SHOOTING STARS: Las Vegas goes country with ACM Awards

  It’s the lucky seventh time around in Las Vegas for the 44th annual Academy of Country Music’s awards show, which goes live Sunday on CBS from the MGM Grand Garden.
   It’s live to the East Coast and Midwest, that is; as always, Westerners have to catch the show on tape-delay.
  Not that the show’s Nashville-based performers pay much attention to the time, notes executive producer Richard A. “RAC” Clark.
  “When people get inside the arena — day, night — it’s all about the event,” Clark says.
  Unless, of course, it’s time to rehearse.
  “A lot of people try to arrange their schedule” so they can catch some Vegas acts while they’re here, he adds.
  Blame it on Las Vegas’ never-ending allure.
  “Nashville gets excited to get out of Nashville,” especially when performers have the chance to gather “under one roof,” he explains.  “You’ll see them at the tables, at dinner — it’s the party before the party.”
  And the party’s been in progress all week, with preparations already under way; rehearsals start Thursday and continue through Saturday.
   Reba McEntire, at right, (who’s introducing her new single on the show) returns as host; Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Tim McGraw, Heidi Newfield, Rascal Flatts, Sugarland and Taylor Swift also are scheduled to perform.
  And while the show changes every year, there’s always at least one constant: a concerted effort to top the previous year’s production highlights.
   “It is bigger than life,” Clark says. “Kind of like Vegas.”
  Once Sunday’s telecast ends, the production team starts working on a second show: an all-star concert honoring ACM “Artist of the Decade” winner George Strait, which tapes at the arena Monday, April 6 — one day following the ACM Awards. (Tune in to next week’s edition of Shooting Stars for the straight story on the Strait salute.)
  Chef chase: The Food Network cooks up a new reality show, “Chefs vs. City,” which visits Las Vegas this week, pitting network celebrity chefs against local food mavens in “Amazing Race”-style challenges that will take them to Bellagio, The Mirage, MGM Grand and The Signature, the MGM’s gated, all-suite luxury enclave.
  Invasion USA: The Miss USA Pageant at Planet Hollywood doesn’t happen until April 19, but contestants hit town this week for pageant preliminaries — including a heaping helping of on-the-town experiences.
  In addition to the Fremont Street Experience’s Viva Vision canopy light show, locations range from the host hotel, Planet Hollywood, to the Caesars Palace fountains, the Treasure Island pirate ships and the revamped Mirage volcano.
  Movin’ out: As the star of the Broadway show “Movin’ Out,” Michael Cavanagh sang Billy Joel’s songs.
  This week, however, he’s singing his own tunes — three of them — while filming music-video footage around town.
  The video will shoot at  East Lake Mead Boulevard (near Sunrise Mountain) and the back of the iconic “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign (the side that reads “Drive Carefully” and “Come Back Soon”), because Cavanagh’s driving south on Las Vegas Boulevard, heading out of town, explains Neill Miller of the Las Vegas-based PM Digital Group, which is producing the video.
  Mix it up: The 48 Hour Film Project returns to Las Vegas April 17-19, during which filmmaking teams will compete to write, shoot and edit the best short film. More than 30 local teams already have signed up to compete.
  But the fifth annual project’s fifth annual mixer will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Palms Place’s Simon Restaurant & Lounge, enabling local filmmakers — and film lovers — to find out more about the upcoming competition.
  Teams that register by Tuesday will receive a copy of Movie Magic Scriptwriter software; at press time, 37 teams already have registered, reports Las Vegas coordinator Angela Abshier. (She expects 48 by the time the competition starts.)
  Screenings of the Las Vegas films will take place at the Palms’ Brenden Theatres April 22 and 23; this year’s Las Vegas winner will go to Frances’ Cannes film festival with other 48 Hour Film Project winners from around the world.
  To RSVP for Tuesday’s mixer, e-mail abshier@gmail.com or lasvegas@48hourfilm.com; more information is available at www.48hourfilm.com.