'" Bullock told Variety about the first film's reception. "And here's the thing that I really wanna bring up and I bring it up ad nauseam: Griffin Dunne created this world with us."

Kidman, joining Bullock for the joint red-carpet interview, added, "And he loved us and he let us shine."

The Gravity actress continued, "It's because of him that this film exists, and he never got to smell the flowers when we made it. So now tonight we're honouring him at the same time as we honour everyone else."

The Australian star then quipped, "We love you Griffin."

Practical Magic 2, based on Alice Hoffman's novel The Book of Magic, was directed by Susanne Bier.

In addition to Bullock and Kidman, Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest reprise their roles as their aunts. Joey King and Maisie Williams joined the cast as Bullock's on-screen daughters Kylie and Antonia.

The romantic fantasy film will be released on 10 September.