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Toronto Notebook: White Stripes Get Their Kanye On

Jack White, The Raconteurs AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

Even as the Toronto Film Fest winds down, there are still a few celeb sightings—not to mention the splendor and spectacle of the Cadillac People's Choice Awards. And did we mention the Kanye West weirdness?

Friday's highlight—a moment bridging the gap between music fans and movie fans—wasn't just the premiere screening of the rock 'n' roll concert documentary, The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights at the Visa Elgin theater. The real capper came in the post-screening Q&A, as director Emmet Malloy answered a question from the audience about the inspiration behind the doc.

As Malloy talked about the genesis of the project, White Stripes frontman Jack White rushed the stage, snatched away the microphone and said "Ima let you finish—but Orson Welles made the greatest movie of all time!"…even closing his "tribute" to Kanye with a perfectly matched shrug as the crowd roared.

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Toronto Notebook: Of Keanu and Karaoke

Keanu Reeves George Pimentel/Getty Images

Some stars are clearing out of the Toronto Film Festival midway through, but there's still plenty of films and action left, from heartful to ho-hum to simply weird.

Speaking of which, look—Keanu Reeves! And a two-time Oscar nominee going nuts in a karaoke bar!

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Toronto Notebook: Oprah Mania + Obama Shocker!

Oprah Winfrey George Pimentel/Getty Images

Recent events at the Toronto Film Fest ran from high-power star sightings to high-minded public policy. Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry brought eyes—and surprise guests—to their gritty flick Precious, while fiery filmmaker Michael Moore dropped hints that he might be eyeing a doc about...Barack Obama?

Here's how it all went down:

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Toronto Notebook: George Clooney's Rectal Exam on Facebook?

George Clooney Peter Bregg/Getty Images

The first weekend of the Toronto Film Fest is always a whirl. Because many press take the back end of the festival off, the first weekend is loaded with TV junkets, interviews and high-wattage bashes. True to form on Saturday night, events pulled potential attendees in several different directions.

After the black-tie gala premiere of Get Low, where Bill Murray, Robert Duvall and Sissy Spacek earned a standing ovation for their story of redemption and salvation in '30s America, the afterparty moved down King Street. The tight-packed crowd included Terry Gilliam, here in Toronto with Heath Ledger's last film, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus—which earned mixed reviews after its press screening today.

Down the block, a super-secret dinner was taking place for a few carefully-selected press and the cast and crew of Up in the Air, the George Clooney comedy-drama that's been earning raves here in Toronto...

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Toronto Notebook: Megan's Body Kicks Off Film Fest

Megan Fox George Pimentel/Getty Images

The 34th Toronto International Film Festival kicked off last night with two very different premiere events: Jennifer Connelly's biopic about a dead scientist, and Megan Fox's horror flick about a smoking-hot demon.

Here's how it went down:

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Cannes Notebook: Brad Pitt Being a Total Basterd

Quentin Tarantino, Brad Pitt Michael Buckner/Getty Images
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As Cannes finally gets into full swing, the buzz today is all Quentin Tarantino's World War II movie Inglourious Basterds. He, Brad Pitt and the other stars made the rounds in high spirits, talked Nazis and mocked each other.

Pitt noted how Tarantino matched the nationalities of the actors to their characters—mostly: "He cast Germans for Germans, French for French," Pitt said, looking sidelong at costar Mike Myers, the exception: "Canadians for British."

Costar Eli Roth (best known for directing Hostel) talked about the film's finale, where his Jewish soldier kills high-ranking members of the Nazi high command, while mocking his own bad-boy rep: "Being Jewish, for me, it's like Kosher Porn," he said. "Something I've fantasized about since I was 12."

Elsewhere at the fest...

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Cannes Notebook: Bad Food, Bad Movies

Penelope Cruz, Broken Embraces Universal Pictures International
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The Cannes Film Festival is about to get into full swing, and there's already trouble on the Riviera!

First, Penélope Cruz failed to show up to a press event Monday promoting Nine, a musical with Nicole Kidman and Fergie. Harvey Weinstein explained that Cruz—slated to attend, and in Cannes for Broken Embraces—had so skip due to "some kind of food poisoning."

She wasn't the only one feeling sick—plenty of moviegoers were queasy after Sunday night's screening of what's sure to be the fest's most talked-about film, Lars von Trier's Antichrist. Ripe with graphic sexual violence, the movie scored a round of boos, and many people walked out.

As stars Willem Dafoe and Charlotte Gainsbourg, who play a couple grieving the death of their young son, were preparing to walk the red carpet Monday night, reviewers were calling Antichrist "one of the biggest debacles in Cannes Film Festival history" (Jeffery Wells) and a film that "goes beyond malevolence into the monstrous" (Roger Ebert).

So who's having a good time here? Well...

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Cannes Notebook: Precious Moments & Living Legends

Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz Tony Barson/Getty Images
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At the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival, there's time for screenings that celebrate new talents and time between screenings to honor the greats. Not to mention all the parties later!

Martin Scorsese's presentation of the Technicolor classic, The Red Shoes, may have delayed the 10:30 p.m. Friday night screening of Lee Daniels' inner-city drama, Precious, but the late start didn't dim the enthusiasm of the packed house.

Director Daniels introduced the film, alongside stars Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz and Gabby Sidbe, who plays the title role, a 16-year-old girl struggling with abuse. Daniels, visibly exhausted, still charmed the crowd: "Je suis fatiguee, ["I'm very tired."] I've had too much champagne, so I'm not able to give the speech I spent three weeks preparing…"

While Daniels described the film's long journey from page to screen, Carey couldn't help but chime in. As Daniels noted, "I say this movie was made with love, bubble gum, popsicle sticks, everyone on this stage, and grace. …" Carey, from the side, added "And grease." 

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Cannes Notebook: Fest Opens on an Up Note

Isabelle Huppert, Asia Argento, Robin Wright Penn Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images
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The first day of the 62nd annual Cannes Film Festival was animated—and not just with the hustle of last-minute touches and red carpets being tacked down before 12 days of glamour on the French Riviera.

The fest kicked off with the premiere of Pixar's Up, the first-ever animated film to open Cannes. The 3-D fantasy—featuring Ed Asner as a 78-year-old man with a flying house—may not be in competition for the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honor, but that didn't keep the party down:

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New in Town

New in Town, Harry Connick Jr., Renee Zellweger Rebecca Sandulak/Lionsgate

Review in a Hurry: A recessionary romantic comedy pits downsizing exec Renée Zellweger against union man Harry Connick Jr. in the wilds of Minnesota, but the script is sleeping on the job.

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The Big Picture

All Growed Up Guess Zac has officially adopted the smoldering look, 'cause we haven't seen a smile in weeks

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