SHOOTING STARS: ‘Hangover’ hangs around; ‘Kites’ flies high

  Hey, the movie’s titled “The Hangover.” So how could it not shoot in Las Vegas?
  Somehow, “it doesn’t seem right” not to set “The Hangover” in Glitter City, reasons Todd Phillips — writer, producer and director of the big-screen comedy, which goes into its first full week of production on location in where-else-but-Vegas.
  But Hollywood’s got some company on location this week — from Bollywood — as the Indian feature “Kites” continues filming in and around town. More on “Kites” momentarily.
  But first, back to “The Hangover,” which focuses on three buddies (Bradley Cooper, at right, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis) who party so hard at their best friend’s Caesars Palace bachelor bash that they lose the groom (Justin Bartha) 40 hours before the wedding.
  “Comedy plays best when set against reality,” observes Phillips, “and Vegas is a tough town to replicate.”
  Besides, “actually being here adds an authenticity to the film that really helps the actors, the crew and hopefully the audience go on this journey together,” he comments.
  Phillips joins Jon Lucas, Scott Moore and Jeremy Garelick as screenwriters on the Warner Bros. release; Dan Goldberg joins Phillips as producer of the feature, which is scheduled to hit theaters next June. (After all, what would summer be without a what-happens-in-Vegas comedy?)
  I f you’re interested in working as an extra on “The Hangover” before they hang it up in early October, you can still sign up at www.davidanthonycasting.com.
  Bollywood West: Longtime local boosters of location work are fond of calling Las Vegas as “Hollywood East.”
  This week, however, Las Vegas stakes a claim to a new title — “Bollywood West” — during production of “Kites.” The romantic drama, which continues shooting through the first week of October, will visit locations from the Strip to the Valley of Fire.
  But Southern Nevada’s not the only thing the movie showcases.
  There’s Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, at right, who stars in the romantic drama alongside Mexico’s Barbara Mori.
  And the Latin accent is no accident, according to line producer Prashant Shah.
  That’s because, “for the first time, Bollywood is integrating with the ‘Spanglish’ market,” explains Shah, who notes that “Kites” will be a trilingual movie, with 40 percent English dialogue and the remaining 60 percent split between Hindi and Spanish.
  “Kites” features Roshan as a high-flying Las Vegas scam artist who falls for a Mexican dancer (Mori), but also romances Bollywood bombshell Kangana Ranaut.
  Before coming to Las Vegas, the movie filmed in New Mexico, which doubled as old Mexico.
  “We had three choices — either to shoot in Atlantic City, or to shoot in the Hong Kong casinos, or Las Vegas,” Shah explains. In addition to Las Vegas’ proximity to New Mexico, however, “Las Vegas has things no other city has,” he points out, citing “the lights and casinos and the grandness to it.”
  Reality bites: She may have been eliminated on the third episode of VH1’s “Rock of Love 2,” but Angelique Morgan returns to the reality spotlight this week for “TV Made Me Do It,” a documentary-style show on Canada’s TVTropolis channel.
  In a half-hour episode devoted to reality TV, Morgan (whose claims to fame also include exotic dancer and adult film star) will be one focus, explains production coordinator Patricia Bourgeouis. Expected locations during the two-day shoot include The Venetian’s Tao and the off-Strip Sapphire.