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tiff 2012

Kate Hudson on the red carpet at the gala for The Reluctant Fundamentalist during the Toronto International Film Festival, Sept. 8, 2012.NATHAN DENETTE/The Canadian Press

I took one for the team. Kate Hudson's team.

Ms. Hudson was at the Grey Goose dinner for her film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, at Soho House on Saturday. She was wearing a tight white Alexander McQueen gown that no one should even bother to try on ever again after the way she looked in it.

I told her as much when we were standing next to each other under the smoking tent. I believe my exact words were, "That dress looks amazing on you and it doesn't even look like you had to do gymnastics to get it on." I don't know what that means and neither did she but to her credit, she laughed anyway.

Suddenly, a cascade of filthy water came tumbling through a gap in the tent. I did what any girl would have done by accident – since I happened to be standing between Ms. Hudson and the potential fashion disaster –remember that her dress was white – all of it landed on my back, my dress. If Kate Hudson is named Best Dressed at TIFF, I will have done my job.

Good news, ladies: Colin Farrell has excellent breath-mint etiquette. He pulled out a packet of them and offered me one before our interview at the Intercontinental Hotel on Saturday afternoon. I declined but told him I'd happily accept when we stopped rolling because I was worried I'd spit it back out at him while I was talking.

We spent the next several minutes discussing whether he was crazier than Christopher Walken, his co-star in Seven Psychopaths. Earlier, Mr. Walken and Sam Rockwell jokingly agreed that of all the members of the quirky cast, most of whom are well known for their eccentricity, including Woody Harrelson, Mr. Farrell was definitely the most unhinged.

As I was on my way out of the interview room, Mr. Farrell called me back. He remembered that he still owed me those mints. He gave me four of them.

What's better than sex for Gwyneth Paltrow? No, it's not macrobiotic tofu that tastes like caviar. Ms. Paltrow told ETALK's Jessi Cruickshank that it's her children. (But sex is a close second.)

In other fashion near-disaster news, for Gemma Arterton, preserving her cocktail was just as important as protecting her dress. Ms. Arterton, in a dramatic floor-length gown, was negotiating the steps down from the third floor at Soho House before the premiere of her film Byzantium on Sunday.

She gingerly descended with a goblet shaking in one hand, but managed to make her way without spilling a drop. Considering the height of her wedge heels, this was a very impressive accomplishment.

The dame is funny! TIFF has seen its share of comedians and comic actors but no one amused the press as much as Dame Maggie Smith, here for The Quartet, who worked the press line at the premiere with a cheeky sense of humour, doing impressions with co-star Philip Seymour Hoffman, and even answering a question or two as her character in Downton Abbey. It was a welcome break from the parade of actors here who take themselves too seriously.

And finally, I asked Naomi Watts, who's been photographed in a variety of Diana's most memorable looks as she works on the upcoming biopic, which dress made her feel most like the late royal icon. Her answer? The one-shoulder blue Versace Lady Di wore in Australia in 1996.

After dropping into Soho House, where she slid down the banister, elegantly in an Elie Saab dress, which was easier than taking the stairs, I saw her again at the CAA/Smartwater party on Sunday night at Cinema where I saw her dancing to George Michael, singing every word. It didn't seem like she was ready for bed at 1:30 a.m. She was still dancing when she was leaving, taking the stairs one dance move at a time.

Lainey is a reporter for CTV's ETALK (weekdays, 7 p.m. ET) and gossip blogger for LaineyGossip.com.

Editor's Note: CAA sponsored a party with Smartwater on Sunday evening. Incorrect sponsor information originally appeared in this article.

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