Monday, October 13, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
SHOOTING STARS: Celebrities to flock to Palms for some Texas Hold 'Em
Maintaining a poker face shouldn't be much of a problem for professional actors.
But do they know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em?
The answer to that pressing question will emerge at the Palms later this week, thanks to "Celebrity Poker Showdown."
The new Bravo series shoots six one-hour episodes Thursday through Sunday in the Palms' Key West Room, where some 25 celebrities will vie for bragging rights -- to say nothing of contributions to charities of their choice.
The brainchild of "West Wing" regular Joshua Malina, who's active on the Hollywood poker circuit, "Celebrity Poker Showdown" features a lineup of familiar faces, including fellow "West Wing"ers Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen, John Spencer and Bradley Whitford. (That's enough for one poker table devoted to the Emmy-winning drama -- which happens to air on NBC, Bravo's parent network.)
Also expected to ante up during the four-day showdown: "Simpsons" voice fixture Hank Azaria; "School of Rock's" Jack Black and Sarah Silverman; "Ocean's Eleven" star Don Cheadle; rapper/actor Coolio; "American Pie's" Shannon Elizabeth; actress-turned-author Carrie Fisher; Mo Gaffney (TV's "Run of the House"); "Sex and the City's" Ron Livingston; "CSI: Miami's" Emily Procter; actress Mimi Rogers; "Friends' " David Schwimmer; and "King of Queens' " Nicole Sullivan.
They'll all be playing no-limit Texas Hold 'Em, the same form of tournament poker that has spawned such TV hits as the World Poker Tour. Actor Kevin Pollak will call the action, with pro poker player Phil Gordon providing commentary.
"We thought we would take a formula that's clearly working and add more of an entertainment value," explains executive producer Marcia Mulé of Picture This Television, which produces the show for Bravo. (Mulé's partner, Bryan Scott, also serves as one of the show's executive producers, along with Malina and Andrew Hill Newman.)
"We hope people tune in for the celebrities and stay for the poker," she says.
As the for the location, "we wanted to be at the Palms right from the start," Mulé notes. "It's a very young and hip casino that matched the aura we wanted to have with the show."
And if that aura reminds viewers of "Ocean's Eleven" (original or remake), so much the better.
After all, that's what they're aiming for with a "special set that will feel like a nightclub," she continues, describing it as "a sophisticated, sort of a Rat Pack retro feel."
In addition to the poker table, the show's set also will feature a "loser's lounge" where also-rans can observe and comment on the continuing action.
Three days of preparation for the show begins today, with rehearsal scheduled Wednesday. One episode will be filmed Thursday, with two shows scheduled to shoot Friday and Saturday. Sunday's championship game features the winners of the previous five games.
"Celebrity Poker Showdown" debuts on Bravo at 9 p.m. Dec. 2, just before the cable network's breakout hit, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," which has also turned up on NBC.
As for "Celebrity Poker's" prospects for NBC exposure, "it's quite possible," Mulé acknowledges. "As the production company, we're obviously hoping so."
Elsewhere in the TV realm, the ABC special "Life of Luxury" rounds out its Las Vegas visit this week with a stop at the Palms.
"We're shooting the show open and close from the lip of the ghostbar," explains host Robin Leach.
It's a "complicated" shot, he acknowledges. "It involves a helicopter and a Rolls Royce."
More than that, however, he cannot say.
Following the ghostbar shoot, "Life of Luxury" moves to another Vegas location (which hadn't been determined at press time) to capture "interstitials," those handy little snippets that will provide transition between segments of the hour-long show.
Most of those segments have nothing to do with Las Vegas, notes Eckwe Productions' Tom Nelson, "Life of Luxury's" supervising producer. "Most took place in New York, the Caribbean, L.A."
Nelson expects to deliver the hour-long "Life of Luxury" to ABC before the end of the month; a broadcast date remains up in the air.
Also on the TV front, "Faking It" -- the Learning Channel's American version of the British reality series -- continues shooting around town capturing unlikely transformations. (The presto-change-o routines include a pastor hoping to convince a panel of experts that he's really a used car salesman and a professor hoping to metamorphose convincingly into a Chippendale's dancer.)
The Hungarian feature "Getno," meanwhile, rolls into the third week of its four-week Las Vegas shoot, with the Strip and Sunset Road among the planned locations.
The black comedy from director Andras Salamon focuses on a Budapest family struggling to discover the American dream in the wilds of Las Vegas.
"We're right on track," according to Blaine Cline, "Getno's" U.S.-based producer. "Because of budget restraints, we've been forced to shift" rapidly among locations, "but it's coming together nicely, working that way."
Rounding out this week's location calendar: a fashion shoot previewing spring swimwear for SG magazine (which bills itself as the "Surf Snow Skate Girl magazine").
Three models -- including Ashley Hartman, an "American Idol" veteran who plays Holly Fischer on Fox's new hit "The O.C." -- will pose at the Hard Rock, Flamingo and other resorts on the Strip, according to SG fashion editor Jill Lockhart. The Palms and the Fremont Street Experience also may provide backdrops for the three-day shoot, which begins Thursday.
