VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: War fallout not yet on the Strip radar

Wednesday, March 19, 2003 | 9:20 a.m.

Will the two Strip entertainers who have a perceived strong association with France -- Celine and Andre-Philippe Gagnon -- suffer any backlash because of the nation's anti-France sentiment?

Probably not.

And what would the trickle-down effect of the threatened military conflict in Iraq mean to all the other entertainers in Las Vegas?

Nobody knows, yet. But everyone is getting ready for something, just in case.

VegasBeat abhors war on every level, for any reason. Unfortunately, it looms large these days.

And, while both Celine and Gagnon are actually Canadian, they both speak French, and well, perception often trumps reality. A French-Canadian from Montreal is the same as a native Parisian in the eyes of some.

"Hopefully, events will not have an effect on any of our shows," Celine spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne of Dragone Productions said.

As far as Celine's heritage affecting anything, Dunne said: "It is not an issue."

Gagnon said: "I wish I could do a good impression of Saddam Hussein or President Bush and I would solve this thing. In Saddam's voice I would call my lieutenants and family and tell them that I'm leaving the country."

Park Place spokesman Mike Coldwell said that Caesars and the other Park Place properties would adjust entertainment plans if and when it became necessary.

The wait-and-see attitude was prevalent all along the Strip.

"Obviously we're busy in terms of security," MGM MIRAGE veep Alan Feldman told VegasBeat.

"But in terms of everything else, from adjusting restaurant hours to show schedules, we're proceeding as we normally do. There is nothing to do yet, and there really won't be until world conditions dictate otherwise."

MGM MIRAGE acts include everything from Danny Gans to "La Femme."

"It is difficult to say what may happen," Rob Powers of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority said.

"We hope to respond to events in a way that will help minimize the impact on our industries," such as focusing on more "drive-in" markets such as Southern Californa and Phoenix.

"Las Vegas has become the quintessential escape destination, which will be a huge advantage for us when people are ready to travel again after a war," Powers said.

Ozzy who?

Apparently, there are some people left in this world who do not recognize Ozzy Osbourne.

The king of overexposure showed up unannounced at the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum at The Venetian on Saturday (he was also staying at the hotel).

The fabled Prince of Darkness asked for free admission for his entourage.

The museum staffer said no, and called over a security guard when Ozzy started to loudly mumble and wave his arms.

The guard immediately recognized the veteran rock 'n' roll performer and MTV star, and told the staffer that it was OK to comp the multimillionaire.

Oz spent about half an hour perusing the Art Through the Ages exhibit.

Her Highness

HRH Princess Michael of Kent saw Siegfried & Roy's popular Mirage show on Monday night. Afterward she spent more than an hour having a serious conversation with them about their mutual interest in animal conservation issues.

She was so impressed with their long-standing efforts in that area that she made plans to return to Vegas later in the year and discuss animal-related projects that they can work on together.

Diva news

In other Celine news, and goodness knows there is a lot of it these days, ads for "A New Day" have started to appear in US Weekly and other national entertainment publications.

The special Celine ticket hotline number, 877-4Celine, is prominently featured.

Diva Las Vegas also appears in Jim Mullen's popular Hot Sheet cultural barometer column in Entertainment Weekly.

Separately, Celine tickets are now all over eBay, the online auction site.

Two orchestra seats for the April 5 performance were going for $710 late Tuesday.

A new copy of her 2000 book "Celine Dion: My Story, My Dream" was selling for $2.95 on eBay.

Barnes & Noble had it for $4.99. It originally sold for $25.

Finally, it turns out that Steve Wayne, the man who does the Celine impression in "An Evening at La Cage" -- the long-running camp drag revue at the Riviera -- is also a local schoolteacher.

Wayne, who has a bachelor's degree and is now getting a master's in early childhood education, teaches kindergarten at a Las Vegas private school.

He also does a dead-on Cher number in the show, which stars Frank Marino as Joan Rivers.

Film flam

Nevada theater owners are banding together to fight Gov. Kenny Guinn's move to levy a 7.25-percent tax on movie admissions.

Starting this week, nearly every theater in Las Vegas and elsewhere in the state will have anti-tax postcards available for patrons to send to their state legislators. Trailers will play before each movie to tell moviegoers about the tax plan and posters will repeat the message in lobbies.

"Why increase taxes on hard-working families looking for affordable entertainment?" Milt Moritz, president of the National Theatre Owners of California and Nevada, told the Associated Press last week.

Moritz said it's unfair for Nevada legislators to tax the last form of entertainment that is not too expensive for average people, while not considering similar taxes on high-priced entertainment such as golf and skiing.

"Is having a teacher in a classroom to teach my children worth 60 cents a ticket?" countered Marybel Batjer, Guinn's chief of staff.

From Sun wires

"The Sopranos" isn't whacked after all.

Eleven days after a legal showdown pitted HBO against its top star, James Gandolfini has dropped a lawsuit seeking to exit the mob hit. HBO is expected to shelve a $100 million countersuit for damages. And the series is slated to begin production on a fifth season March 31, just a week behind schedule.

Unlike the cast of "Friends," which held out for bigger paychecks in previous new-contract talks, Gandolfini remains bound by a six-year deal that extends through 2004 and paid him $3.6 million last season. That deal guaranteed him a 10 percent raise this year.

Rolling it up: The Academy Awards ceremony will go on but organizers Tuesday canceled the splashy red carpet arrivals for celebrities because of the looming threat of war with Iraq.

Gil Cates, producer of Sunday's Oscar telecast, said many celebrities had asked to use a back entrance away from the barrage of photographers and interviewers.

"I think you'd all agree it would be very inappropriate to have 500 fans yelling and screaming 'Julia' or 'Tom,' " Cates told reporters.

The Oscar ceremony, from host Steve Martin's monologue to the celebrity presentations and film clip montages, are also being changed to reflect the nation's mood.

TV land: An estimated 73.3 million television viewers in the United States watched President Bush deliver his speech telling Saddam Hussein to leave in 48 hours or face war, Nielsen Media Research said Tuesday.

That compares to the 55.8 million people who watched a Bush news conference on March 6 and the 62 million who watched the president's State of the Union address in January, Nielsen said.

archive