Monday, November 29, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

SHOOTING STARS: `Domino' ready to start 18-day location visit in Las Vegas

You won't find dominoes at any Las Vegas casino.

But you will find "Domino," which rolls into Southern Nevada Friday for an 18-day location visit to the Stratosphere, Valley of Fire and Bonnie Springs.

The big-screen actioner focuses on the adventures of Domino Harvey, daughter of actor Laurence Harvey, who traded a modeling career for one as a bounty hunter.

A magazine article written about 10 years ago sparked a movie inspired by her life, but the fictionalized "Domino" is set in the present day, notes executive producer Barry Waldman.

As for the Vegas connection, "it was never a question of whether we were going to film in Las Vegas, it was more a process of getting everyone on board," he explains.

Both director Tony Scott (whose action credits stretch from "Top Gun" to "Man on Fire") and screenwriter Richard Kelly ("Donnie Darko") decided to set "Domino" in Las Vegas -- an ideal locale, considering that a $10 million casino heist sets the movie's plot in motion, Waldman explains.

But "the casino heist is only the catalyst," Waldman adds. "It's really a character-driven picture," spotlighting "two hours of insane, crazy characters."

Among the performers embodying those characters: Keira Knightley ("Pirates of the Caribbean"), who takes on the title role, along with rising-fast newcomer Edgar Ramirez and veteran tough guy Mickey Rourke. All three will be in Southern Nevada throughout the location stint, which is expected to continue through Dec. 20, according to the executive producer.

Other notable cast members -- including Christopher Walken, Mena Suvari and Delroy Lindo, "who plays our bail bondsman" -- will spend one or two days each in Southern Nevada, Waldman reports.

As always, stay tuned to Shooting Stars for more on "Domino."

Returning to reality -- or, more precisely, reality TV -- E! Entertainment Television's "The Entertainer" rolls into its second week of production, with Vegas stalwart Wayne Newton mentoring contestants dreaming of showroom stardom.

Challenges continue all around town through mid-December; the Las Vegas Hilton serves as the show's home base.

Elsewhere on location, Australian country singer Steve Forde will shoot a music video Thursday at various Vegas locations.

The video's primary shooting site, however, will be downtown, reports producer Skip Engle of Omaha-based Editech. That setting makes perfect sense because Forde and his band the Flange perform at the Fremont Street Experience's 18th annual Downtown Hoedown Thursday in conjunction with the upcoming National Finals Rodeo, which kicks off a nine-day run here Friday.

The Forde video will be shown in Australia first, Engle notes, but "will probably end up on CMT," alias American cable television's Country Music Television.

Turning to home-town talent, the 19th annual edition of the "Merry Christmas Las Vegas" television special tapes at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Stratosphere's Theatre of the Stars showroom.

Proceeds from the show benefit the Youth Foundation for the Performing Arts; suggested donation is $25. For reservations, call 889-3587.

Scheduled to join host Tony Sacca: "Downtown" Gordie Brown; Denise Clemente; Frank, Sammy, Joey & Dean; Sandy Hackett; Sonny King; Ronn Lucas; Mark Massimino; Lisa Miller; Lena Prima; the Society of Seven with Lani Misalucha; Helen Joy's Young Entertainers and the Michael T. Orchestra.

"You take one day at a time and all of a sudden, it's 19 years later," Sacca says, pondering the passage of time.

This year, however, marks a first: proceeds from the annual special will help to fund a first-ever trip to Washington, D.C, for Sacca and Helen Joy's Young Entertainers, who are scheduled to sing at the White House Dec. 12.

"I'm so excited -- every year I raise money to give to kids and this year we're going to Washington," he says. Asked if it's the first time he's performed at the White House, Sacca replies, "This is the first time I've even walked in the White House."

Sacca and the Young Entertainers have five separate singing engagements in the nation's capital, including one in front of the White House Christmas tree and another at the Washington Monument, he reports.

Returning to reality TV -- and our ever-popular casting corner -- VH1 and Pilgrim Films & Television stage an open call Wednesday afternoon for aspiring male strippers.

The show doesn't have a title yet, but the premise couldn't be clearer: the hunt for attractive guys, 18 and older, who are interested in trading the 9-to-5 grind for a chance to bump and grind.

Billy Cross, creator of the Thunder From Down Under revue, joins VH1's Rachel Perry for a cross-country hunt to find guys worthy of strutting their undressed stuff in public. Eight finalists will earn lucrative contracts and a spot on a six-month U.S. tour.

"We're talking real guys," reads VH1's tip sheet, "from wheat farmers to Wall Streeters, construction workers to computer techs, military men to coal miners."

No wonder the show's itinerary leads from Las Vegas to Phoenix; Santa Fe, N.M.; Amarillo, Texas; Oklahoma City; Springfield, Mo.; Little Rock, Ark.; Louisville, Ky.; Cincinnati; Pittsburgh; Philadelphia and New York City.

Las Vegas auditions will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday at Krave, 3663 Las Vegas Blvd. South (next to the Aladdin). Prospective pecs-flexers should bring photos and resumés, if available, but they're not required. Neither is previous experience -- "just the confidence to strut, the discipline to be part of a team and the desire to wow a crowd," to quote VH1 officials.