The world of entertainment reacted to Tuesday's tragic events, from New York's fashion shows to already-controversial Los Angeles' Latin Grammys to the Toronto's annual star-studded film festival. Here, a roundup:

Toronto festival suspends screenings

TORONTO -- At the Toronto International Film Festival, all screenings were canceled for the day, and fest organizers were considering scrapping the rest of the event. But festival director Piers Handling said it would be wrong to let the agenda be dictated by terrorists, and the shows will go on today.

Festival security was to be beefed up, and the 41 screenings canceled Tuesday were to be rescheduled for the weekend.

''The festival is all about celebration, and this has cast a pall not only over this particular event but all over the world,'' said Handling. 

Phone banks were set up to help festivalgoers make contact with loved ones, and a trauma team was being put in place for those personally affected. (Many studios with New York offices, including Miramax and Artisan, and numerous New York publicity firms have staff at the festival.) Festival operators promised to help those unable to leave because planes were grounded and borders closed. 

Mark Wahlberg was spotted working off stress by pumping iron in the Four Seasons workout room. Also unable to get out: Albert and Allen Hughes, who directed the upcoming From Hell. Neal Slavin, who directed Focus, a World War II film starring William H. Macy and Laura Dern, was scheduled to do an audience Q&A about his film, but he could not bear the idea even before it was canceled: He lives just 10 blocks from the World Trade Center. 

Others, including Benjamin Bratt, whose Piñero was due to screen Wednesday, hoping to promote their films were unable to get into the city. 

Richard Harris, in town to promote the King Lear adaptation My Kingdom, and Harvey Keitel, who is in The Grey Zone, about a revolt at Auschwitz, were able to joke a bit. But the subject inevitably turned to the attack. ''It's a tragedy,'' said Harris, ''a tragedy.'' 

-- Susan Wloszczyna and Harlan Jacobson 

 It was as if someone had suddenly turned the power off at The Toronto International Film Festival yesterday. 

By noon, all movie screenings, press conferences, industry workshops and Festival-organized social events had been cancelled. 

While organizers considered whether to cancel the rest of the event, which is scheduled to end Saturday, they issued a statement reading, "We are devastated by the shocking development in the U.S. and extend our heartfelt support to all those affected by this incomprehensible tragedy." 

The festival also arranged for trauma response team Warren Shepell Consultants, a sponsor of the festival, to be on call to festival guests and staff at "this difficult time." 

Publicists for the various film companies presenting films in the festival were huddling, deciding what is appropriate under the circumstances. Most but not all media interviews were cancelled. 

Some interviews for Mira Nair's film Monsoon Wedding, about a Punjabi family's preparations for a marriage ceremony, had gone ahead, but the filmmakers were unsure if they wanted to continue with public screenings of the film. 

Most stars here for publicity appearances were out of sight, said to be in shock, and not making statements. 

Pale and obviously shaken, actor Mark Wahlberg was hustled by a bodyguard out of The Four Seasons Hotel in the early afternoon to a nearby private residence. 

Ricky Jay, one of the stars of David Mamet's film The Heist, had planned to return home to L.A. yesterday but instead found himself walking the streets trying to clear his head. 

"It's just devastating. We've been trying to call friends in New York who live very close to the Trade Centre and haven't been able to get through at all," Jay said, back at his hotel. 

"It is an extraordinary thing, you know, that the world and your life can change from going to sleep last night after this wonderful reception of the film and being here with all your buddies, reunited since you made it, and waking up in the morning to a world that's completely different." 

Asked whether he thought the festival show should go on, he said he'd been working through his feelings about that. 

"At first I thought it was absurd to think someone would go to a film at a time like this. But now on reflection, isn't the point of terrorism to stop the world and stop you from doing what you want to do? Maybe it's not so bad to go to a film." 

A representative of New York-based company Miramax Films said everyone here in Toronto was too upset to comment. 

A major practical concern was festival-goers from out of town who are now stranded here. Many had checked out of their downtown hotels and headed for the airport, only to be turned back. 

The Park Hyatt was counting cots and figuring out which meeting rooms they could use to house people. At the Four Seasons, general manager Klaus Tenter estimated about 350 of their current guests are actors, directors, producers or movie studio staffers here for the fest. The hotel is also where many major studios and the festival itself set up their headquarters. About 30 rooms that had been being used for studio showrooms, offices and interview sessions were being turned back into guest rooms to accommodate stranded guests. 

"We are letting everyone who is in the hotel stay if they wish to stay and any guest who has gone to the airport is allowed to come back in to the hotel and can occupy their same rooms again," said Tenter, who also reserved a block of 20 rooms at The Sutton Place Hotel to accommodate overflow. 

A TV was set up in the Four Seasons lobby so guests could monitor events and Tenter said their full force security staff was on duty. 

"I just want to protect the guests and make sure that we're totally covered," he said. 

The whispers, grumbles and rumours surrounding George Christy, the former Hollywood Reporter entertainment columnist, swept through town weeks before Christy arrived for the Toronto International Film Festival. At a trendy College Street bar last week, behind-the-scene movers and shakers in the PR world were abuzz with the gossip.

"I heard that some people were going to boycott the George Christy luncheon," said one.

"Some people are very angry at him," said another. "Some people think he's finally getting what he deserves."

The annual George Christy luncheon is a staple of the film festival; this year will mark its 17th year. On the festival party circuit, if you're not invited to the George Christy luncheon, which always takes place the first Saturday of the festival at the Four Seasons, you do not travel in the right circles and obviously just do not know the right people (in this case, George Christy).

Not attending the brunch, if you are invited, would be akin to not having popcorn at a movie. How could you ignore it? The luncheon is, and has been from the start, a must-attend, must-see event.

"That's George's strength, bringing people together," says Raymond Perkins, director of communications for Roots and a personal friend of Christy. "He's an expert at it. He remembers everybody. I wouldn't doubt if he had a photogenic memory."

In film lingo, the luncheon is the hottest ticket in town. Probably more so this year, as many invitees will go to see how, as one guest put it, "George is holding up."

For months, Christy has been embroiled in controversy. In May, his thrice-weekly column in the Hollywood Reporter, The Great Life, was killed after 26 years, an occurrence which was then, and still is, the talk in L.A. Christy was suspended and is on a paid leave of absence and in legal wrangling over severance pay, says one of his friends, who adds, "He has terrific legal help."

Some studio executives and fellow employees accused him of tyrannical behaviour and unethical journalistic practices. They say that, until he was ordered to desist, Christy routinely demanded studios hire a limousine, sometimes insisting they use the company and driver of his choice, to take him to and from premieres. They say he has solicited and accepted many expensive gifts, eats free in restaurants, stays free at hotels, and that he wrote flatteringly of the places and people who treated him well.

Christy's defenders say he was just doing what many other Hollywood journalists routinely do.

There's also the problem of the Screen Actors Guild pension and health insurance fund, which is looking into whether Christy was part of a "sham employment scheme" to improperly qualify himself for benefits as a performer. In addition to being paid for small acting roles (some of which didn't exist, according to a government investigator), Christy qualified for SAG health and pension benefits. He did get a couple of small film parts, with credits in Die Hard, Predator 2 and The Thomas Crown Affair, but is alleged to have gotten the roles from producers courting favourable mentions in his popular column, which read more like a Who's Who, listing up to 50 of the rich and famous as they glided from restaurant opening to film premiere.

Christy has vigorously denied doing anything improper, saying his roles often ended up on the cutting room floor. Still, there have been whispers for years, and this is the third time in a decade his health and pension eligibility has been questioned by the Screen Actors Guild-Producers Pension & Health Plans.

But parties, especially Christy's, are diversions from real life. And Christy's friends in Toronto are supporting him, and looking forward to being at his side, as always, at his annual luncheon.

There are no invitations to the George Christy luncheon. No envelopes, no e-mails. All invitations are done personally, over the phone, by Four Seasons staff. About 130 people are invited to the pre-luncheon cocktails, which will take place in Avenue, the new Four Seasons bar. Only 64 people, whom Christy refers to as "members of our annual family luncheon," are invited to sit down for the actual meal. In past years, Brian and Mila Mulroney, Norman and Dixie Jewison, Kevin Spacey, Kim Basinger and Mark Wahlberg have been guests.

"George will sit there five minutes before the luncheon starts and still be going over the last-minute details and who should sit where. Whenever he sees me, he gives me a big hug and kiss," says Klaus Tenter, general manager of the Four Seasons, Toronto, and a personal friend of Christy.

Christy asks that the lighting in the room be red or pink, definitely a warm hue. The day before the luncheon, he taste-tests the menu. "He's a very warm person who needs an embrace when he walks into a room," says Tenter. Make no mistake.

Christy is treated like a star. A limo picks him up at the airport and he gets curbside check-in at the Four Seasons. "He likes to be recognized," says Tenter.

It is unclear, although the question has been asked, who foots the bill for the George Christy luncheon. Like his real age, no one seems to know.

But what some may see as Christy being demanding, others see as his charm.

"He strives for excellence in everything he does. It's a side that can be misconstrued as him being difficult," says Perkins, "but he challenges the chefs and everyone around him to be the best they can be. That's the credo of George Christy. He is what he is and doesn't pretend to be nice for the sake of it. He's always been a great friend."

In L.A., few, if any, will go on the record about Christy, citing that he has friends in high places. But his Toronto friends are more open. Michael Budman, the founder of Roots, met Christy in the late '70s in Los Angeles and was there at the start of the luncheon.

"I started being an avid reader of his columns right away. There were always a lot of lifestyle tips in there. It was always very interesting. He's a great writer. As far as the Hollywood Reporter goes, I think he's the victim of jealous colleagues, who couldn't stand that he was flying all over the world, and the only press person allowed in at certain private functions. That he is totally innocent of. As for the union problems, George is a man of integrity and this will work itself out. He's very strong-willed and he is very much in demand and will do very well."

People who attend the luncheon don't expect the unexpected. There's a joke that occurs each year at the cocktail party, which goes like this: "What's for lunch?" The joke, of course, being that each year it's the same meal: chicken pot pie.

The first George Christy luncheon was held in 1984, when Budman's wife had just designed a new restaurant called the Westside Grill on Yonge Street. "We wanted to do something on Saturday afternoon and wanted to give the restaurant a boost," says Budman. "That was the first George Christy lunch and it was in honour of him. He really was such a strong festival supporter before it became fashionable to be a supporter."

The success of the Toronto International Film Festival, it can't be argued, is in large part thanks to Christy. In fact, many say his arrival in town is the ritual that kicks off the true start of the annual festival.

As for his "real life" interrupting his party, as one insider said, "We'll just wait and see who shows up."

Which, of course, will be everyone. "The guest list is completely full. Everyone has RSVP'd," said a Four Seasons staff member. "It's completely booked -- as always."

Sept. 6 —  Mark Wahlberg shows a lot of flesh in “Rock Star,” but there’s one thing of his that the audience won’t see. 

THE ACTOR and former rapper has a third nipple a few inches beneath his left one. It’s visible in some scenes in his film, “Boogie Nights,” but a source says that Warner Bros. honchos decided that it would be “too distracting” in “Rock Star,” his new film, which opens Friday. 

“There was a big debate over whether or not to remove it,” says a source. “They decided it was just too weird, so it was digitally removed. How many rock stars do you know with three nipples?” The offending nipple was also airbrushed out of the ads that Wahlberg once did for Calvin Klein.

Wahlberg’s spokesman didn’t return calls for comment, and a Warner Bros. spokeswoman would say only, “Ask me a good question and I’ll give you a good answer.” 

Sure, there are several similarities. Both men are office supplies salesmen who moonlight as tribute-band singers before becoming the real thing. Both sing in the high school choir. Both have mothers who run day-care centers. And both are discovered through a videotape delivered by female groupies. But that's it. 

While the fictional rock star ends up fat, bloated and lonely in Los Angeles, Owens, 33, has pretty much stayed the same since joining the veteran British metal band in 1997. He's still living in his hometown of Akron, Ohio, is happily married and has stayed fit. Judas Priest plays Saturday at the Warfield. 

Q: You totally hate this "Rock Star" movie, don't you? 

A: I do. I don't know if I totally hate it. That's a bad answer. I haven't seen it, so I can't hate it. I hate what they've done. 

Q: What upsets you the most? 

A: I hate that they've taken a nice idea from an article on me and made their own movie. A lot of people are going to think it's about me. Not one thing in that movie is true, except maybe a tribute singer makes a band. I think my story would make for a better movie. 

Q: But it must be helping your record sales. 

A: Yeah, we're getting good publicity. The thing is, though, I want to make sure I tell people this isn't about us. It's nothing about the guys in the band. (The filmmakers) made their own thing up. If we can make that point clear to people, that's what we need to do. I can say bad things about it after I've seen it. 

Q: In the movie, the guy moves to Los Angeles. Why do you still live in Akron, Ohio? 

A: I grew up here and all my family and friends are here. Everything is here. I would definitely not want to live anywhere else. I would never move to 

L.A.
Q: Do people around there recognize you when you hang out at 7-Eleven and stuff? 

A: Sometimes. The one thing about me is I look like everybody else. I don't have long hair. I have short hair, a goatee, sideburns. I look like every college kid. 

Q: So it's not like you get your groceries in all your leather gear? 

A: Exactly. I usually just have on a polo shirt with khakis. If I had a tank top on or cut-off sleeves, people would definitely recognize the tattoos. But, hell, I don't go anywhere. 

Q: I don't think the lead singer of Judas Priest should really wear polo shirts. 

A: Ah, you know, that's a pretty stylish shirt nowadays, isn't it? 

Q: I don't know. Does your calendar say 1982? 

A: I guess I would call it a golf shirt. And the ones I wear are black. 

Q: Black is acceptable. Do you have pink ones, too? 

A: Oh, no, no. I only wear black or white. But I'll write "Hail Satan" on it, though. 

Q: That's good. The other guys in Judas Priest are a lot older than you. How does that work out when you have to go on tour together? 

A: It's fine. You know, they're energized. I think I'm more lazy and sleep more than they do. We get along really well. We enjoy being together. We enjoy going out to dinner and doing things. The good thing is the craziness is not there like people would imagine. There's not a backstage party every night. We don't stay up late going out to bars after the show. Obviously, being around in the '70s and '80s, they've already done all that, which is good for me. I can't afford to get crazy because of my voice. I've got to get up and sing. 

Q: When you sing the old stuff you have to sound like the band's previous singer, Rob Halford. Do you have to sound like him on the new songs, too? 

A: I'm just trying to be Ripper. Fortunately, even with the old songs I can sing them my way because my voice is similar to Rob's. When I sing the songs I don't have to imitate him or do anything. It just sounds like him. So I'm quite lucky I can do that. 

Q: Have you ever met him? 

A: I did. I met him last year. It was great. He was playing Cleveland and he invited me to come to the show. I think we lifted some weight off each other's shoulders just meeting. He found out I was a normal, nice guy, and I found out he's a nice guy. 

Q: Are you sure he didn't hate you? 

A: The thing is, he left the band, and he realizes that. It wasn't like they kicked him out and I replaced him. He left Judas Priest and went to do his own thing. So he left that door open for them to get another singer. That's why I think he's fine with it. He's doing his solo thing, and I've succeeded at being the new singer for Judas Priest. Everything has worked out. 

John Patterson's weekly look at new US movies 

Chances are you've never seen it, but if you have a coterie of embarrassing, heavy metal-inclined mates, it shouldn't take you long to track down a short, sharp documentary called Heavy Metal Parking Lot. Its amateur directors simply pointed their cameras at the crowd of white, working-class Judas Priest fans outside an auditorium in Maryland in 1982. The result is pure accidental social anthropology, a fond, hilarious look at the band's poodle-coiffed, denim-pelted aficionados, gamely tuning those air guitars, swilling beer, the females issuing their mating calls ("Rob Halford, I'm gonna jump yer bones, dude!") and the alpha males their war cries ("Priest fuckin' rule!" - or more succinctly, "PREEEEEEEST!"). Apart from being a priceless glimpse into the psychic hinterland of Bill and Ted, HMPL, one can't help thinking, offers innumerable tips for the costume designers of 1980s retro-flicks. 

The makers of Rock Star - which is precisely such a 1980s retro-flick - must have seen Heavy Metal Parking Lot, and they have learned its lessons well, lingering with affection on every sartorial grace note and cosmetic nuance, and thereby enriching their own movie hugely. Rock Star - "the story of a wannabe who got to be" - is loosely based on the story of Tim "Ripper" Owens, vocalist of a Priest tribute band who was hired to replace outgoing, and out-of-the-closet, lead singer Rob Halford, whose bones, that female fan was no doubt distressed to learn, just weren't for jumping. 

Writer John Stockwell and director Stephen Herek have come up with a fictional British HM band called Steel Dragons, whose albums and every on- and offstage move are the inspiration for Chris (Mark Wahlberg), lead singer of Pittsburgh-based Dragons tribute band British Steel. This boy is obsessed. He berates his bandmates for failing to match the perfection of his idols' recordings ("Dude, you're just not nailin' that squeal...") and in the front row of every Dragons gig he's the one who can outsing and outperform the real singer, Bobby Beers, played by Jason Flemyng. His bandmates are sick of his twisted pursuit of perfection, though, and soon enough Chris loses his band, only to receive a phone call from Steel Dragons asking him to join them. One audition later, he's their new singer, and the fantasy is complete. 

Critics seem to have been expecting Rock Star to be This is Spinal Tap, which it isn't at all. It has a deep affection for its characters, even as it mercilessly pinpoints every moment of vanity and histrionics. Despite being schematic and avowedly crowd-pleasing, the film is so attentive to detail, at both the wannabe and gets-to-be levels, that you can't help loving it even if you loathe heavy metal. Wahlberg proves an electric (if semi-satirical) stage presence, Timothy Spall is wonderfully sleazy as the road-hardened manager, and the whole thing is nice and loud, with an irresistible speed-freak velocity. It's the perfect rock'n'roll movie for those of us who hated the emotional fraudulence of Almost Famous. 

SYDNEY (Variety) - Nicole Kidman's star power in the U.K. and Spain, Steven Spielberg's mystique in Latin America and Singapore and Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker's antics in Taiwan and Greece ensured chart-topping entries in those markets last weekend.

But attendance sagged in many territories as most of the summer's domestic hits are virtually played out abroad, or, like ``Planet of the Apes'' and ``Jurassic Park III,'' are emulating their U.S. trajectories by opening big then fading fast.

Baz Lurhmann's ``Moulin Rouge,'' toplining Kidman and Ewan McGregor, rang up a terrific $3.4 million, including previews, on 300 screens in Blighty, its first major European market. The Fox tuner's foreign total topped $29 million, highlighted by Australia's $13.8 million and Mexico's $2 million and Brazil's $1.2 million, both through third stanzas.

In the U.K., ``Moulin'' spooked ``Scary Movie 2,'' which rustled up a moderate $2.2 million, with sneaks. The horror spoof has pocketed a fair $20.1 million from 21 territories.

``The Others,'' the chiller starring Kidman and lensed in Spain, dominated that market, reeling in an estimated $3.3 million. Helmer Alejandro Amenabar's hit is the second-highest grossing picture ever to open in Spain, besting this year's local bow ``Torrente 2.'' The 1999 bow of ``Star Wars: Episode I -- The Phantom Menace'' holds the record with $3.78 million.

``A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' levitated to $96.5 million overseas and in a week or so will rank as the 16th hit to cross $100 million this year. Spielberg's sci-fier conjured up $1.3 million in Brazil, $436,000 in Argentina, $437,000 in Singapore and $244,000 in Venezuela.

The ``Rush Hour'' sequel nabbed $1 million in two days in Taiwan, $289,000 in Greece (in ticket sales, trouncing the predecessor and in three days nearly equaling the lifetime total for ``Shanghai Noon'') and a comparatively ho-hum $383,000 in five days in Belgium. New Line's romp sank by 50% in France, capturing $5.6 million in 12 days, and has minted a superb $14.9 million after its sixth turn in the U.K.

The weekend's top earner overseas, ``Planet of the Apes'' drummed up $11 million from 34 markets, hoisting its foreign total to $143.7 million. Tim Burton's picture experienced typical second weekend drops, tumbling by 50% in Germany (where it's scored a nonetheless impressive $9.2 million) and by 52% in Spain after an industry record premiere (tallying $8 million).

``Jurassic Park III'' skidded by 44% in Australia, collecting $3.4 million to date, and by 47% in Italy, where the total is similar. The Dino picture's foreign total reached $160.3 million.

In its offshore debut, ``The Fast and the Furious'' mustered an unexceptional $798,000 in Mexico, 6% behind ``The Mexican'' and 15% shy of ``The World Is Not Enough.'' Antonio Banderas/Angelina Jolie headliner ``Original Sin'' reaped a mild $704,000 in Mexico and bombed in Thailand.

``A Knight's Tale'' rode into Germany with a reasonable $1.9 million and fetched $1 million in Spain and $254,000 in Austria. The Heath Ledger starrer is proving more magnetic in the U.K., easing by 26%, and coining $5.1 million in 10 days.

``Bridget Jones's Diary'' wooed $345,000 in Hong Kong, and actually improved by 2% in its third round in Germany, retaining pole position and boosting the market total to a lusty $9.3 million. The foreign total climbed to $123.4 million, with Japan, France, Italy and a few smaller markets still ahead.

``Shrek'' raked in a neat $436,000 in Sweden and was even more potent in Denmark, drawing $416,000 -- 45% bigger than ``Dinosaur'' and just 5% below ``Toy Story 2.'' The foreign total hit $166.4 million with Japan still to come.

The war isn't over yet for ``Pearl Harbor,'' which moved up to $239.5 million overseas, fueled by Japan's $53 million and China's $10.5 million.