Ivan and Jason Reitman opened the final weekend of Montreal's comedy festival last night with reminiscences of working with Bill Murray (Reitman the elder) and turning down "Dude, Where's My Car?" (Reitman the younger).

Our picks for this weekend may not be as funny as "Ghostbusters," but they will make you laugh more than Ashton Kutcher:

Russell Brand: US audiences know him as Kristen Bell's new boyfriend in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" but the British comic, currently filming a movie with Adam Sandler, is poised to hit it big over here any minute now. Fri. and Sat., 9:30 pm, Centaur Theatre

Patrice O'Neal: Some call the former "Best Week Ever" comic confrontational; maybe in his solo show he'll do it in a sweet way. Fri. and Sat. at 11 pm, Theatre Ste-Catherine

Apatow for Destruction: Speaking of "...Sarah Marshall," producer Judd Apatow drags Canuck buddy Seth Rogen for--well, we're not sure exactly, but it's bound to be hilarious. Sat., midnight, Metropolis

Related Stories:
· Just for Laughs Festival [Official Site]
· Remembering George Carlin Travel [Jaunted]
· Comedy Clubs coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo of Greg Proops and Ryan Stiles at Just For Laughs: anirudhkoul]

Ok, so it wasn't really a glowstick rave -- but people had glowsticks!

Unfortunately, those glowsticks were the most high-tech amenity available at Vancouver's Pan Pacific Hotel and Fairmont in the last couple of days due to a downtown power outage.

Pan Pacific had to relocate about 100 guests because some rooms had no running water (delicious!) and the rest of the guests who were moved around inside the hotel were given free rooms.

The Globe and Mail reported that the staff also went out and bought glowsticks to give to guests -- who had no TV or internet and were forced to (gasp) entertain themselves with things like conversations and recreation -- and

Fans of big-screen musicals like "Hairspray," "Sweeney Todd" and the forthcoming "Mamma Mia!" may be both delighted with and frustrated by the Bollywood style of movie-making. The films native to India, which produces more movies each year than Hollywood, often top three hours and feature extended musical numbers and singers unknown outside of Asia. But India plans to show off its innovations with a Bollywood world tour led by two of its biggest actors.

Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan may not be household names Stateside but they are giant stars--say, Martin and Charlie Sheen without the divorce drama--in their native India. Son Abhishek is married to former Miss World Aishwarya Rai, whom Westerners may have seen in the Jane Austen-meets-Bollywood flick "Bride and Prejudice." (She'll also be appearing in next year's "Pink Panther" sequel with Steve Martin.)

The trio, along with several other Bollywood stars, will hit Trinidad, Atlantic City, London and more with "The Unforgettable Tour," which kicks off July 18 in Toronto.

Related Stories:
· The Unforgettable Tour [Official Site]
· Movie Travel coverage [Jaunted]

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, seeing the hotel scene from a family travel perspective. All prices are in Canadian dollars--which currently trade slightly higher than U.S. dollars. Enjoy.

The Fairmont Hotel Vancouver is known as simply "Hotel Vancouver" by many taxi drivers and it is indeed the iconic hotel in town, competing with the Wedgewood Hotel as the top prestige address. The stone and peaked metal roof building was constructed jointly by Canada's two national railways and completed in 1939, just in time for a Royal visit from King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

While some hotel staffers are busying themselves finding new and innovative ways to charge insane hidden fees, others are ... harvesting their own honey on the roof of their big-city hotel, if you can believe it.

Here's something we haven't heard of before (we'll spare you the "buzz" puns): Toronto's Fairmont Royal York has added three beehives to its rooftop terrace (where the hotel already grows its own herbs and veggies) that will produce up to 700 pounds of honey every year. Sweet! (Ha! Sweet! Get it?)

And in a display of cuteness so sweet it almost stings (ha - again!), the hotel has named the hives the Honey Moon Suite, The Royal Sweet and

HotelChatter contributing editor Tim Leffel is moving around British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, seeing the hotel scene from a family travel perspective. All prices are in Canadian dollars--which currently trade slightly higher than U.S. dollars. Enjoy.

The Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver comes across as your basic high-rise business hotel, but with a gracious staff and a hotel restaurant that gets high marks on its own, this one is a cut above the norm.

You will recognize the furniture and the bedding as it sticks to very bland Marriott look, but the service goes beyond business traveler briskness to help tourists make the most of their time in the city.

Yet another reason to tip your housekeeper: 1,500 hotel workers from four big Montreal hotels (the Hyatt Regency, Sheraton Le Centre, Delta and Fairmont Queen Elizabeth) have gone on strike.

The workers are demanding higher wages, better pension plans and -- most of all -- fewer rooms for the housekeepers to clean per shift.

More hotel workers are expected to go on strike this week, too -- so prepare yourself for the possibility of (heaven forbid) making your own bed in your Montreal hotel room.

Just kidding. We hope...

So two days ago we briefly reported how Starwood Capital and Marine Drive Properties is developing the 1 Hotel & Residences Vancouver Island in British Columbia (that would be Canada), within the Wyndansea development, but it took a day for us to realize just how cool this 1 Hotel location is.

O Canada! The Waldorf-Astoria Collection, by Hilton Hotels, announced today their first hotel in Canada--The Waldorf=Astoria Hotel & Residences Montreal.

With 32 floors, 250 hotel rooms, 76 residences (that are sure to cost a fortune), ballroom space, "signature" restaurants, bars, a spa, and a fitness center, the Waldorf will make sure its presence is felt in "Our Home and Native Land!"