Monday, March 17, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOOTING STARS: NBC pilot on casino security to begin production

A network pilot, a cable TV special hosted by the busy Lance Burton -- and a casting call for an independent feature from the production company that brought you "The Blair Witch Project" -- top a busy location week.

Cameras are scheduled to roll today on an hourlong NBC pilot focusing on a casino security team.

Still tentatively titled "Las Vegas" and starring old Vegas hand James Caan -- whose Glitter City credits range from "The Gambler" to "Honeymoon in Vegas" -- the show begins a three-week shoot today.

And it'll definitely cover the town, according to location manager Ron Carr -- another old Vegas hand himself, having served in that capacity for the short-lived UPN series "The Strip."

This week's locations range from the Fremont Street Experience to the Crazy Horse Too, the Callaway Golf Center to a Mandalay Bay VIP suite, Carr notes.

A house in the Scotch 80s neighborhood also figures in this week's filming, he adds.

Also in town for the NBC pilot: Stargate Digital, a Los Angeles-based studio responsible for "CSI's" visual effects design. For the new drama, they'll shoot a one-minute, continuous effects shot that will traverse the Strip, zooming past landmarks, under gaming tables, through keyholes, inside bedrooms -- and, of course, past images of the show's major characters.

Speaking of the Strip, that's just one of the locations for "Lance Burton's Guerilla Magic: Taking It to the Streets!"

The hourlong Animal Planet special, hosted by the Monte Carlo headliner, features a variety of performers, from Penn and Teller to Mac King, returning to their street-magic roots, according to executive producer George Ciccarone of By George Productions.

"We had the idea to take some of these magicians, who've got million-dollar theaters and have gotten quite comfortable, to take them back to their roots and see how they perform for people on the street," he explains.

And, because it's an Animal Planet special, the tricks involve not only the magicians but various members of the animal kingdom.

Just don't expect the traditional rabbit-in-the-hat trick, he cautions.

Penn and Teller perform with earthworms. King's animal assistants range from goldfish to a tiger cub. Dove expert Fielding West will demonstrates his mastery, while Dana Daniels, another magician who specializes in feathered friends, offers a trio of parrot tricks. Sophie Evans joins Ziggy the Dog, while Bob Massey's bits include ferret levitation.

Other prestidigitators participating in the eight-day shoot: Kevin James (performing with a Play-Doh mouse, among others); Andrew Goldenhersh, with butterflies, turtles and chickens; Bruce Black (in a special bunny suit); Steve August and his wife, billed as Snake-Babe Maria; and pickpocket expert Apollo.

Beyond the Strip, the performers will conjure critters at locales including the Golden Gate, The Venetian, the Liberace Museum, the Fremont Street Experience (at, appropriately, Aladdin's giant lamp), the Little White Chapel, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Rio -- and, of course, the Monte Carlo.

The hourlong special will air in June, notes Ciccarone, who's executive producing the show with colleagues Paul Fishman and Jerry Peluso. (Before developing the "Guerilla Magic" special, By George Productions previously visited the Moonlite Bunny Ranch brothel for the HBO documentary "Cathouse.")

Before we leave the subject of magic, the reality series "The Virtual Magician," alias illusionist Marco Tempest, wraps up a four-day Vegas visit Monday at the Monte Carlo.

Also on this week's location calendar: a Burger King commercial, shooting today, featuring a tour bus driving past such scenic spots as Hoover Dam and Valley of Fire.

The bus driver in the commercial doesn't stop at any of the landmarks, of course, but he makes time to visit Burger King, according to location manager Bob Gould.

Ironically, the spot will feature a Burger King not in Las Vegas but in Los Angeles, he notes.

In Style magazine, meanwhile, visits begins a two-day photo shoot today for its special wedding issue debuting in early June, according to Rosaliz Jimenez, deputy photo editor.

Today's locations include The Venetian and the inevitable "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign, location scout Kim Houser-Amaral reports. Tuesday sites include Cupid's Wedding Chapel and a dirt road, where an old-fashioned Cadillac will make tracks.

Shifting to other auto-oriented projects, the Porsche 911 Turbo and Cayenne will be in the spotlight Wednesday and Thursday for a photo shoot at Valley of Fire. And Canada's Hero Films hopes to shoot a Pontiac commercial late this week in town and -- you guessed it -- at the ever-popular Valley of Fire.

A cross-country trek, meanwhile, figures in "@lien," the latest project from Haxan Entertainment and "Blair Witch" producer Gregg Hale, who will be casting for the project from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday at Lear Entertainment, 41 N. Mojave Road.

The quirky road-trip romance -- which treks from Athens, Ga., to San Francisco, via New Orleans -- will make an inevitable Las Vegas stopover in late June, Hale says in a telephone interview from his Florida base.

"The Las Vegas stop was always a part" of the project, which has been in development for nine years, according to Hale, who co-wrote the "@lien" script with Rachel Davis. "There's something that makes Las Vegas a quintessential part of every road trip."

Besides, "a major plot point takes a twist in Las Vegas," he adds.

Co-producer Mellissa Berry is currently searching for a casino location, Hale notes.

"We're not going for any of the big, giant modern theme resorts," he explains. "We're looking for more of an old-school feel and look."

Because this production, like "Blair Witch," is a low-budget proposition, "I can't afford to fly a bunch of actors to Las Vegas," Hale points out, "so we're looking to cast Las Vegas roles in Las Vegas," from a desk clerk to a grouchy-grandma gambler.

In addition, however, "we're also definitely auditioning for the (movie's) four or five major speaking roles," he says.

Those interested in those roles -- including Hannah and Henry, two-thirds of the movie's romantic triangle, Hannah's Internet lover (the "@lien" of the title), plus Hannah's roommate Catherine and her estranged mother -- should prepare scenes from the script featuring those specific characters.

The scene excerpts, along with descriptions of the other characters, are available on the movie's Internet site: www.haxan.com/alien/cast.html. Those auditioning for other roles should prepare a monologue of a minute or less.