ow that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have left town and taken their relationship troubles with them, Vancouver is emerging from the celebrity fallout. Affleck's night of lap dancing and drinking at Brandi's Exotic nightclub with Christian Slater and Tara Reid may not have sparked the cancellation of their September wedding, but it surely didn't help. When the lawsuits and rumors started flying, Slater reacted by having his rented Vancouver house scanned for hidden microphones and cameras, and moving. The presence of a newly created National Enquirer bureau in town may have a dampening effect on the anything-goes-on-location mindset of a few bad boy/girl celebrities. Meanwhile, Affleck and co-star Uma Thurman were seen doing some of their own high-speed stunts for Paycheck, including a scene where they raced their high-powered motorcycle neck-and-neck with the villains' car. Scary.

  When he's not lensing Chronicles of Riddick at an out-of-the-way Burnaby studio, muscle-man Vin Diesel is jet skiing in Burrard Inlet, inhaling the fusion grub at Glowbal in Yaletown and cruising the downtown bars with co-star The Rock. The action star spent longer than planned in B.C. when the studio he was working in caught fire and had to be shut down temporarily. Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench is also in Riddick, but her culinary tastes tend toward the high-priced seafood at Blue Water Café.

  Some stars like to see and be seen, others prefer to work out in the gym like Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel. They're in town shooting Blade: Trinity and enjoy working up a sweat at a trendy west-side gym.

  Robin Williams wrapped The Final Cut with co-star Mira Sorvino in August, but tongues are still wagging with tales of the funnyman's antics. Seems Williams regaled diners at the swank Cin Cin restaurant with an impromptu comedy routine. But he's no snob. Customers at the always-popular hot dog stand at Burrard and Robson downtown were also treated to free yuks, courtesy of the generous comedian.

- Valerie Gregory

he big news in Montreal film shoots this month isn't necessarily what's starting, but what's just wrapping up. Martin Scorsese and his entourage of stars, everyone from Leonardo DiCaprio to Alan Alda, have packed up for Los Angeles, where they'll complete filming the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator.

  If Hollywood has left town, the local industry is alright with news that Pierre Falardeau, the separatist funnyman behind some of Quebec's most infamous comedies, is currently shooting The Vengeance of Elvis Wong, the third in his trilogy of hugely popular Elvis Gratton films. Il Duce Canadese has also begun filming, though the actor who was set to direct it, Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers), is no longer with the project. Producers are hoping the film, which stars Marina Orsini, will cash in on the frenzy around all things Italian after the hype surrounding Mambo Italiano. The Woods is also filming in Montreal. It's a psychological suspense movie about a young girl who stumbles upon a mystery at her boarding school. The film stars Patricia Clarkson (Far From Heaven, Dogville, The Station Agent) and Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead trilogy).

  Montreal's rather lengthy season of film festivals has also been providing the city's star struck with some thrills. Saturday Night Live's Seth Meyers was in town for the World Film Festival in September, shooting the film See This Movie, which was shot in and around the festival. It tells the story of a director who's trying to sell a movie that doesn't actually exist. And later this month, European filmmaking legend Werner Herzog will also arrive in Montreal for the New Film Festival, where he is being feted with an extensive retrospective.

- Matthew Hays