Monday, August 16, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOOTING STARS: 'CSI' makes return to Las Vegas after firing incident

George Eads and Jorja Fox are both back on the job with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

In our "better late than never" department, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" solves another Las Vegas mystery -- its own disappearance -- as the top-rated CBS drama checks into town today for a three-day shoot.

Loyal Shooting Stars readers may recall that "CSI" was originally scheduled to visit Las Vegas last month as production got underway on the show's fifth season.

That is, until CBS fired "CSI" co-stars George Eads and Jorja Fox -- firings that have been rescinded, setting the stage for the show's rescheduled Vegas trek.

Today's shoot was originally expected to take place in a dry lake bed, but with monsoon-season thunderstorms lingering in the forecast, the cast and crew may head downtown if the desert lake bed is no longer dry.

Tuesday's schedule includes downtown's Chapel of Love, Little White Chapel and the Tod Motor Motel. Rounding out "CSI's" itinerary: expected stops at Fremont Street Experience and Fremont Street between Las Vegas Boulevard and Sixth Street.

And six Las Vegas-based actors originally considered for roles during "CSI's" scheduled July visit were hired as day players for the rescheduled shoot, according to local casting director Ray Favero.

"CSI" may be visiting for a few days, but several unscripted series that call Las Vegas home continue production around town.

And for featured characters in Spike TV's "The Club," which shoots at Ice through mid-September, the camera's constant gaze provides an additional level of stress.

At least that's the way it looks to promoter Allison Melnick, who joined "The Club" at the production company's request to plan parties -- and generate press -- for the title nightclub.

"When you're constantly struggling with work, you forget that this is all on camera," she says, wryly noting that "millions of people are going to watch me flip out every now and then."

Even so, Melnick acknowledges that tough days make for compelling television.

"After the lights are off and the cameras are off, I think, `Oh, my God, people are going to love this!' "

Elsewhere on the reality front, TV continues to hit the jackpot with poker programming as ESPN's "World Series of Poker" and the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour" rack up top ratings for their respective networks.

Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" (the cable channel's No. 2 show, trailing only "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy") returns to the Palms Thursday for four days of taping in the Key West Room.

Expected participants include Angela Bassett, Macaulay Culkin, Jeff Garlin, Neil Patrick Harris, Tony Hawk, Christopher Meloni, Dave Navarro, Kevin Nealon, Matthew Perry, Emily Procter, Dennis Rodman and Ryan Stiles -- with more players to be announced.

Tapings will be held from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday and 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with the finals from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday. Tickets for the tapings are available at the Palms.

Poker moves from cable to broadcast outlets, meanwhile, with the syndicated "Plaza Ultimate Poker Challenge," which begins shooting Saturday at downtown's Plaza.

The series will feature professional and amateur poker players competing in 23 tournaments (after the $1,000 buy-in), leading up to semifinal and final games.

Former "Star Search" producer Sam Riddle will oversee the production; Las Vegas-based Media Underground will provide production management. (As always, stay tuned to Shooting Stars for more details.)

Meanwhile, A&E's "Caesars" keeps rolling at Caesars Palace, while the Discovery Channel's "American Casino" plays on at Station Casinos' Green Valley Ranch in Henderson.

Turning to the big screen, two features with overseas connections also make Vegas visits this week.

"Nothing But Life" -- about an Indian immigrant whose life in Las Vegas shifts between dreams and reality -- continues a week-long shoot scheduled to conclude Friday. Locations range from the Strip and the Fremont Street Experience to a private estate in Henderson's upscale Anthem development.

Directed by Rajiv Anchal (whose 1997 "Guru" was India's official Oscar entry that year), "Nothing But Life" spent more than a month in Albuquerque, N.M., filming interiors at a variety of locations, including Native America casinos, according to publicist Akshay Pottathil.

The production chose Albuquerque as a primary location because of financial incentives offered to filmmakers, Pottathil notes.

But for exterior shots, the Vegas-set "Nothing But Life" had to opt for the real thing.

Filming in both English and Malayalam, the language of the southern Indian state of Kerala, "Nothing But Life" officials hope members of Las Vegas' Indian community will participate in the production. (They're also looking for additional casino locations.) For more information, contact Pottathil at (858) 335-3805.

And the Russian production "Shadow Boxing," from writer-director Aleksei Sidorov, is scheduled to make a one-day Vegas visit Thursday. Filming will take place on the Strip for the final scene of the English-language boxing drama, which features John Amos (who's not in the Las Vegas scene) and Denis Nikiforov as fighter Artem Kolchin.

Also on this week's location calendar: a commercial for a Hawaiian car dealer, scheduled to shoot Monday at the California Hotel and on the Third Street cul-de-sac.

Checking this week's casting corner, Filmlore Productions needs more than 150 cast members and background players for its upcoming "Fear's Parasite: Pre-Movie 2, The Unleashing of Phobos." (Details are available at http://www. FilmloreProductions.com.) Award-winning local filmmaker Roger Erik Tinch also is casting for his upcoming production, "Better Mask." More information on that production, along with numerous additional casting and crew opportunities, is available on the Nevada Film Office hot line, 486-2727.