‘Witch’ visit ending

The race is on, but only for a few more days, as "Race to Witch Mountain" races to complete its 10-day Vegas location visit Thursday.

Planet Hollywood Resort serves as headquarters for the update of the 1975 Disney favorite "Escape to Witch Mountain."

The movie stars Dwayne Johnson (better known, during his wrestling days, as The Rock) in the role of a down-on-his-luck Vegas cabby whose two teen passengers (AnnaSophia Robb, Alexander Ludwig) are really aliens with telepathic and telekinetic powers.

"Witch Mountain" represents a reunion for Johnson and his "Game Plan" director, Andy Fickman, who turned out to be "a huge UFO nut and a massive fan of the original movie" and its 1978 sequel, notes producer Andrew Gunn.

Fickman, in turn, suggested "Game Plan" star Johnson for the "Witch Mountain" lead, Gunn explains, noting the "great humor" in casting "this 6-foot-4 guy stuck with two kids with amazing powers."

And while "Witch Mountain" may be leaving Las Vegas at the end of the week, Johnson's due to return to Neon Nirvana June 16 for a benefit screening of his latest, "Get Smart," at the upcoming CineVegas film festival.

"Supernanny" call: After working with a Las Vegas family last season, "Supernanny" Jo Frost can't wait to come back.

As a result, "Supernanny" casting officials will be at Meadows mall Saturday for an open call from noon to 4 p.m. in the mall's Sears court.

"Jo is dying to come here" for the ABC series' fifth season, says casting director Johnnie Raines. (Las Vegas is one of 20 cities on the show's spring casting tour.)

"We're looking for people who really want Jo Frost's help and are willing to invest and make a change" in their lives to do so, Raines explains.

Attending Saturday's open call eliminates a step in the casting process, but "people often are afraid to ask for help -- or embarrassed," Raines observes. So if you're too shy to attend the casting call in person, you can apply online at www.supernanny.us.com, or call the casting hot line at (877) 626-6984.

Musical notes: MTV cameras are expected to follow "Making the Band's" Danity Kane around town Friday and Saturday for "Making the Band 4: The Tour," in conjunction with the band's Friday night concert at the Palms.

And Japan's Girls Next Door, aka GND, are scheduled to shoot a music video at contrasting Southern Nevada locations: Las Vegas' neon boneyard and the Roach Dry Lake near Primm.

Quick hits: Other projects planning to shoot this week range from a pair of travel documentaries (one for a U.S. network, the other for German television) to "Girls, Gambling and God," a half-hour TV and Internet pilot combining documentary-style interviews and comedy bits.

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