VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: This ‘Ocean’ sequel goes to 12

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 10:35 a.m.

"Ocean's 12" is a done deal, but it will be filmed primarily in Monte Carlo, not Las Vegas.

George Clooney and producer Jerry Weintraub are staying at the Hotel de Paris in Monaco's capital this weekend, where they are scouring the municipality to scout shooting locations. The original 1961 "Oceans's 11," starring Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and the rest of the Rat Pack, was filmed in Las Vegas, as was the 2001 remake, starring Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts and Andy Garcia.

All are expected to re-appear for the flick. Also returning are Weintraub and director Stephen Soderbergh.

"This is the first sequel in history that costs exactly the same as the first one. And since the scale is going to be even bigger, they're all going to have to take an even bigger pay cut than last time," Soderbergh recently told a British magazine.

Most of the film's stars are usually in the $20 million-per-picture range.

The plot will center on a theft featuring either the British crown jewels or a Vatican icon. Filming is scheduled to start in Rome in February.

Why is the franchise leaving Las Vegas? One possible reason is that Clooney recently bought a home in the Italian resort of Lake Como.

Riding in

Peter Fonda arrives in Las Vegas next week -- by plane, not motorcycle -- to introduce the DVD release of his 1971 directorial debut, "The Hired Hand."

The film, described by one reviewer as a "deliberately slow-moving, haunting feminist Western," was not widely distributed or well received when it first came out.

Fonda said that was because he was too firmly established in the public eye as his pot-smoking, motorcycle-riding Captain America character in 1969's "Easy Rider."

Fonda will be at the Brenden Theatres at the Palms on Tuesday for a screening of the restored film.

Family affair

Las Vegas resident Joe Jackson will not be in town this weekend. He'll be at the Neverland Ranch in California where his son, Michael Jackson, is tossing him a multimillion-dollar birthday party, according to Las Vegas sources who have received invitations.

The patriarch of the famous family turns 74 on Saturday.

The festivities start at 2 p.m. when invited guests ranging from Eizabeth Taylor to various Jackson siblings arrive. A strict "no cameras allowed" edict is in effect.

Then the petting zoo, amusement park and custom-built minitrain are available to the guests, as magicians, clowns and comedians stroll the expansive grounds.

At 6 p.m., the Gloved One offers a birthday toast to his father, and a sit-down dinner follows at 7 p.m. The cake cutting is scheduled for 8:30 p.m., and guests will be escorted out at 10 p.m. -- with a souvenir photo of the party.

City trip

Busy weekend in New York City coming up for Charo. She is taping a segment for Fox Entertainment today, and will perform live Saturday on the "Weekend Today" show.

She asks everyone to watch for her (she is scheduled to lead off the 8:30 a.m. segment) because she'll be making a "surprise announcement promoting the heck out of Las Vegas."

Smart set

A very tony Vegas crowd jammed into Tabu (MGM Grand) on Tuesday night for Andre Agassi's cocktail party to raise money for his College Preparatory Academy.

Joining Agassi: MGM MIRAGE exec Bill Hornbuckle, Perry Rogers, Todd Wilson, Chefs Kerry Simon and Michael Mina, VEGAS Magazine publisher Michael Carr, embattled Crazy Horse Too club owner Rick Rizzolo, Irwin Molaksy, new Golden Nugget owners Tom Breitling and Tim Poster, Jeffrey Fine, Lorenzo Fertitta, David Van Kalsbeek, Robert Murray and Kevin Higgins.

Stage presents

It's good to live in Las Vegas. There's something for everybody, sometimes all at once.

Where else can you choose from acts such as 50 Cent, The Dixie Chicks, Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Jay Mohr, George Carlin, Jackson Browne, Neil Young, Meat Loaf, Lucinda Williams, Cyndi Lauper, Aaron Carter, Connie Stevens, Liz Phair, Sean Paul, Billy Bob Thornton, Bobby Vinton, Michael McDonald, Loretta Lynn, Whitesnake and B.B. King -- all on the same weekend?

All those name brands are performing locally between tonight and Sunday. For details, see today's Accent section.

VegasBits

What a drag it is getting old: Mick Jagger turns 60 Saturday, as does Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, who turns 64.

Five-oh: Among the guests who attended the 50-year anniversary lunch that KLAS Channel 8 tossed for itself at Bellagio on Wednesday: Mary Hart, Deborah Norville, Ellen DeGeneres, Gov. Kenny Guinn and CBS News President Andrew Hayward ...

Shore leave: Several Pauly Shore sightings reported lately. He is in town to promote his film, "You'll Never Wiez in This Town Again," which was screened Wednesday at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival. The film follows the exploits of a former Hollywood hotshot ...

Cover boy: Wolfgang Puck is on the cover of the new edition of Wine Spectator. Inside are photos of Puck, Spago (Forum Shops at Caesars) Chef David Robins and Master Sommelier Luis DeSantos ...

Showtime? TV Guide this week, citing a Fox source, reports that "Malcolm in the Middle" will film its season premiere in Las Vegas ...

Shhh: Teller, the silent half of Penn & Teller, had dinner with three friends Wednesday night at Craftsteak (MGM) ...

Friends: As Luther Vandross continues to recover from his stroke, other artists are collaborating on a video for his latest single, "Dance With My Father." Celine Dion taped her contribution this week ...

So noted: VegasBeat dropped the name of KVVU Channel 5's 10 o'clock co-anchor Shelley Brunner from our local news item Wednesday. Only the name of her co-anchor, John Overall, found its way into print. No slight intended.

From Sun wires

Matt LeBlanc will star in a spinoff of the NBC comedy "Friends" that will wrap up a 10-year run with the 2003-04 season, NBC announced Thursday.

"Joey" will take over the 8 p.m. Thursday time slot held by "Friends." Details of the show were sketchy. Joey Tribbiani, now a soap star living in New York, may move to Los Angeles, an NBC spokesman said. The rest of the cast has yet to be determined.

Haggard song critical: A new Merle Haggard song that's critical of the media's coverage of the war in Iraq is garnering so much attention that it's being rushed to thousands of radio stations around the country, a spokesman for the country singer said Thursday.

The new song chides the media for focusing on celebrity news and the death of Laci Peterson and her unborn child while fighting continues in Iraq.