Monday, July 21, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Shooting Stars: Locals get two chances to become part of the show

Everybody wants to get into the act.

And this week's location schedule offers locals two chances to do just that.

For those who like to watch -- and laugh -- NBC's "Last Comic Standing," with host Jay Mohr, returns Wednesday to the Paris Las Vegas Theatre des Arts for a five stand-up showdown.

Five of the show's six semi-finalists -- Cory Kahavey, Rich Voss, Geoff Brown, Ralphie May, Tess and Dat Phan -- will compete in the show, to be broadcast July 29. (The semi-finalist who doesn't make the cut won't be revealed until Wednesday's finals.)

After the five finalists perform their stand-up sets, viewers will vote for their favorite; the winner will be revealed during a live show scheduled Aug. 5 at Paris.

It's "Last Comic Standing's" second trip to Las Vegas; previous episodes shot here in February.

Free tickets to Wednesday's taping are available at the Paris box office or by telephoning 946-4567; there's a four-ticket maximum per reservation. Ticketed guests must be in their seats by 5:30 p.m. Wednesday; otherwise those in the stand-by line, which forms at 5 p.m., will be invited to fill the unclaimed seats.

WE: Women's Entertainment, meanwhile, will be at the upstairs bar of Studio 54 at the MGM Grand from 10 p.m. Thursday to 1 a.m. Friday, interviewing single women ages 18 to 35 for the next installment of "Single in the City," the cable network's "Sex in the City"-style reality series.

"Single in the City: Las Vegas" will be WE's fifth such series -- after visits to Manhattan, Los Angeles and New York's upscale Hamptons -- exploring real-life adventures of single women on a quest to meet "the one." The show starts production in late August for an early 2004 launch.

"Single in the City" isn't the only television project arriving here next month, however. NBC's new "Las Vegas" series, which begins shooting July 28 in Los Angeles, makes its first visit to its eponymous setting Aug. 4. Fox's hit sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" is expected Aug. 6 -- and CBS's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" is scheduled to arrive a week later.

Returning to this week's location calendar, the BBC continues a three-week shoot on an hour-long documentary devoted to the construction of Hoover Dam, part of a "Great Industrial Wonders" series the British network is producing in conjunction with The Learning Channel.

Other BBC crews already have finished shooting episodes devoted to such all-American wonders as the Brooklyn Bridge and the transcontinental railroad.

Hoover Dam fits the program profile because "it's got a great story behind it," explains associate producer Simon Winchcombe.

For one thing, "you've got the whole of the Depression as a backdrop," he notes. "Obviously, we're looking at the engineering aspects, but (featuring) the personal stories as well."

Meanwhile, back in Las Vegas, cult auteur Ted Mikels rolls into his second week of production on "The Cauldron: Baptism of Blood," a quasi-sequel to his 1972 romp "Blood Orgy of the She-Devils."

This week, "The Cauldron" will shoot at a local gym and two private residences -- one house, one apartment -- as the demonic spirits rise.

The movie features one of Mikels' longtime collaborators: a hand-carved, 19th-century ventriloquist's dummy Mikels has had since his days as a teenage magician.

"He's finally making his movie debut -- and he has a speaking part!" Mikels jokes.

Elsewhere on location this week: Red Rock Films' "Michael Paloma and the New York Blues," a video saga of blues singer Paloma, whose Vegas trek finds him encountering a range of familiar Vegas visions.

The project is scheduled to shoot Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, capturing "postcard stuff," according to Paloma. Exactly what will be depicted on those Vegas video postcards hadn't been determined at press time.

In addition to Strip panoramas, however, Paloma hopes to include cameo appearances by various Vegas headliners, along with dancers and other performers.

An American Express TV commercial, meanwhile, also is scheduled to shoot here this week, with a sporting goods store and a private residence as primary locations.

And, speaking of commercials, Spike Lee is expected in town to direct an upcoming Microsoft TV spot featuring driving shots of the Strip, casino exteriors and interiors capturing Las Vegas' high-roller ambience. As always, stay tuned to Shooting Stars for more details.