Columnist Kate Maddox: Reynolds to hit ‘Hollywood’

Kate Maddox

Sunday, April 16, 2000 | 10:44 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays. Reach her at kmaddox@lasvegassun.com.

Burt Reynolds is the leader of the pack in a new movie about some washed-up actors trying to revive their Hollywood careers. Reynolds stars with Tom Berenger and Rod Steiger in "The Hollywood Sign," and the trio will soon be on the Las Vegas Strip to shoot a few scenes.

The story, which for a couple of these guys doesn't appear to be entirely fictitious, revolves around the three has-beens trekking up to the famous Hollywood sign in L.A. to drink and reminisce about the good old days -- when they had plenty of good work and were at their physical peak. Strangely enough, the guys stumble upon a dead body up at the sign and -- you guessed it -- chaos ensues.

The comedy sounds like a mix of "Weekend at Bernie's," "Ghost" and "Thelma and Louise," with the characters, instead of coming clean about the body, devising a crazy scheme to use it to break back into showbiz and revive their flagging careers. The action takes the crew, possibly with the body, to Las Vegas.

Look for Reynolds, Steiger and Berenger in town at the end of the month and into the first week of May.

"Access Hollywood" was in town over the weekend to follow impressionist Andre-Philippe Gagnon around on his daily routine. The entertainment show spent some time on the links with Gagnon, who performs at the Venetian's C2K, and who is apparently an avid golfer -- as is his manager's wife, Celine Dion. The feature segment on the Canadian performer is scheduled to air sometime this week.

John D. Guzman, the notorious club promoter who formerly worked with Ra at the Luxor and the Venetian's C2K, has reportedly signed a deal to spice up the nightlife at the Club Rio.

Guzman, who manages nightclub special events in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Chicago, landed in Vegas almost two years ago and inked a lucrative deal with C2K to bring his outlandish (and risque) Naked Hollywood night to the sprawling dance club. Guzman's club nights frequently include barely-clad cage dancers, thumping music and a variety of cutting-edge side shows. Rumors surrounding his split from C2K had management a little concerned about the "creative content" of the shows.

Guzman, who is unattached and in his mid-20s, was in talks with both the MGM Grand's Studio 54 and the Rio's Club Rio (which is in their Copacabana Showroom -- minus the tables). Although official contracts have yet to be signed, the buzz has Naked Hollywood night kicking off at Club Rio on May 5.

Good things keep happening for impressionist Danny Gans. Not only did he snag a little feature in Time magazine this week as a person to watch, but his show is still selling out nightly. If Gans keeps this up he could very well earn the astronomical $150 million cachet that Time projects he'll make under his 10-year contract. (Gans signed a six-year deal with the Mirage with two two-year options to extend.)

But for Gans, the show has never been about the money, and his camp is not even sure how Time came up with its figure. The popular performer is just happy to have found a new home at the Mirage where he can entertain his loyal fans, many of whom can't even get a ticket on stand-by these days.

Last week Gans donated $50,000 from the proceeds of his April 1 opening night to the Inner-City Games.