Very few people can brag about hosting a dinner party with guests like Robin Williams and Holly Hunter, but Buckwheat Donahue, Skagway's tourism director, can.

Not only did the stars come out for dinner, but Williams gave a little stand-up comedy act mocking Mel Gibson's Passion of the Christ.

Donahue was not expecting Williams and Hunter to turn up at his door step. He was prepared only to receive a few crew members from the movie The Big White, which was filmed near Skagway and Whitehorse last month. So Donahue was a little surprised when it wasn't just the crew who showed up, but the cast too.

'It was a bit of a shock,' Donahue said in an interview this morning from Skagway. He spent most of his party time cooking for all the extra guests. 'But it was nice.'

During the night, Donahue got to spend an hour chatting with Hunter.

'We didn't really spend a lot of time talking about what movies she had been in or anything,' said Donahue. He spoke with her about New York City and the late author John Steinbeck, whose work both Hunter and Donahue enjoy.

Donahue was not the only one who spent time with the cast and crew of The Big White. Many of the Skagway residents also got to know them.

'I think because there are no hotels in Skagway with room service a lot of the movie stars had to go out and meet people,' said Donahue.

By the end of the movie shoot, actors could be seen riding bicycles down the street waving at locals they had gotten to know.

Donahue said locals would invite cast and crew to go fishing and hiking. And most accepted the invitation.

'I think the most fun they had was hiking in the glaciers and riding the tugboat along the (Lynn) canal.'

Hunter was seen at a local poetry reading. Alison Lohman spoke to Grade 6 students in Skagway about what it is like to be a budding Hollywood actress. And the only media interview Williams granted was to the local elementary school paper.

Filming wrapped up Friday with a party held at an undisclosed location in Whitehorse.

All Iris Merrit, from the Yukon Film Commission, could say today was it was held at the hotel where the cast and crew were staying. Merrit would not disclose the exact location because a few cast and crew members are still in town.

The filming of The Big White has been a great boost for the local economy in both Skagway and Whitehorse.

Although the official numbers are not out yet, Donahue estimates the movie pumped about $300,000 US into Skagway's economy. Merrit also expects the impact on Whitehorse's economy to be significant.

Now that filming has wrapped up, Merrit has been fielding a number of calls from other Hollywood filmmakers interested in shooting in the Yukon and Alaska.

'They've been saying, I didn't know you guys made movies up there,'' said Merrit.

While many European and Asian filmmakers are aware of the Yukon as a movie shoot destination, she added, many American filmmakers were not.