SHOOTING STARS: Regis & Kelly go ‘Live’ (almost) from Las Vegas

  Technically, “Live! With Regis & Kelly” won’t be — live, that is. At least not when the syndicated talk show tapes two shows at the Wynn’s Encore Theater Sunday and two more a week from today, Nov. 23.
  After all, the syndicated program airs at 9 a.m. “in a lot of East Coast marks, so it would be a 6 a.m. show” if done live, points out executive producer Michael Gelman. And “no one feels like partying at 6 a.m.” (Clearly, he needs to visit Vegas more often; it’s the show’s first visit in nine years.)
  Las Vegas definitely has a starring role in the four “Regis & Kelly” episodes planned for Encore.
  For one thing, the theater is 10 times the size of the show’s 150-seat New York home, giving it “great energy and excitement to have that big crowd,” Gelman notes. And a special set will be “much more Vegas glitzy” than the usual stage, with a “clubby, Las Vegas feel” — and six cameras to capture the action.
  But “when you go on location, you don’t want to see the inside of a theater alone,” he comments. “We can do that in New York.”
  So the show will be doing a variety of on-the-town segments — from Ripa singing with the casts of “Le Reve” and “Love,” to “revisiting her marriage roots” at a local wedding chapel, Gelman notes.
  “As soon as we get off the plane, we’ll be working on taped pieces,” he explains. “We come in and call it guerrilla TV.”
  And although “when you go on the road it’s 10 times the work for the same amount of programming,” that increased workload pays off, according to Gelman — especially for audiences “who’ve been loyal fans.”
  Dream on: The German TV-movie “Das Traumschiff (The Dream Ship) — Honeymoon Las Vegas” sails on this week, expecting to wrap up a two-week Vegas visit Friday.
  Caesars Palace remains the primary location, but Siegfried and Roy’s Secret Garden at The Mirage also is on the schedule, according to line producer Gerd Zimmermann.
  The latest spinoff of a hit German TV show, “Das Traumschiff” previously visited Las Vegas about eight years ago, but by now, “80 percent” of the TV-movie “is shot on land,” he explains. “Each two-hour movie features an exotic, beautiful, wonderful location in the world,” Zimmermann says — along with a new couple, because “not the same people can get married in every episode.”
  In keeping with the wedding theme, the Las Vegas TV-movie includes a wedding scene featuring Elvis and Cher impersonators — played by Brad Pihlak and Heidi Thompson, respectively.
  Locals Stephen McClelland and Fletcher Sharp also have roles in the production, according to Julie Goldman of Goldman and Associates, who cast several speaking parts. (Jaki Baskow of Baskow and Associates also casting some roles, Goldman reports.)
  Short shoot: The dramatic short “Accused,” which began rolling last weekend, plans to complete production this weekend at a variety of Southern Nevada locations, from a Sandy Valley ranch to a downtown wedding chapel and a residence in the shadow of the Stratosphere.
  “Accused” focuses on a working-class woman who defies her family’s desire for revenge to save the life of her sister’s accused murderer, who may be innocent.
  The desert scenes provide an ideal backdrop for “this film’s theme of remote isolation as contrasted with the vitality of the Strip and Fremont Street areas,” explains screenwriter Chris Battle. Nevada Film Alliance founder Marko Sakren directs the short, which is destined for the film-festival circuit, Battle reports.
  Quick hits: This week, NBC’s “Jay Leno Show” spotlights recently arrived Monte Carlo headliner Frank Caliendo (pictured) in a comedy bit taped on the Strip last week; Wednesday’s the projected broadcast date.
  Speaking of taping last week, the rock group Foreigner spent three days on location in Southern Nevada — one at the Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, one at the El Dorado dry lake bed and one on the Strip — capturing footage for music videos to accompany two new songs, “Can’t Slow Down” and “When It Comes to Love.”
  Foreigner played a concert last week at the Primm arena, making Southern Nevada a logical spot to shoot the music videos, notes an L.A.-based production official.
  Done ‘Deal’: Thanksgiving approaches, and so does a break in the action at “Let’s Make a Deal,” which tapes four days this week at the Tropicana to make up for an upcoming holiday hiatus.
Two-a-day tapings are scheduled Thursday through Sunday, with audience call times set for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. After this week’s shows, “Let’s Make a Deal” resumes production the first week in December.
  Costumed contestants have a one in 18 chance of being chosen to wheel and deal with host Wayne Brady; tickets are free and available by telephone at (800) 706-8767, or online at www.cbs.com/daytime/lets_make_a_deal (click on “Online Ticketing”).
  ‘SuperNanny’ search: Casting officials for ABC’s “SuperNanny” are scheduled to visit Southern Nevada Dec. 6-16 to meet with potential candidates for the program’s fifth season, including traditional families, same-sex couples, teen moms, single parents and blended families.
  If you apply now, you’ll have a better shot at a home visit from a casting official when they’re in town next month. Application details are available by phone at (877) 626-6984 or online at http://abc.go.com/shows/supernanny/apply.