If anyone at the still-bustling film festival deserves to take a break at the Fairmont Royal York's Library Bar, it's Ray Liotta. The actor told USA TODAY he is promoting three movies here this year. The star of 1990's Goodfellas is in one of the hot acquistion titles at the fest: The Place Beyond the Pines, in which he plays a corrupt cop opposite Ryan Gosling's motorcycle stunt rider. It was picked up for distribution by Focus Features and should be out in 2o13.

Then there is The Iceman, a Mafia thriller. Plus, Yellow, about a female drug addict, which Liotta calls "the weird one." On top of that fest fare, he appears in the crime drama Killing Them Softly starring Brad Pitt that opens Oct. 19.

That's a lotta Liotta.

A smiling Dustin Hoffman stopped by an afternoon screening of his directorial debut, Quartet, at the Winter Garden Theater and praised the Toronto audiences for warmly embracing his late-life comedy about a group of quarrelsome opera singers who attempt to perform Verdi's quartet from Rigoletto at a special event for their retirement home.

The premiere the night before was rewarded with three standing ovations, partly motivated by the rare appearance -- outside of Downton Abbey, that is -- of the Dowager Countess herself, Maggie Smith, whose stand-offish diva's arrival at the facility causes strife among her old singing partners.

Alas, Dame Maggie, 77, did not join Hoffman, 75, onstage on Monday. Instead, he introduced waggish Scottish comic Billy Connolly, 69,who co-stars in Quartet as an adorably lascivious oldster, this way: "I asked Billy if Maggie Smith was here. He said, 'No. She broke her leg and we had to put her down.' " Laughter filled the theater.

A shaggy Connolly then bounded into view and said sheepishly, "I meant nothing by it." He then proceeded to declare that reading the cast list "was the best laxative I've ever known. I saw I found myself replacing Tom Finney and (bleeped) myself."

Oops. That would Albert Finney, a correction made by Connolly's co-star Tom Courtenay, 75, when he took his bow. Before the lights went down, Hoffman got the last word in at Connolly's expense: "Billy likes to remind us that he is the youngest. And yet he's the first to forget things."

Last year, Uggie the Jack Russell terrier was all the rage after his wag-worthy performance in The Artist, which found best-picture Oscar glory after getting a boost in Toronto.

Alas, he did not make the trip with his human counterparts to meet and greet the media. But this year, there is a new pooch in town -- a so-called "fur fatale" named Bonny. The 2-year-old Shih Tzu plays a pivotal role in the dark comedy Seven Psychopaths after being dog-napped by Sam Rockwell, an act that gets the fluffball's owner Woody Harrelson on his tail.

Bonny was hanging with her trainer and posing for pics at the movie's hospitality suite at the Ritz-Carlton, welcoming reporters with her sweet little face. She basically does what a lapdog does best in Seven Psychopaths, which is to sit around and look cute. No Lassie-style rescues for her. Bonny's visitors received a stuffed replica of her -- the better to stem any real-life snatching.

Turns out there is another dog -- who shall be nameless -- that leaves a different sort of impression in Anna Karenina, Tolstoy's tale of love and betrayal. While Anna and her fellow aristocrats take in a piano recital, a pup sitting on its owner's lap emits a loud and recognizable noise. Soon the offender is plucked from the scene.

Director Joe Wright, who admits there is a side of him who would love to do a crude Judd Apatow-style movie, upstaged his Jane Austen-inspired romantic reveries in 2005's Pride & Prejudice by briefly focusing on a hog with rather large testicles.

"I have a very childish sense of humor," he says. "I pretend to be all hoity-toity and high art and all that. But, actually, I'm rather grubby."

It's Sunday in Toronto. Sunny, cool, pleasant.

The line of black cars lined up outside the major hotels signify that for many stars here, it's a wrap. They're flying to New York or Los Angeles, accompanied by their retinues and reps.

The fans lined up outside the Ritz-Carlton have one thing in their minds: Bieber fever. Justin is here with his better half, Selena Gomez, and eventually, he'll have to come down. Everyone is hoping for a glimpse. Hey, as I said earlier, Toronto is more about star-spotting then moviegoing.

Over at the Trump, Emma Watson was gamely doing interviews. She, too, hadn't stepped out of the hotel, except to do more interviews.

In terms of celebrity, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were in town for a party celebrating the doc Free Angela, but sadly weren't doing any press. And there's a party later on tonight for Naomi Watts. If I'm awake -- and that's a big IF -- I'll let you know how it goes. Too many events, not enough stamina.

Emma Watson is tired, but you'd never know it. The British actress, elegant in Jason Wu, is immaculately polite and brightly eloquent. It's her first time at Toronto's movie festival, but she has seen neither the city, nor any films.

"I'm flying out tonight. It's been a crazy whirlwind," says Watson, late Sunday afternoon. "I haven't left the hotel. I left the hotel to go to the premiere and then came back here to do more press. It's crazy but it's all good."

The actress plays a high school student in The Perks of Being a Wallflower. In real life, Watson is about to finish her college degree; she's attending Brown University.

"I have a semester left. I'm awfully close. The plan is that I graduate by the summer," she says.

Her American accent in Perks is nearly flawless. So too is her performance, as a the anti-Hermione, a vibrant, confused, somewhat lost and always loving senior who befriends a depressed freshman.

"I was super-anxious about doing this movie because I have no personal American high school experience from which I could draw. I felt at a real disadvantage. Logan (Lerman) and Ezra (Miller) knew what prom was all about, and homecoming. I worked with a voice coach. I asked a lot of questions," says Watson. "I wish someone had given me this book at age 13 or 14, before I went into dating. It has some real gems of wisdom in there. I really wanted to be part of this movie and this book and message."

Does she ever feel like she missed out on anything by spending her teen years shooting the Harry Potter franchise?

"I don't live my life like that. My life is different and it's taken on a very different shape. It's not worse. Just different. There are parts of me that are very old and parts of me that are very young."

Three books that have changed Kristen Stewart's life:

1. "Going way back, I did a movie of it too -- a book called Speak. As a young girl, it was fairly emotional for me for fundamentally obvious girlie reasons."

2. "On the Road got me started reading a lot. It led me to The Stranger. It reminds you that you are, very much, alone."

3. "East of Eden because it blew my mind that someone could be so many people. It's so universal and all-encompassing. It's a whole world. It blew my head off."

It's sunny here today, a beautiful, crisp day. On the rundown: Emma Watson, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Nice to wake up to weather like this, after the glut of parties last night.

And gym rats, take note: it pays to break a sweat. This morning, Zac Efron, here for The Paperboy, was working out at the gym at the Ritz-Carlton. Colin Farrell, here for Seven Psychopaths, frequents it as well.

The Sony Pictures Classic dinner at Creme Brasserie on the first Saturday of the festival is traditionally packed with indie-world stars, given the distributor's long list of titles at the event each year.

But the screams and faces pressed up against the plastic rain shield around the open-air terrace probably weren't for Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke (Amour) or documentarian Dror Moreh (The Gatekeepers). Instead, the young girls were trying to catch the eye of Zac Efron, 24, who still looks as if he is about to put on another high-school musical despite moving on to more grown-up themes in his two fest movies, At Any Price and The Paperboy.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Pierce Brosnan, 59, charmed ladies and gents alike while promoting his fest entry, the romantic comedy Love Is All You Need directed by Oscar winner Susanne Bier (In a Better World). Even though James Bond is celebrating his 50th year in movies, Brosnan says there is not going to be a reunion of all the 007 actors to note the event. "I've moved on," he says.

Love has a wedding theme, which led to a discussion of his 2008 musical smash Mamma Mia! He says he still hears the occasional disparaging word about his singing ability in the ABBA-tune-filled romp. But Brosnan has the last laugh: He gets royalties from the best-selling soundtrack. "A little," he qualifies.

Kristen Stewart did what most actors in her situation wouldn't: in the midst of personal scandal, she stepped out to promote her small, intimate and very personal film, On the Road.

"Thanks, man. Thanks," says Stewart, when told it was good of her to put herself out there, given the scrutiny she's been under.

Granted, she did her interviews with co-star Garrett Hedlund and director Walter Salles. But she put herself out there and for that, I respect her.

The film is based on Jack Kerouac's seminal American novel. Hedlund plays Dean, who has what could be generously described a very unconventional relationship with his teen bride, Marylou (Stewart).

Plus, Twihards, she's just a cool chick who's smart and well-read, with On the Road being a favorite. "I was a freshman when I read it. I was projecting to the future a little bit. Is that what's on its way? It was about knowing that I wasn't there yet. I hadn't realized what my ambitions were. It made me less insecure and a little bit more hungry."

She's not kidding."I would have done anything on the movie. I would have been any crew member. I would have followed the crew in the car as a fan just to be around it," said Stewart. "Getting to know the woman behind the character -- she's not the main character and you do wonder what kind of person would live like that?"

"Personality-wise, we're so different. I am just a little bit more locked up and with time, I think that's going to go," says Stewart. "I don't think it's possible to change who you are.

For Hedlund, the book was "something special and changed the way I was writing. Most of the time, I was alone, working in different countries. I had so much downtime and I was writing more and more. The notepad seemed to be Kerouac's friend."

His Dean dumps his pregnant wife. He's a lost man, easily bored, with few boundaries. How did Hedlund get into character? "I was able to take drives alone. There's a lot of obstacles you overcome along the way and wonderful people you meet along the way. You have to be open and accepting and it really created conversations."

Hedlund and Stewart's characters have loosely, effortlessly passionate love scenes in the film. "None of them were events. Professionally, from an actor's standpoint, you do what you have to do. I think it's about feeling safe with who you're with and that you're both there for the right reasons," says Stewart. "The only way to do Marylou justice was to feel free and natural doing it. It was always easy. It was done so quickly."

For the actress, the film was a nice break from her blockbuster Twilight series.

"I have been pretty lucky. I've gotten to switch things up. Five years of one thing ... it would be asinine," says Stewart.

And the most important question of the day: why is her finger in a splint? She broke it, shrugs Stewart.

Saturday night was full of parties, but not even Jake Gyllenhaal could overpower the bad weather in New York and make it to his on time.

But I caught up with a bubbly Kate Hudson at last night's party feting her film, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, at Soho House. Her fiance, Matthew Bellamy, was with her.

Q: You have two kids and you are not allowed to look this hot. What's your secret?

A: Oh my god. Same as always. You just work at it. It takes effort. It doesn't go without effort.

Q: How's Toronto going for you?

A: We just got here yesterday. This is the first thing we're doing. The baby is with us. Ryder is in school.

Q: And why this movie?

A: It's Mira Nair. It was a really interesting script. I was so happy I got the opportunity to do it. I got pregnant. I had the baby and the movie got pushed.