Colin Farrell's good turn

Colin Farrell made the front pages of the Toronto papers last weekend, not for any new allegations of lifestyle excesses, but as a Good Samaritan. A homeless man known only as Stress told the media how Farrell helped him out four years ago when the Irish actor was filming in the city.

In Toronto last week to promote Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, Farrell was leaving his hotel when he spotted and remembered Stress. He invited him into his chauffeur-driven car and took him to a downtown store, where the manager says Farrell spent more than €1,400 on clothes for Stress. Farrell then went to an ATM and gave Stress a wad of dollars before arranging to pay a year's rent for him.

Child abduction drama postponed

The decision to defer the release of Gone Baby Gone in the UK will also apply in Ireland. It was taken because the distributors are "sensitive to the depth of feeling surrounding the disappearance of Madeleine McCann".

Based on a novel by Mystic River author Denis Lehane, the film marks Ben Affleck's directing debut and features his brother Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan as Boston private investigators in search of a kidnapped four-year-old girl.

Negotiating to be brothers in arms

Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire are in negotiations to star in Jim Sheridan's next movie, Brothers, which starts shooting in November. The film is a US remake of Susanne Bier's powerful 2004 Danish drama of the same name, in which in a soldier goes to fight in Afghanistan while his younger brother takes care of the soldier's wife and child. The new screenplay is by David Benioff, whose credits include 25th Hour, Tory and the imminent Kite Runner.

It's a free Ken Loach film - thanks to TV

Critically acclaimed at the recent Toronto and Venice festivals, the new Ken Loach film, It's a Free World, will be released in cinemas in most parts of the world, but goes directly to television in these islands and will be broadcast on Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday. It features Kierston Wareing (recently seen in Rise of the Footsoldier) and Juliet Ellis as ambitious young women setting up a London recruitment agency to exploit immigrant workers.

Wooden Jon gets Oscar recall

Jon Stewart has been invited back to host the Oscars ceremony next spring, even though he was surprisingly wooden when he presented last year's show.

"Jon was a terrific host for the 78th awards," the show's producer, Gil Cates, said. "He is smart, quick, funny, loves movies and is a great guy. What else could one ask for?" Well, how about Robin Williams, or bringing back Billy Crystal or even Ellen DeGeneres?

Short and short of it

The IFI and Dublin Fringe Festival jointly present a selection of classic short films this weekend, accompanied by original scores composed and performed by the remarkable musical septet, 3epkano. The first programme (at noon tomorrow) includes Jean Genet's Un Chant d'Amour and three Maya Deren films, and the second (noon, Sunday) features Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali's Un Chien Andalou (which viewers may find disturbing) and Man Ray's L'étoile de Mer. www.irishfilm.ie

Wicklow the star

As part of its fifth anniversary celebrations, Mermaid Arts Centre in Bray, Co Wicklow will present a programme of films shot in the county. On Sunday at 1pm, longtime Wicklow resident John Boorman will introduce his 1981 epic Excalibur, preceded at noon by his introspective documentary, I Dreamt I Woke Up. The programme for Sunday, September 30th includes three feature films - Neil Jordan's The Miracle, Goran Paskaljevic's How Harry Became a Tree and Paddy Breathnach's I Went Down - and a selection of shorts. Admission is free, but advance booking is essential. www.mermaidartscentre.ie

Cronenberg explodes the myths

Words from the wise: Asked in Toronto what advice he had for young directors, David Cronenberg replied: "My goal is to crush them. They want to supplant me, and I want to destroy them. Seriously, though, there's so much mythology around being a director. I just want to demystify it for them. There are an infinite number of ways you can become a director."

French minister notes Clooney's tomatoes

At the recent Deauville festival, George Clooney had the honour of being knighted as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French government. Before his investiture, Clooney's many film credits, including some of his earliest, were noted in a speech believed to be the first ever from a French minister to mention Return of the Killer Tomatoes.