Partyhopper

The Toronto Film Festival ended last week, but we've still been in Toronto mode as we put the finishing touches on the story that will run in In Style's November issue. And although we've gone back to our respective cities--Karen to Hollywood and Bronwyn to New York--we've got some fond memories of our time in Canada. Check out some Behind the Scenes photos from our week interviewing celebrities in the OneXOne photo lounge. Next up on the film fest circuit, Sundance!--Bronwyn Barnes and Karen Levy

The team poses at the OneXOne portrait studio and In Style/Diesel lounge after a long day at work.

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The best perk of working at In Style? Helping to host our legendary parties. On Tuesday we threw our annual Toronto Film Festival bash with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at the Windsor Arms Hotel. And a great time was had by all.

In Style's Nicole Vecchiarelli, Karen, Kelly Austing, Ali Forman, Cortney Pellettieri, Bronwyn and Beth Mitchell get ready to host the event of the festival.

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Monday was another big day. Matt Damon stopped by the portrait studio to pose for photographer Raphael Mazzucco and talk to us about the big OneXOne gala. We chatted about the upcoming launch of OneXOne in the United States and the other reason he was up here, to promote the documentary The People Speak. Matt produced the film along with friend Josh Brolin--who also came by the studio to have his portrait taken. Matt's mom Nancy came along, and they stayed in the studio for a while before heading out to do more press and prep for the big night.

Matt Damon speaks at the OneXOne gala.

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We've got to start getting ready for the annual In Style/Hollywood Foreign Press Association gala tonight--which is THE most-buzzed about party at the festival--so here's a quick recap of Sunday night on the Toronto social scene. First, we joined Ali for a cocktail soiree to celebrate acclaimed director Danny Boyle's new film, Slumdog Millionaire. We got the chance to chat--or should we say gush--to Boyle, who is the man behind such modern classics as Trainspotting, Millions and 28 Days Later. Slumdog is the little film that could at this year's festival. While Boyle admitted to having a case of the butterflies before the screening, he was thrilled with the audience reaction, which included a standing ovation. Then we picked up our pal Nancy Himmel and jumped in a cab bound for the Kevin Smith flick, Zack and Miri Make a Porno after-party.

Bronwyn, Karen, Ali and Nancy Himmel

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Even though most of our work is done behind the scenes, sometimes we find ourselves in front of the cameras here at the festival. The most fun photo ops are the ones at the do-it-yourself picture booths at parties around town. On Friday, we struck our best supermodel poses at the Cartier booth inside the Burn After Reading bash, where Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody were among the famous faces who mugged for the lens.

Karen and Bronwyn at the Cartier photo booth.

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In Style has had a long relationship with Kate Hudson, so when we learned that she was making an appearance at the festival to introduce the David Babaii for WildAid hair care collection to Canadian beauty editors, we had to stop by to say hello. Kate worked with Babaii--who styles her gorgeous blond locks--to help formulate the all-organic line. And 10 percent of the profits will go to WildAid, which works to raise awareness about products that threaten the world's endangered species and encourages concerned citizens to donate to wildlife conservation initiatives.

Bronwyn, Kate Hudson, Karen and David Babaii

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The Partyhoppers have landed at the Toronto Film Festival and we've already logged plenty of hours on the social scene. Yesterday, we spent the day interviewing actors like Kat Dennings, Michael Cera and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges at the ONEXONE photo studio, In Style's base of operations here in Toronto. Then we headed over to the Hazelton Hotel to have a glass of champagne with Kate Hudson at the launch of the David Babaii for WildAid haircare line. (Stay tuned for a full post on that coming soon.) And after the sun went down, we did what we do best--hit the town for the hottest parties of the night.

Bronwyn and Karen stop by the ONEXONE photo studio and Diesel Lounge.

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I arrived in Toronto at the height of New York Fashion Week, and as my luck would have it, the first party I attended was a high-style spectacle worthy of the Bryant Park Tents. The hosts were the co-designers of the new Twenty8Twelve clothing line, sisters Sienna and Savannah Miller, the location was the Holt Renfrew department store and the theme was—get this!—the circus. So it was a real wild night, what with all the stilt walkers and fire-eaters flanking the red carpet, while in the VIP room, Sienna got into the act by sporting a top hat and carrying on to the delight of friends like Sean Penn and Emile Hirsch. I’m sure that Sienna’s fashion line will be a hit, but she is probably the only woman who could get away with working the ringmaster look. “Sienna comes up with some crazy ideas that I would never think of,” her sister Savannah told me. “She doesn’t understand limitations—she exceeds limiations.”

Savannah and Sienna Miller
Photo: WireImage

Well, the same could be said of me when it comes to the party scene! After hitting Holt Renfrew, I hitched a ride with my friend Tony Cohen (the owner of Toronto’s chic Le Germain hotel) to a bash for the cast of Reese Witherspoon’s new movie, Rendition, which was taking place on the top floor of a restaurant and nightclub called The Fifth. (InStyle once hosted a dinner for Nicole Kidman in this same private dining area, which can only be reached via an old-school freight elevator.) Reese isn’t exactly the party girl type, so the dinner was winding down by the time that we arrived, but I was one of the last guests to leave.

Kate Bosworth, director David Auburn and Sigourney Weaver
Photo: Todd Williamson/WireImage

Some of my other nightlife highlights were similarly low-key and intimate get-togethers: InStyle’s fetes for David Auburn’s The Girl in the Park and Craig Gillespie’s Lars and the Real Girl. At the former—which was held at the new five-star Hazelton Hotel—I had the pleasure of meeting super-cool costars Kate Bosworth and Sigourney Weaver as well as their director, Pulitzer Prize-winner Auburn. (I must admit that I was a little starstruck on this occasion, as it’s not every day that I get to dine with a Pulitzer Prize winner.) At the latter bash, which was held at the loft-like Brassaii eatery, I spent much of time doing a Google search on my BlackBerry for the date of the Lanvin fashion show in Paris, so that my pal, the Hollywood uber-manager, Jason Weinberg, could email it to Demi Moore. I also met one of his other stylish clients, Kelli Garner (Thumbsucker), who confessed that she tends to shop at her friend’s vintage store in downtown L.A. rather than at the shows in Paris.

Kelli Garner

I also swung by Motorola’s weekend-only hotspot, Club V, which attracted the likes of Mena Suvari and Maggie Grace. There was an awesome DJ in the house who apparently inspired Drew Barrymore’s latest canoodling partner, Justin Long—he imitated a lapdancing stripper for the amusement of Scott Speedman and Keir O’Donnell, who is best known as the creepy brother with eyes for Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. Watching the Mac Guy get his groove on? Priceless!

Scott Speedman, Keir O'Donnell and Justin Long

So, what’s my take on this year’s film fest? Actually, Laura Linney—a Toronto vet who looks more beautiful every time I see her—put it best when I chatted with her at Fox Searchlight’s celebration at the Boiler House for three of the studio’s offerings: Under the Same Moon, Juno and The Savages, in which Oscar winner Philip Seymour Hoffman costars with Linney. “I have to say that I’m having the best time I’ve ever had here—there’s a real breeziness to the festival this year,” she said. Especially compared to New York Fashion Week! My vote for the second best soundbite goes to Juno’s breakout star, Ellen Page, who talked to me as her costar, Michael Cera from Superbad, made the rounds with his parents in tow (how supercute). “Dude, I’m from Nova Scotia. I’m full-on Canadian,” Page enthused. “I think Toronto is so underrated—I’m crazy about this city!”

-- James Patrick Herman

Juno's Jason Bateman and The Savages' Laura Linney
Photo: Todd Williamson/WireImage

Juno screenwriter Diablo Cody

Everyone in L.A. may have been talking TV this weekend, but up in Toronto, people were still buzzing about the potential Oscar-winning pictures screened at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival. David Cronenberg’s Eastern Promises scored the Cadillac People’s Choice Award, and having attended the gala premiere of that movie, I’m not surprised. You should have heard the fans screaming their heads off for “VEEE-go!” as Mr. Mortensen and his costar Naomi Watts arrived on the red carpet—and that was before they had a chance to glimpse his already famous fight scene in the buff.

Viggo Mortensen and Naomi Watts in Eastern Promises
Photo by: Peter Mountain

Ellen Page and Michael Cera in Juno
Photo courtesy Twentieth Century Fox

Second place went to Jason Reitman’s Juno, which I initially thought was a movie about Alaska but is actually a super-smart and very sweet comedy about a pregnant precocious teen—it’s sort of like Knocked Up for the MySpace set. I have to see this movie again when it comes out because I was laughing so hard that I missed some of the best lines. At InStyle's party with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, I had a chance to congratulate Jason on his impossibly awesome follow-up to Thank You for Smoking, which costars Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, Michael Cera and breakout star Ellen Page as the high school senior with something much bigger than prom on her mind. “I can’t believe I cried at the end—it’s so embarrassing to bawl in front of every film critic I know,” I complained to Jason. “Dude, I cry every time I watch it,” the young director confessed.

Cate Blanchett in I'm Not There

Aren’t you impressed that I actually managed to squeeze in some movie screenings in between all the parties? I also saw surefire Oscar contenders like Joe Wright’s Atonement with Keira Knightley and James McAvoy as well as Shekhar Kapur’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Todd Haynes’ postmodern ode to Dylan, I’m Not There. The latter two films star that brilliant chameleon Cate Blanchett as polar opposite characters—the virgin Queen of England and the promiscuous rock icon. (She’s typically amazing in both roles but I preferred her inspired take on music royalty to her return as the monarch; however, she’s bound to score nominations for both brave performances come Oscar time).

But, of course, all the parties I hit proved to be blockbusters in their own right!

-- James Patrick Herman

After spending a week watching Oscar-worthy movies at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was cool to see so many stars in person—instead of up there on the big screen—at In Style’s annual blowout with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The night seemed to go by in a flash, which is always the sign of a fun party. Before I knew it, the time was well past 2 A.M. and I had greeted the A-list likes of Jude Law, Colin Farrell and Jessica Alba, not to mention that acclaimed actress Paris Hilton. You know I went right up to her and said, “I love your work!”

George Pimentel/WireImage

Okay, I’m kidding, but honestly, I am always happy to see Paris at a party. People can say whatever they want, but she has always been nice—and armed with a witty sound bite—when I’ve approached her for quotes over the years. I actually just came across a photo of Paris and me from Sean Combs’ legendary “Fabulous 50” pre-VMA dinner at his Miami mansion a few years ago. It was an atypically small crowd (i.e., only 50 people, get it?) for one of Puffy’s parties and I can’t tell you how thrilled I was that my coworker Suzanne Zuckerman and I were both on the guest list.

Evan Agostini/Getty

We both missed the VMAs this year because of Toronto, but I think I speak for both of us when I say that our party was more entertaining than Britney’s comeback performance. (I know, I know: “Leave Britney alone!”) And anyway, Ms. Hilton brought a little Vegas-style excitement to the movie star crowd at our bash: She told Suzanne that she was rocking a flashy little number from French Connection, but the way that she was working it for the swarm of photographers that quickly surrounded her, you’d have thought it was priceless haute couture! Proving that Paris has mastered the art of mixing high and low, she accessorized her ensemble with a Chanel necklace and matching earrings. Tres chic!

What do you think of Paris’s outfit?

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Imagine showing up at the Toronto International Film Festival and seeing someone else wearing the same dress! My eagle-eyed photo editor Kassidy Gala noticed that Kate Bosworth and Thandie Newton—two of the most stunning actresses in Hollywood, who happen to recall Audrey Hepburn's gamine quality—are both fans of the supercool London label Preen. And who can blame them? I saw this dress up close on Kate and it's gorgeous! This isn't so big a deal as everyone knows that it's really all about the accessories, anyway.

    
Thandie: Jason Gemnich/WireImage
Kate: WireImage

I'm a huge fan of Thandie and Kate and I think they both wear it well, so I can't possibly choose a favorite. Who do you think rocked it best?

-- James Patrick Herman

Quelle surprise: I’ve been party-hopping like crazy at the Toronto International Film Festival, attending fabulous bashes for the likes of Sienna Miller, Reese Witherspoon, Kate Bosworth, Laura Linney and Ryan Gosling. But tonight is the hottest party of all: The InStyle/Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual blowout at the Windsor Arms hotel. Last year, I met the festival’s It-Boy, James McAvoy, who appeared in no less than three films (special thanks to James’ friend Anna-Lea Boeki for the photo). “Myself, I’ve never really liked people who were called It,” James joked to me. “I don’t know if I’ve had any success yet. Buzz is just buzz,” he added.

James McAvoy and James at last year's Toronto Film Fest
Photo by Anna-Lea Boeki

But it’s impossible not to adore Mr. McAvoy—just ask his Atonement co-star Keira Knightley, who has bragged about James’ smooching skills. Last night I saw their gorgeous, romantic and ultimately tragic literary tear-jerker and I think it’s going to make a huge dent during award show season—this movie has Oscar written all over it. I actually walked right past Keira on the red carpet at the gala premiere; she was rocking a stunning plum-colored Chanel couture gown with what looked like a million tiny buttons down the back. I’m guessing that it must’ve taken her hours to get dressed, but it was worth it because she looked like a million bucks—a dollar for every button. And later I bumped into James at the after-party, where I congratulated him on his moving performance. “Thanks, Dude,” he said, sounding a bit more Hollywood than his native Glasgow, Scotland. But he’s just as sweet, down-to-earth and handsome as I remember—clearly the success has not gone to his head.

-- James Patrick Herman

Everyone knows that Toronto is the place to be to see Oscar-worthy movies, but did you also know that there’s some pretty great shopping in this town as well? I’m used to doing major credit card damage at Holt Renfrew—the Barneys of Toronto—but I really topped myself the other night at third annual One X One Foundation benefit.

Photo by George Pimentel/WireImage

Host Matt Damon and his longtime BFF Ben Affleck were on the stage of the brand spanking new Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts co-hosting a live auction while I was seated at my dinner table trying to take a photo of them for my blog. Ben somehow misunderstood my raised arm as a bid for a deluxe golf package that was going for (gulp!) $20,000. Fortunately, someone else who clearly makes a hell of a lot more money than I do quickly outbid me, because I’m not a big golfer. And, as you can imagine, I was relieved that I didn’t have to call my boss and ask if I could expense this. (Hey, at least it’s for a really good cause—this gala raises proceeds for children’s charities and recognizes Difference Award recipients such as Richard Gere, Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson and Petra Nemcova for their contributions in the fight against child poverty and suffering).

After the fabulous feast and auction, you’ll never believe who served as the after-dinner entertainment: the African Children’s Choir along with Wyclef Jean and Shakira! No kidding—my hips don’t lie! The One X One benefit was quite the star-studded affair, even by the impressive standards of the Toronto International Film Festival. “I’m a little flummoxed,” confessed Damon. “We actually have royalty here tonight. And I just bumped into Richard Gere!”

-- James Patrick Herman

While Sundance was epitomized by the quirky crowd pleaser Little Miss Sunshine, the highlights of the Toronto Film Festival were not about looking on the bright side. The only movie that made me laugh out loud was Christopher Guest's For Your Consideration, which is about a small film production that's doomed by blog-fueled Oscar buzz. (I saw a screening of the hilarious Borat before I left for Toronto, so that one doesn't count for me—especially since a publicist told me I was forbidden to blog about it until October!)

Despite Guest's wacky cautionary tale, I can't help recommending some other must-see flicks, coming soon to an art house or multiplex near you: I also laughed a lot during Douglas McGrath's Infamous, which has the same depressing ending as Capote but also plenty of witty quips from Truman and his high-society swans (plus Gwynnie as Peggy Lee).

Emilio Estevez and Demi Moore in Bobby
Photo © The Weinstein Company, 2006/Sam Emerson

In general, happy endings were few and far between, and body counts were high: My favorites included Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, starring Penélope Cruz; Little Children, with Kate Winslett, Jennifer Connelly and Patrick Wilson; Alejandro González Iñárritu's Babel, which features Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett and an impressive cast of foreign actors; and Bobby, Emilio Estevez's star-packed picture about the assasination of the beloved presidential hopeful—there were so many celeb cameos that I simply lost count after Ashton Kutcher turned up as an acid-dropping hippie.

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I was surprised when one of my first celebrity interviewees at the Toronto Film Festival, the remarkably fresh-faced and perky Rachel Bilson, confessed (in between stuffing her face with a croissant) that she got only two hours of sleep the night before she flew here. Now, after three back-to-back In Style events, I know just how she feels.

Aside from our blowout with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, In Style hosted fêtes for two films that are bound to be contenders come Oscar night: Little Children, which was directed by Todd Field, the Academy Award-nominated writer/director of In the Bedroom; and Bobby, which was helmed by one of my favorite Brat Packers, Emilio Estevez.

At our intimate cocktail party at Flow for Little Children, Field told me that his film was intended as a “satirical melodrama.” My take? Depserate Housewives with a Ph.D. Kate Winslet, looking blonder and hotter than ever, kicked back with a glass of bubbly and the company of her buff co-star, Patrick Wilson, who is like a walking Men’s Health cover. He shows off his acting chops, abs—and much, much more—in this movie. Remember Fatal Attraction’s kitchen-sink sex scene? This movie similarly romanticizes the laundry room!

Bobby co-stars Christian Slater and Joy Bryant

And last night at 65 Degrees Grill & Pasta, we toasted Estevez’s Venice Film Festival hit, which he wrote, directed and co-stars in. He plays the long-suffering husband of (real-life former fiancée) Demi Moore.

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An endless downpour of rain didn’t put a damper on the annual HFPA/In Style party at Toronto's Windsor Arms Hotel. It just meant that indie-movie darlings like Alessandro Nivola found themselves accessorizing their outfits with golf umbrellas so that they could smoke without getting soaked on the outdoor patio.

James McAvoy and James
Photo by Anna-Lea Boeki

Meanwhile, it was a hot scene inside the party, what with all of the high-wattage guests arriving: Oscar nominees like Viggo Mortensen, Laura Linney, Joan Allen and Liam Neeson; cute young Hollywood stars like Scott Caan, Scott Speedman and Giovanni Ribisi; and daring directors such as John Waters and Darren Aronofsky, whose epic love story The Fountain I had just seen.

“I hope it made you feel something!" Darren said (no worries, it did). Surprisingly, the conversation then turned to New York Fashion Week—the director's pal Narciso Rodriguez designed the chic ensembles Rachel Weisz wears in The Fountain. I have to say, it’s rare that I meet an  artsy-intellectual auteur who enjoys talking about high fashion, but Darren’s my man!

Unfortunately, Weisz's co-star Hugh Jackman couldn’t make it to Toronto. "He’s on tour as the Boy from Oz, dancing around in hot pants for crowds of, like, 15,000 people in Australia," Aronofsky explained. Now that sounds like a party!

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"I’ve made love to Brad Pitt—it’s not so good." Does this quote come from A) current paramour Angelina Jolie; B) ex-wife Jennifer Aniston; C) ex-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow; or D) Ocean's Thirteen costar Matt Damon?

Matt Damon

The answer, surprisingly, is D for Damon! Matt shared this revelation at the One X One Gala benefit and concert at the Carlu in Toronto. And though—of course!—I later partyhopped between the Entertainment Weekly blowout at Flow (where I spotted Rachel Bilson and blog god Perez Hilton) and the Motorola bash at Club V (where sexy Alessandro Nivola was kicking back with an entourage that included Holly Wiersma, the most glamorous producer in Hollywood), this fund-raiser was the hottest ticket of the Toronto Film Festival.

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"You're the first actor I've ever met who is actually taller in person than I would expect," I told Adrian Grenier. The Entourage star—sans entourage—was at the Toronto Film Festival to promote Shot in the Dark, a documentary he directed about the search to find his father. (This is sort of like the hot young actor’s answer to Lace II, that awesome Phoebe Cates miniseries from the eighties, except that it’s sweet and not trashy.)

Adrian Grenier

I usually try to be kind and shoot stars from above rather than below, but that was impossible with Adrian—and anyway, he’s such a good-looking guy that even I can't take a bad picture of him. Before this impromptu photo shoot, he was having a mojito and puffing away on the outdoor patio of a chic eatery called Amber.

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