Hathaway not looking forward to new Batman premiere

ANNE HATHAWAY is terrified about the prospect of sitting through the premiere of the upcoming BATMAN movie THE DARK KNIGHT RISES - because she hates watching herself onscreen.

The Devil Wears Prada star plays Seline Kyle/Catwoman in director Christopher Nolan's summer (12) blockbuster - and she knows she can't stay away from such a big launch, and she'll be expected to sit through the film.

She tells Entertainment Weekly, "I need to have a helmet, and Chris needs to sit next to me and press a button whenever I appear on the screen so I can have sensory deprivation."

And she insists that the idea won't ruin her enjoyment of the film: "I know the story. I won't be lost."

Hathaway admits the pressure of watching herself onscreen has been heightened by the fact she is playing a role made famous by one of her acting icons, Michelle Pfeiffer.

The actress was prepared to play all of Batman's heroines and villainesses when Nolan first asked to meet with her about a role in his third and final film - but she never imagined he'd want her to play Catwoman.

She recalls, "About an hour into the meeting, he said, 'It's Catwoman!' and I went, 'Oh, no, I played this wrong'. I didn't think they would revisit that character, because Michelle's performance had been so iconic."