Ben Affleckot even Hollywood power couple Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are turning heads in Vancouver these days. Maybe it's the notoriously laid-back B.C. vibe, but the famously engaged duo has been left to their own devices since landing here to shoot their respective movies.

  A de-glammed Lopez plays a single mom opposite father-in-law Robert Redford in the film An Unfinished Life which is shooting in Ashcroft in the province's interior. Lopez lasted only four days in ranch country before helicoptering in to see her sweetie who is in Vancouver making Paycheck with Uma Thurman. While in town, Lopez plunked down $400 for groceries at Yaletown's upscale Urban Fare market. Lopez shopped on her own, telling a clerk she was cooking dinner for 10 by herself. She bought a ham, pineapple rings, stuffing in a box and a 25-lb turkey, among other items. Asked if she wanted chunky or smooth cranberry sauce, Lopez asked, "Which is sexier?" before choosing chunky.

  Seth Green may be working with Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar on Scooby-Doo 2: The Monsters Unleashed, but that doesn't mean he gets a break on Buffy the Vampire Slayer merchandise. Green spent hard-earned cash on Buffy collectibles at a downtown Vancouver store.
Newlyweds Gellar and Prinze were also downtown chomping on steaks at Gotham, a high-end meat market.

- Val Gregory


oronto's trendy Cabbagetown area was posing as London, England recently during the shooting of That Touch of Pink. Described as a gay romantic comedy, it stars Jimi Mistry (The Guru) as a man with visions of an imaginary character who happens to look just like Cary Grant. Kyle MacLachlan portrays the late screen idol.

  Dennie Gordon is fast becoming the king of teen flicks. First she directed Amanda Bynes in What a Girl Wants. Now she's taking on the Olsen twins' new project. Mary-Kate and Ashley will be in Toronto in July to shoot the action-adventure/comedy New York Minute.

  Colin Farrell has wrapped up work on A Home At the End of the World, shot in Toronto. While in town, the Irish hottie dined at Hemingway's and Bistro 990.

  Broadview Avenue at Riverdale Park was busy too with the making of Welcome to Mooseport. The Metropolitan Community Church opened its doors to Gene Hackman and Ray Romano. Some scenes were also shot in Port Perry.

- Elaine Loring


ersistent rumors on the East Coast throughout the early part of 2003 had Daniel Day-LewisAcademy Award winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot, Gangs of New York) coming to the region for a project scheduled to shoot this summer. Despite the wishes of Nova Scotia film insiders, however, it now looks like Lewis will spend July on Prince Edward Island filming the drama, The Rose and The Snake.

  While Nova Scotia may have missed out on this project, there is widespread speculation that Hollywood legends Donald Sutherland (who has childhood ties to both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick), James Garner and John Goodman will be filming here.

  Productions for the small screen have garnered most of the attention so far this year in Nova Scotia. This spring, four made-for-television movies are rolling in the seaside province including the Canadian production Sleep Murder for CTV starring Vancouver native Jason Priestley. Best known for his role on the Fox series Beverly Hills 90210, this is the second time Priestley has worked in the province. In 1997, he filmed the Canadian production Love and Death on Long Island with William Hurt.

- Vernon Oickle