‘NASCAR Angels’ takes wing in Vegas

Ladies and gentlemen, start your cameras. NASCAR weekend approaches, with coverage extending far beyond Saturday's Sam's Town 300 and Sunday's UAW-Dodge 400 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The syndicated "NASCAR Angels," for example, will shoot two episodes here.

One focuses on a stay-at-home mother of five whose Chevy Malibu will get a needed overhaul. And 65 teachers and staff members from Las Vegas' Roundy Elementary School will receive new tires, oil changes and other services at a local tire store.

Also at Roundy, Henderson-based driver Jim Petrie -- and the Super Late Model Chevy Impala he races at the Bullring-- will visit as part of the fifth-grade reading incentive program "Race to Success," sponsored by Petrie's H-Town Racing Team.

KVVU-TV, Channel 5, meanwhile, will present a live telecast of its "Speedway Saturday Night" from the Speedway and Sam's Town.

Strictly ballroom: He's not quite ready to go "Dancing With the Stars." Yet.

But Penn Jillette's feet are flying all the same. As the Rio headliner and his partner, Kym Johnson, rehearse at a local dance studio -- four hours a day, five days a week -- cameras capture every move for broadcast when the ABC hit returns March 17.

Have a HEART: DreamVision Studios welcomes fledgling filmmakers as Hollywood HEART (Hope, Education, Arts, Recreation, Teamwork) returns for a fourth year, helping Boys and Girls Club members create a short film that will premiere at June's CineVegas film festival.

Starting today, eight to 10 teens will spend four days experiencing the filmmaking process from script to screen, collaborating with local and visiting industry professionals and attending a variety of workshops.

This year's program, because it's at a working studio, will "feel much more like a real Hollywood experience," notes Hollywood HEART executive director Lisa Cavanaugh.

A break in the action: After a busy start to a two-week location visit, the big-screen finale to the Japanese TV drama "Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers)" is taking a brief break. Production is scheduled to resume Wednesday and continue through Saturday.

During the shoot's first week, locations ranged from The Orleans (where dozens of fans turned out to watch) to New York-New York and Bellagio exteriors and the Valley of Fire.

Casting about: Vegas Background is casting an infomercial, scheduled to shoot in late March, promoting jeans designed to enhance the wearer's rear view. If you're female, between 18 and 50 and interested, information is available online at www.vegasbackground; click on "Casting Calls" for details.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or e-mail her at ccling@reviewjournal.com.