Columnist Kate Maddox: Saying ‘nice to meet you’ — and ‘I Do’

Kate Maddox

Sunday, Jan. 30, 2000 | 9:59 a.m.

Kate Maddox's column appears Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays, only in the Las Vegas Sun. Reach her at kmaddox@vegas.com.

On Tuesday two complete strangers from Germany will meet for the first time at the Venetian and get married. The couple were set up by a German radio station -- are we paying attention here? -- and the altar will be the first place the two will set eyes on each other.

I think someone needs to say this out loud: Has the world's romantic desperation reduced the population to relying on disc jockeys and television shows to find soulmates? Or, who knows, maybe the most romantic thing these days is to meet and marry a stranger in a 24-hour time slot ... just put your hopes in Cupid Hans and Cupid Franz from German radio and trust that they're looking out for your best interests and not their own ratings.

Either way you look at it, the brave couple have committed to going through with it. The two will fly over from Germay on separate flights on Monday, stay in different rooms on different floors of the hotel and have absolutely no contact until the final moment when they take their vows.

In pure game show fashion -- which, in case that rock you're living under doesn't get good reception, is all the rage -- the radio station, Germany's "94.3 der Supermix," narrowed down the two finalists from an applicant pool of approximately 500 willing participants.

After a "careful screening process," which apparently involved polygraph tests and personality profiles, the DJs picked the lucky pair. And, like most game show winners, an all-expense paid trip -- this one to the wedding capital of the world -- is part of the reward. Also included in the package is hair and make-up for the bride, courtesy of Canyon Ranch at the Venetian, and a romantic post-nuptial get-to-know-your-new-spouse dinner at Lutece, the hotel's newest fine-dining restaurant.

This whole "marry a stranger" thing might be catching on. In addition to the upcoming Fox special, "Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire" -- which will pair a lucky lady with a wealthy, albeit desperate, stranger/tycoon -- lonesome celebrities are getting in on the no-hassle mate search.

Tom Arnold, the former husband of comedianne Roseanne, is on the prowl for wife No. 3 and using the Internet as a matchmaker. Arnold, who is in the process of getting a divorce from No. 2, has set up his own search site at www.marrytom.com. Subtle.

Potential candidates must fill out a detailed "application," send a photo and write an essay specifying why they feel they would be the perfect Mrs. Arnold III.

The "Oceans Eleven" remake is shaping up to be one of the hottest films in pre-production. George Clooney has already signed on to play the Frank Sinatra role, and hot reports out of Hollywood have Brad Pitt slated to co-star.

Pitt has reportedly decided to play the Dean Martin character and the script is being revised to "beef up" the role in order to make it more of a star vehicle for the popular actor -- whose last couple of films have not been box-office blockbusters.

Other stars interested in starring in the movie include Mike Myers, Julia Roberts, Johnny Depp and indie-movie faves Luke and Owen Wilson. The A-list names attached to the project have been increasing by the week -- and who wouldn't want to be involved in a Rat Pack resurgence?

Clooney, Pitt and the others slated for the film are even willing to take significant pay cuts in order to be in the movie. The production has a firm budget of $15 million, which would not even come close to covering what these high-profile stars usually make per film. Roberts reportedly commands up to $20 million a picture in salary alone.

Also reflecting the Rat Pack popularity, a bio-pic entitled "Dino" is in the works for Warner Bros. The film will reportedly depict the life and times of Sinatra pal Dean Martin.

Martin Scorsese will be at the helm of the project and Tom Hanks, who has done a dead-on impression of Martin in the past on "Saturday Night Live," is slated to star.