Saturday, January 03, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

NORM: Filmmaker left out in the cold

Steve Wynn has some bad things said about him in "The Cooler." Alec Baldwin's remark still in film. William H. Macy is in "The Cooler." Danny Gans canceled shows.

Don't bring up "The Cooler" to local filmmaker Trent Othick.

He's still doing a slow burn about it.

Two years ago, Othick was contacted about being a producer of the film starring William H. Macy and Alec Baldwin.

"I was approached to help them get the movie made in Las Vegas on their shoestring budget," said Othick, who recently created the studio Insomnia Entertainment with partners Lorenzo Fertita, Tom Breitling and Tim Poster.

After investing eight months of work on "The Cooler" without a contract, Othick had his attorney work out a deal. His idea was to have the film shot on Las Vegas properties with the blessing of the Binion and Gaughan families.

One of Othick's stipulations was that a derogatory remark about Steve Wynn by Baldwin's character be removed from the script.

A few days later, Othick learned he was cut out of the deal. He decided not to fight it.

"Hearing that Mr. Wynn is upset now, I wish I would've had the guts to bring him the script and meet with him about it before they made it."

We have a winner

Gary Mahoney, who works at McCarran International Airport, wins the lunch for best overheard comment of the holiday season.

His entry: "Several women were walking past me and talking amongst themselves. Upon noticing that the clock said 11 p.m. local time, one woman said to another, `Eleven o'clock. That means it's 1:30 at home.' "

Runner-up was Marvin Arthur with this tidbit of eavesdropping:

An Asian tourist in the MGM Grand lobby being told "that wasn't artificial snow. That was real snow."...

The Scene and Heard

Suspicions continue to grow that Mirage headliner Danny Gans is feuding with the MGM Grand Mirage company over a number of issues, including his absence from the main marquee still occupied by Siegfried & Roy. Gans canceled his New Year's Eve appearance and several other nights last week.

Jay Leno has been booked into the Danny Gans Theatre Jan. 16-17. ...

Most prophetic holiday billboard of the season: Opportunity Village's Magical Forest sign that reads, "Round up the reindeer. It's snowing in Las Vegas. Nov. 26-Dec. 28." It snowed here Dec. 30.

Sightings

Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, playing poker with Rene Angelil in the Bellagio's high-limit section on Thursday night. ...

Affleck and J.Lo, dancing up a storm at Light (Bellagio) later Thursday with Damon and galpal Eva Mendes. ... Ah, "The Simple Life:" Paris and Nicky Hilton, dripping in diamonds and slamming shots of Grey Goose while doing the New Year's Eve countdown with sidekick Nicole Richie, using the booth cushions as trampolines. ... Paris Hilton, shopping for hats Friday at Hatitude in Desert Passage (Aladdin). She bought two pink hats and a Trucker hat with "Security" emblazoned on the front. From there she went to Alpaca Pete's, where she purchased $300 in teddy bears. ... Rick and Kathy Hilton, parents of Paris and Nicky, dining at Piero's Italian Cuisine on Thursday night. ... NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell and NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown, having dinner with their significant others at Michael's (Barbary Coast) on Tuesday.

The Punch Line

"You can only be young once. But you can always be immature." -- Dave Barry

Norm Clarke can be reached at 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com.