SHOOTING STARS: Style’s ‘Giuliana & Bill’ return for a second Vegas visit

  There’s real reality — and then there’s TV reality.
  For example, the Style cable network’s “Giuliana & Bill” began its second-season run Jan. 3.
  But “we’re 99 percent done” shooting this season’s episodes already, according to executive producer Carmen Mitcho.
  The show follows Giuliana and Bill Rancic — she’s a Los Angeles-based E! News correspondent, he’s a Chicago-based entrepreneur and motivational speaker who won the first season of NBC’s “The Apprentice.”
  And wherever they go, cameras follow.
  That includes this Saturday at the Hilton, where Rancic launches “Take Control of Your Life,” a cross-country speaking tour that also features Chris Gardner (whose life inspired the Will Smith movie “The Pursuit of Happyness”) and “Ghost Whisperer” creator James Van Praagh. Hosting the evening: Gina Rancic.
  Bill’s involvement in “putting together this speaking event is a story we’ve followed throughout this second season,” Mitcho says. And the Las Vegas visit “is a culmination of that.”
  This weekend’s visit is the second time “Giuliana & Bill” has visited Las Vegas. (The series shot at the Palazzo last year.) And that’s just fine with Mitcho.
  “We love shooting in Vegas,” he comments. “Not only is it glamorous and really fascinating” to viewers, “it’s very production-friendly.”
  By which he means that “Vegas opens their arms to productions," he says. “It’s the kind of city that understands the value of promoting itself” on camera, unlike “other cities (that) are not as welcoming.”
  Although Saturday’s Hilton event is the focus of the “Giuliana & Bill” visit, “we may follow them to dinner, a night out, spa treatments” or other destinations, Mitcho explains. “We’re mostly interested in moments” — moments that will turn up during the show’s second-season finale, scheduled to air in early March.
  Tumblin’ tears: It’s Las Vegas, so tumbling dice are a familiar sight. But “Tumblin’ Tears”?
  That’s the title of a music video for the fourth single from One More Girl — alias singing sisters Carly and Britt McKillip, whose debut country album, “Big Sky,” was released in October on the EMI Canada label.
   One More Girl is (are?) scheduled to hit the Strip, the Fremont Street Experience, the desert and points in between during Tuesday’s shoot.
  “We’re doing super-cliched Vegas stuff,” acknowledges Jason Sakowski, the teen duo’s Nashville-based manager, who cites old motels and the neon boneyard as other possible locations.
  When choosing where to shoot the video, “it was either Vegas or Phoenix,” he says — and Las Vegas won out, in part, because of its “vibe.”
  The Strip’s visual variety — particularly its around-the-world-in-a-block architecture — offers a “visually stimulating backdrop,” Sakowski explains. And the song’s “out on the highway” quality also meshes well with Las Vegas.
  As for emoting before the camera, the McKillip sisters are veterans; they’ve both been acting for years, with continuing roles in such series as “Dead Like Me” (Britt) and “Life As We Know It” (Carly).
  The “Tumblin’ Tears” video is expected to debut on CMT in early February.
  “Deal” details: Another week, another round of “Let’s Make a Deal,” which returns to tape hourlong shows at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday at the Tropicana Pavilion.
  Before settling at the Trop, production officials contacted “a lot of casinos” searching for a suitable home, according to executive producer Mike Richards. But “we have a specific necessity for space.”
  And the Trop proved the “perfect place for us,” he says, in part because there’s plenty of room for the stage, the show’s production offices — and all the prizes, many of which are new cars.
  Besides, “they did make us a great deal,” Richards adds. (With the show in question being “Let’s Make a Deal,” how could they not?)
  If you’d like to join the wheeling and dealing (and you’re at least 18 years old), you can request free tickets by calling the Trop at (888) 706-8767 or going online to www.cbs.com/daytime/lets_make_a_deal/tickets/.
  Coming attraction: Cable’s Animal Planet is scheduled to slither into town next week for production on a two-hour special with the working title “Snakes in Vegas.” (We presume they mean the actual reptiles, not the human ones.) As always, stay tuned to Shooting Stars for more details.