SHOOTING STARS: Hammer down for ‘Hammertime’

  Don’t look now, but it’s “Hammertime.” Really.
  Or, more precisely, reality.
  An upcoming A&E reality show starring rapper MC Hammer, pictured at right, hits Las Vegas this week to capture footage for the 11-episode series, which debuts this summer.
  This week’s shoot will include Palms locations ranging from the resort’s Fantasy Towers to Palms Place’s Rojo Lounge and Simon Restaurant and Lounge.
  But there also will be a more homey component to the footage — because Hammer’s mom lives in Southern Nevada, which is the reason for the visit, according to A&E publicity director Emily Spitale.
  Hammer, his wife, Stephanie, and their seven-member brood — ranging in age from 3 to 21 — are based in Oakland, Calif.
  The Wayne ingredient: Most of the world may know Wayne Newton as singer headliner, but the showroom veteran’s had a variety of big-screen roles, from a slimy televangelist in the 1989 James Bond adventure “License to Kill” to the demanding role of headliner Wayne Newton in 1997’s “Vegas Vacation.”
  On Tuesday, Newton’s playing acting coach to seven teen filmmakers shooting a short film as the finale of the CineVegas film festival’s five-week community outreach program, CineVegas Clubhouse.
  The three-day shoot includes locations at Green Valley’s The District (and CineVegas’ Green Valley office), plus two days in a studio at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
  Titled “Where Da Girls At,” the short features zombies and a lactose-intolerant devil. In other words, it’s a comedy, acknowledges Elise Luquette, CineVegas’ operations manager, who’s overseeing the CineVegas Clubhouse program.
  “We really pushed (participants) to use their imaginations,” she says.
  The short takes its title from the first question the seven male Boys & Girls Club members, ranging in age from 13 to 17, asked when they arrived for to start the five-week program.
  After sessions learning various aspects of filmmaking from industry pros — including James “JR” Reid of JR Lighting, Kelly Schwarze of ProWerks Media Group, “Jersey Boys” cast members Erich Bergen and Jeff Leibow and UNLV film department chair Francisco Menendez — they’re ready to shoot their 15-minute film, which will have a red-carpet premiere at June’s CineVegas festival.
  It’s the first time CineVegas has coordinated the project, which in previous years was organized by a Hollywood-based group.
  “We have a great film industry in Las Vegas,” Luquette comments. “There’s no reason not to use these resources.”
  Birthday boy: Plenty of people come to Las Vegas when they turn 21.  Few, however, have a professional documentary crew to capture the memories.
  One exception: the 21-year-old focus of the BBC documentary “Otto,” which follows the title character to Las Vegas this week.
  Otto, who has Down syndrome, “has always wanted to go to Las Vegas,” e-mails assistant producer Peter Beard. “He is a larger-than-life character so I think Las Vegas reflects his personality very well.”
  The Vegas visit is just one of the rites of passage to be featured during the documentary, along with Otto’s search for love, a job and “his place in the adult world,” the assistant producer explains.
  As for the Vegas visit, Otto “chose the destination,” Beard notes, “but we were very happy to be able to follow him to such a photogenic and visually stimulating city.”
  The hourlong documentary will air in July.
  Prescription for hard times: To help locals  cope with current economic challenges, Las Vegas’ PBS affiliate, KLVX-TV, Channel 10, has launched a new series, “Recession Rx,” that explores a variety of problems — and solutions.
  This week’s locations range from a Sahara Avenue clinic providing no- and low-cost vaccinations for kids to several multimillion-dollar homes in foreclosure.