Monday, August 02, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOOTING STARS: Filming at 'Caesars' continues; 'The Club' set to start work

Get real.

Everybody else seems to be doing exactly that -- especially when it comes to TV's seemingly unstoppable reality boom.

At Caesars Palace, A&E's "Caesars" rolls into its third day of shooting on a schedule that extends through November.

At Ice Meta Club, Spike TV's "The Club" begins six weeks of production Thursday. Spike's Al Sharpton series "I Hate My Job" and Comedy Central's "Wanda Does It" with Wanda Sykes also are expected here this month.

And the beat goes on at Station Casinos' Green Valley Ranch in Henderson, where cameras keep right on rolling for Discovery's "American Casino," which has just been renewed for another 18 episodes.

Last Friday, NBC camera crews were in town following a University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduate who's one of the finalists for an upcoming "Average Joe" series.

And NBC's "The Apprentice" will hold an open casting call here Saturday, seeking more victims -- oops, make that recruits -- willing to undergo Donald Trump's distinctive business tutelage. (More about that a few paragraphs from now.)

"The new buzzline" in the reality TV business "is the docu-soap," explains Rasha Drachkovitch, "Caesars" executive producer.

And with "Caesars' " show's hourlong format, "it's not just a look at how a resort like this" operates, but a chance to "follow characters and storylines," Drachkovitch notes. "The stories here are truly amazing."

Officials from the A&E show, produced by Drachkovitch's 44 Blue Productions and Cypress Point Productions, had plenty of stories to consider.

About 2,500 employees -- half of the casino's total work force -- "e-mailed their interest in participating," the executive producer recalls.

After narrowing the field to "only 200," 12 to 15 made the final cut, from those "playing the role of Caesar and greeting guests" to "a sports bookie handling $25 million in bets," Drachkovitch reports.

"You don't need to script that," he says of the participants and their jobs. "If you like the people and care about them," their stories make for compelling television, Drachkovitch maintains.

Three camera crews working rotating shifts will be "available to shoot 24/7," according to the executive producer, who praises the access Caesars officials have granted their namesake show.

"They're allowing us to film everywhere," Drachkovitch says. "It's amazing and quite a responsibility to make sure we don't get in the way."

Meanwhile, off the Strip at Ice, 11 cameras will be on hand to capture the action -- from bus boys to bouncers, dancers to DJs -- when Spike TV's "The Club" starts production Thursday.

The 10 hourlong episodes will focus on the stand-alone club on the eve of its first anniversary, with owner Ed Williams, DJ Paul Oakenfold and promoter Allison Melnick among the personalities profiled.

As for "The Apprentice," the NBC smash wraps up a 16-city audition tour for another season on Saturday at Henderson's CarMax, 1000 W. Warm Springs Road.

Potential Trump chumps should bring a completed application to the tryout (you can find it at http://www.nbc.com) and arrive between 8 and 8:30 a.m.

Wristbands will be distributed to hopefuls at 9 a.m. and interviews begin at 10 a.m.

Only those with wristbands will be seen -- and although "we try to talk to everyone who shows up," according to casting director Paul Gordon, "we stop after a thousand wristbands."

As for casting tips, the requirements are simple, Gordon says.

"We're looking for people with personality," he advises. "It's the only requirement."

Also of interest to local TV wannabes: the return of the syndicated game show "Street Smarts," which is scheduled to visit Wednesday through Sunday, with host Frank Nicotero quizzing bystanders on a variety of pop-culture topics.

Locations for the show, which just kicked off its fifth season, include Desert Passage at the Aladdin, Planet Hollywood in the Forum Shops at Caesars, the Gold Coast and various locations on the Strip.

Speaking of the Strip, Caesars headliner Elton John is scheduled to be at a posh private residence Wednesday to shoot a commercial for XM Satellite Radio.

And the A&E series "Mondo Magic" is expected to begin a six-day visit today, with star magicians J.B. Benn and Chris Korn performing close-up magic and grand illusions for locals and tourists alike. Their expected stops include the Golden Nugget, the Fremont Street Experience, Game Works, Sin City Tattoo and various wedding chapels.

Meanwhile, the Rio becomes beefcake central today through Wednesday as Chippendales dancers -- from East Coast, West Coast and European tours, the Boston cast and the Rio's resident troupe -- congregate to for the 2006 "Men of Chippendales" calendar.

The 21 hunky guys -- including Las Vegan cast members Jeff Beech, John Brice, Kevin Cornell, Charles Dera, Matt Kennedy, Steve Kim, Nathan Minor and John Rivera -- will pose for photographer Dan Peterson in the Rio's presidential, palazzo and honeymoon suites.

And Peterson definitely has experience when it comes to Chippendales -- and calendars. During a 1980s stint in the Los Angeles edition, he appeared in (or on the cover of) five Chippendales calendars. Since then, he's photographed more than 350 other calendars.

Rounding out this week's location calendar: the locally based independent "The Indie-Pendant," which rolls on with a kidnapping scene in the Greek Isles parking garage.

And in today's casting corner: Barbara Lauren Casting needs local Hawaiians, 40-70 years old (both men and women), for a commercial, to be shot here, touting a Hawaiian auto dealership group. Auditions will be held Wednesday; for details, call Lauren at 262-0200, ext. 30.