5-time Oscar nominee says Las Vegas studio effort ‘a no-brainer’

Annette Bening is not an avid Las Vegas visitor. But she has co-starred in a cult classic set in our neighborhood.

“I have worked in Las Vegas once, during the filming of ‘Mars Attacks!’” Bening said at Monday’s announcement of Mark Shunock’s Space 2.0 project on the corner of Polaris Drive and Harmon Avenue. “I ran across a field in the middle of the night with Jimmy Brown, Tom Jones and Danny DeVito. We were all staying at casinos and it was quite an experience.”

Tim Burton’s dark, 1996 sci-fi comedy culminates with the implosion of the Landmark Hotel (presented as the work of Martians, but actually executed by Lorraine Hunt-Bono hitting the plunger).

But Bening was back to build, in her role as chair of the Entertainment Community Fund’s first Las Vegas headquarters. The nonprofit was once known as The Actors Fund, and provides services and support to all levels of entertainment professionals.

After her speech on a temporary stage at the Polaris and Harmon dirt lot, I asked Bening about Las Vegas’ prognosis as a major film location.

“Every state, and of course every country, that gets a tax credit for production does extremely well,” said Bening, a five-time Oscar nominee for “The Grifters,” “American Beauty,” “Being Julia,” “The Kids Are Alright,” and “Nyad.” “It will bring in so much production, so much potential money and all the ancillary jobs that come with it. If you look at any state that has done that — Georgia, New York state is very active right now, New Mexico, Michigan. It’s a no brainer.”

Wednesday it was reported Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery are now partnering in a proposal at the Nevada Legislature to develop a 31-acre studio lot to Summerlin. The two corporations had planned to present competing plans before coalescing around Sony’s original proposal.

The partners’ legislation, Assembly Bill 238, was to be presented in the Assembly Revenue Committee on Thursday afternoon. The proposed studio could create nearly 18,000 jobs in the region.

These are the types of professionals the Entertainment Community Fund is set up to support.

“We all love to go to a great show, right? We love to go to the movies. We love a great TV show,” Bening said. “We love a great live performance, dancing, music, all the various shows you’ve got here in Vegas. The magic of it is, is that there’s a whole bunch of people that make that happen.”

ECF is among several “program residents” planned for the five-story, 80,000-square-foot fortress. Community Counseling Center, Public Education Foundation, Life By Music, Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, CORE, Powered by The Rogers Foundation and Shunock’s own Mondays Dark are also partners.

“For the people that work backstage, on stage, behind the camera, in front of the camera, there’s a tremendous amount of instability,” Bening said. “What we are trying to do is be the safety net.”

What’s in a name

Shunock said that finding a naming partner for Space 2.0 is part of the capital campaign’s fundraising strategy.

“I think we have to. There’s no reason we shouldn’t try, with 150,000 cars going by every day,” Shunock said after Monday’s event. “It would be, ‘The Space, Powered By’ … You tell me.”

The entire project has a $50 million price tag. About $48 million needs to be raised. The founding shareholders include Dana White and UFC, Nick Carter of Backstreet Boys, and comic-actor-MGM Grand comedy club proprietor Brad Garrett.

Groundbreaking by the end of the year, opening by the end of ’28 is the project’s tentative time horizon.

Calling to Wahlberg

Shunock and his wife, Cheryl Daro, and a group of Space staffers and project supporters toasted with a shot of Flecha Azul Tequila after the event. Shunock set the stage for a message to Mark Wahlberg, inviting the A-lister to support the project. Wahlberg is not a partner. At least, not yet. But give Shunock time.

The Ruvo Effect

Larry Ruvo joined Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft in addressing the crowd of Vegas entertainment, hospitality and elected officials. Ruvo said money is still being counted from Saturday’s Power of Love gala. But it’s in the tens of millions.

From the MGM Grand Garden Arena stage, his voice wavering, Ruvo announced a single, $10 million group donation. That effort included the Caesars Foundation and a group of powerhouse supporters.

In a sidebar chat before Monday’s event, Ruvo and Shunock talked of Las Vegas’ rich hospitality tradition. Ruvo says it all the time — the city was built on hospitality. Shunock has embraced that message, and The Space 2.0 is to serve that community. When he returned to the stage to give his remarks, Ruvo said, “He is a force of nature.”

Stallone’s rides

Sylvester Stallone was the star of a Lotus Emira auction item at Power of Love. In the end, two exotic cars were sold, during a wild bidding effort.

Originally a 2024 Lotus Emira went for $500,000. Ruvo called out that he could get a second car for that price. That made the full bid more than $1 million on a lot with a listed value of $102,780. Included in the package was a day with Stallone on the set of “Tulsa King.” Stallone partnered in the donation with Vegas Auto Gallery’s Nick Dossa, who was among the night’s high-RPM guests.

Cool Hang Alert

A man who gets Las Vegas and never gets cheated, Franky Perez is back at Rocks Lounge at Red Rock Resort at 8 p.m. Friday. Franky and the All Nighters bring the rock, style, showgirls and even some a cappella in the audience. Big show, no cover.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.