SHOOTING STARS: Elvis lives — in European TV documentary

Elvis may have left the planet in 1977, but he has never left the building — at least where Las Vegas is concerned.

That’s the theme of a TV documentary, destined for the French-German culture channel Arte, that hits Glitter City this week.

Titled “Elvis in Las Vegas,” half of the 90-minute documentary’s running time will feature extensive excerpts from Cirque du Soleil’s “Viva Elvis” show, now rocking CityCenter’s Aria, plus interviews with cast members.

In addition to “Viva Elvis,” however, the special focuses on Presley’s real-life Las Vegas career — including the more than 800 shows he performed at the International (which became the Las Vegas Hilton) to more than two million fans.

Stock footage of those shows — and from the bright light city where Presley performed in the 1950s and ’60s — also will be shown in the documentary, along with background footage of the Strip.

The production will focus “on the many ways Elvis is present in the city even now,” from Elvis-themed wedding chapels to Flying Elvi skydivers and Presley memorabilia at the Hard Rock Hotel, according to the show’s synopsis.

Interviews with music specialists, companions, experts in fashion and design, and historians will explore Elvis’ influence on Las Vegas — and vice versa.

“Elvis Presley’s image in Las Vegas is the image that is the most present in everyone’s memory worldwide,” e-mails Catharina Kleber, assistant to director Hannes Rossacher. After all, “he was at the height of his musical and artistic potential when he started performing there in 1969.”

And this is hardly the first time Vienna-based director Rossacher has explored Elvis’ legacy; his credits include French television’s 2007 “Elvis-O-Rama,” along with other music-oriented shows focusing on everything from Mozart to U2. Location ace Kim Houser-Amaral of Las Vegas-based 24/7 Production Services coordinated shooting sites.

“Elvis in Vegas” will be the main event during Arte’s 24-hour Elvis-thon, which also includes archive footage, movies and legendary concerts.

The Huck stops here: Politician-turned-pundit Mike Huckabee brings his Fox News show — daringly titled “Huckabee” — to town Thursday.

Perhaps inevitably, the former Republican presidential candidate will tape his Fox talker at The Venetian, which is owned by major GOP contributor Sheldon Adelson.

According to “Huckabee’s” Fox News Internet site, guests for the show will include Strip headliners Terry Fator and Frank Caliendo. The taped-in-Vegas program will air Saturday and Sunday. To request tickets, call (877) 225-8587 or e-mail hucktix@foxnews.com.
Huckabee’s show included a few on-the-road episodes last year; and, as we all know, all roads eventually lead to Las Vegas.

Topical treat: On the Strip, the word “book” relates to a bet at least as often as it refers to reading material.
But the British television project “Book by Book” definitely plans to focus on food for thought during its Friday shoot on the Strip.

“Book by Book” is “a series of scripted spots for use on TV channels to fill the gaps between slightly short programs,” explains Stephen Montgomery of the production company Vivid Broadcast Ltd.

“The topics cover everyday issues and give people a thing or two to think about,” Montgomery e-mails. “Some fairly serious and some fairly funny!”

We’ll leave it to you to determine which is which when you learn the topics being considered in Las Vegas: money, fame and pornography.

As for the question “Why Las Vegas?” Montgomery has a ready answer: “I’ve never been to the U.S. (other than a transfer trip on the way to shoot in Haiti). So when you go to the West Coast, where else do you film? We will do L.A. and we will do Las Vegas. Who says you can’t be a tourist while you work?”

Reality check: Las Vegas’ ongoing roster of reality TV shows is slowly shrinking. It’s all over but the pick-up shots for Holly Madison’s eight-episode “Holly’s World,” which debuts June 13 on E! But History’s “Pawn Stars” and A&E’s “Criss Angel Mindfreak” continue in production, along with truTV’s “Rehab: Party at the Hard Rock Pool.”

Also expected in town this week: Discovery’s “Cash Cab,” shooting promotional segments for next month’s Daytime Emmy Awards (happening at the Las Vegas Hilton) and the Swedish quiz show “Brain Train.”