King's Green Mile

11/26/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Writer Stephen King, on whose novel "The Green Mile" is based, showed up for the premiere of the new movie at New York's Ziegfeld Theater last night. In fact, PEOPLE reports, he was the first celebrity to appear. His early arrival, though, may have had more to do with his medical condition than with his enthusiasm about seeing the flick. King, who was badly injured in a car accident this summer, walks with leg braces and appears extremely gaunt, yet he still moves dexterously and seemed in good spirits. As he passed he hollered at reporters that he's "doing well." Others who attended: leading man Tom Hanks with wife Rita Wilson, John McEnroe and Christian Slater.