SHOOTING STARS: Telethon winds down, ‘First Platoon’ gears up

It may be Labor Day, but there’s one guy who’s always working the crowd today: Jerry Lewis.

The 84-year-old Lewis is on duty as usual at this year’s MDA telethon, which is scheduled to keep rolling along until 5 this afternoon at the South Point. (Seats are free if you’d like to catch the show live and in person; you can also keep up by tuning in to KTNV-TV, Channel 13 or catching streaming video on www.mda.org.)

Since the telethon moved from New York in 1973, it’s originated from a variety of Vegas venues (including the Sahara, Caesars Palace and Cashman Field Center), with periodic shifts to Los Angeles, according to executive producer Gerald C. Weinberg, Muscular Dystrophy Association president.

While L.A. has TV studios, “here’s where the action and the glamour is,” Weinberg says of Las Vegas. “Here, we build the studio inside the exhibit hall.”

For the past five years, that exhibit hall’s been at the South Point — a venue Weinberg calls “magnificent,” in part because “all the sponsors and the talent love it.”

This year, as always, telethon producers strive to make the show unique, he says.

This year’s new set, for example, reflects “current trends in TV” with lights that change every minute. Special lighting effects help give it a contemporary look.

And while Lewis remains a telethon fixture, this year’s fundraiser also highlights two of the Strip’s newest shows: Barry Manilow at Paris Las Vegas (Manilow was scheduled to perform live) and Aria’s “Viva Elvis,” with a live performance of “Blue Suede Shoes” and a taped presentation of the Cirque du Soleil show’s finale, which Weinberg describes as “the way Vegas used to be, with the showgirls and everything.”

Other Strip headliners scheduled to participate during the 21-hour telethon include Terry Fator, Carrot Top and George Wallace.

Overall, the telethon is expected to attract 40 million U.S. viewers watching on more than 170 broadcast and cable stations.

As for how much those viewers will donate to the MDA cause, that’s always a question mark, Weinberg admits — especially considering the current economic climate.

And speaking of tough economic climates, he adds, “maybe our show will inspire people to come to Las Vegas.”

‘Platoon’ launch: No, it’s not a prequel to the Oscar-winning Vietnam war drama “Platoon.” For one thing, “First Platoon” takes place in a post-apocalypse Southwest. For another thing, it’s not a drama.

Instead, the title fighters battle zombies in a sci-fi comedy from Las Vegas-based First Earth Films, which begins a 70-day shoot Tuesday, according to producer Michela Angelini.

This first week of production will include background footage and shots for the movie’s trailer and DVD extras, she notes.

And cast member Dale Dye — the veteran military adviser whose on- and off-screen credits range from the first “Platoon” to “Band of Brothers,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Starship Troopers” — already has reported for duty. He’s currently preparing military-style desert training for fellow cast members Scott Gibson (“The Pacific”), Arron Shiver and Jennifer Skyler.

Malcolm McDowell, Sid Haig and John Kassir round out “First Platoon’s” starring cast.

Writer-director Chris Gabriel, meanwhile, previously teamed with First Earth for “S4,” an ultra-low-budget, 1950s-style sci-fi comedy. Also joining “First Platoon’s” roster: stunt coordinator Clint Lilley (TV’s “Crash”), whose made-in-Vegas credits include “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” and “3,000 Miles to Graceland,” and Rufus Hearn (“Babylon 5,” “Nip/Tuck” and the upcoming “Tron: Legacy”), who’s in charge of makeup and special effects.

Reality bites: History’s “Pawn Stars” takes a break this week, while the regulars from downtown’s Gold & Silver Pawn meet the press back in New York, reports Brent Montgomery, president of the show’s production company, Leftfield Pictures.

But another reality series should be joining the made-in-Vegas party soon: Oxygen’s “Bachelorette Party,” which is expected to begin shooting midmonth.

The series will focus on “the inner workings of a Las Vegas-based high-end VIP services company that makes every ‘last hurrah’ a memorable event,” according to Oxygen publicity. “Each week, viewers will be introduced to a couple (pre-bachelorette party), get to know the members of the bridal party and experience a full weekend of all-access Vegas fun — with cameras in tow.”

Short subjects: Local filmmaker Christopher Styles begins production this weekend on “Mystery of the Gunslinger,” a “film noir Western” inspired by a Stephen King tale.

The project will be shooting (primarily on weekends) for much of September at locations ranging from Bonnie Springs to Nipton and Nelson, explains Styles, who scripts and directs the “story within a story.”

He expects to complete post-production by the end of November — in time to submit the short to various film festivals.

A break in the action: Your humble correspondent is taking a brief break, which means Shooting Stars is too; tune in again when Shooting Stars returns Sept. 20.