Guy Ritchie didn't have Madonna on his arm at the "RocknRolla" after-party Thursday night but he made one thing explicitly clear: they're still very much together and very much in love.
"Yes, I love Madonna!" Ritchie declared in a let-me-spell-this-out-for-you moment as he raised both his index fingers in the air.
The 39-year-old writer-director, dogged by rumours that he and Madge have called it quits, seemed rather relaxed as he posed for photographers and chatted with reporters on the red carpet.
Maybe it's because Ritchie didn't have to wait an hour for his tardy wife like at the London premiere -- when Madge rushed back from her tour to meet him.
Or maybe it's because the director's new gangster flick is getting some pretty decent reviews.
Either way, Ritchie knows he's back and he had the swagger to prove it.
Gerard Butler -- who plays small-time crook One-Two in the film -- was hands-down the crowd favourite Thursday with fans and media swarming his vehicle even before he could get on the red carpet.
Yes, the "300" and "P.S. I Love You" star stopped to sign autographs.
Thandie Newton, who plays Butler's love interest, had no interest in talking to reporters -- she made a quick stop for the cameras and then a beeline straight into the party, which was sponsored by Time Style & Design magazine.
Rapper-turned-actor Chris "Ludacris" Bridges didn't say much either as he made his way inside -- even when the L.A. photographer beside me (who claims to have been the paparazzi-guy Britney crashed into) asked what he thought of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.
Entourage's Jeremy Piven, who plays an American trying to break into the music scene in London, also came through to celebrate with the cast.
So did Idris Elba, Toby Kebbell and producer Joel Silver.
Here's the rest of the night:
12:40ish
Across town, the Century Room held the after party for Jean-Claude Van Damme's autobiographical film "JCVD."
Rumour has it Van Damme wasn't even in Toronto because he was shooting a movie on location.
I went to check but no sign of the Muscles-from-Brussels. Even the doorman said he hadn't seen him.
Has anyone seen this B-list actor anywhere?
1:20ish
Over at The Drake Hotel, the cast of "Passchendaele" were out celebrating in full force after the film opened the festival. By 1:30 a.m., the rooftop was still packed but Paul Gross, the film's star-writer-director, had called it a night.
Shortly thereafter so did I.
