VegasBeat — Timothy McDarrah: Vegas filmmaker gets just deserts

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 10:35 a.m.

Support your local filmmaker.

This weekend at Brenden Theatres (Palms), David Starr will screen "Tequila Express," an action thriller set in Mexico -- but filmed almost entirely in Las Vegas.

"A desert is a desert," Starr told us. He has been in the film business in Las Vegas for the last 27 years, and this is his biggest project yet.

The entertaining and fast-moving film stars Christopher Atkins ("Blue Lagoon"), Danny Wood (from the old boy band New Kids on the Block) and Tane McClure, who played Reese Witherspoon's mom in the "Legally Blonde" movies.

But most entertaining for Las Vegans who see the film is picking out all the recognizable locales. Scenes were shot at the club Seven, the Federal Courthouse downtown, Red Rock, Bonnie Springs, Nelson's Landing and elsewhere.

"I love Las Vegas," Starr said. "I love the scenery, I love the people here and I love how easy it still is to get things done, like film permits and permissions."

Also, he said, patrons of the Palms screenings will be eligible to win a walk-on part in his next movie. Details will be available at the theater, and Starr will chat with patrons and sign movie posters before the showings.

Film fest

As evidenced by the crush of TV cameras in Las Vegas this week, it remains a popular destination.

"I was at The Venetian this morning, in one of their marvelous penthouse suites, filming a segment for 'Best Damn Sports Show Period,' which airs from the Palms next week," Robin Leach told us Wednesday. "Right in the middle of it, a crew from 'Las Vegas,' James Caan's show, barges into the suite. It was network gridlock!"

But it didn't stop there, he told us.

"Then, I had lunch at Spago and filmed a segment there with Leanne Tweeden (co-host of 'Best Damn Sport Show'). I walked outside after lunch and ran into cameras from 'The Tonight Show' which were shooting material for their week here."

Jay Leno brings his show to Paris Las Vegas for a week starting May 10.

Then, Leach said, he was off to a meeting about getting his own show, "Penthouse Vegas," back on the air.

Pass the mustard

What may prove to be the hot new power lunch locale in Las Vegas reopens this afternoon.

Canter's Deli (Treasure Island) was briefly open earlier this year, but shut down for renovations and expansion. The original Canter's has been a Los Angeles landmark since 1931, and its Fairfax Avenue store has fed everyone from Groucho Marx to President John F. Kennedy to Frank Sinatra.

Cured meat scion Gary Canter was kind enough to show VegasBeat the sleek new $3 million TI space the other afternoon.

"My grandfather told me to make a sandwich how you want to eat it," Canter told us. Luckily for us, Grandpa Canter had a good appetite.

Everything, from the pastrami to the pickles, is made on the premises, and the half-pound sandwiches top out at a reasonable $8.95.

VegasBits

Actor: Taye Diggs ("How Stella Got Her Groove Back") checked into the Palms on Thursday ...

Adios: Mirage headliner Danny Gans and his manager, Chip Lightman, said they called it quits Thursday after 13 years together. The split seems to be amicable ...

Again: Las Vegas Assemblyman William C. Horne failed in his second attempt at the state bar exam. The results were posted on nvbar.org Thursday afternoon ...

Awed: Stephen Bogart (yes, son of) was regaling Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton, Gianna Buchanan and producer Johnathan Scott with tales of his dad at a Stirling Club dinner Wednesday to mark a new DVD release of "Casablanca" ...

Applaud: One of the genuinely nice guys involved in the local nightclub business, Light (Bellagio) veep Sean Christie, was feted at a well-attended 30th birthday bash at Caramel (Bellagio) on Wednesday night ...

Amazing: Bill Gates hosted a gathering for about 800 of his nearest and dearest in the broadcasting industry at ICE Las Vegas on Monday night, as part of the NAB convention ...

American: Wayne Newton did a special USO show Thursday night at the military base in Fort Hood, Texas, for the 4th Infantry Division and Task Force Iron Horse -- the outfit responsible for the December capture of Saddam Hussein. Also appearing in front of the returning troops and their families: Jessica Simpson, Ludacris, Drew Carey, Gary Sinise, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders ...

Attendees: More than 300 VIP guests attended the opening of Benedict's Garden Bistro & Terrace in Summerlin the other night. Local celebs such as Amazing Johnathan, Chrissie Scinta and Pete O'Donnell from the Scintas, Frank Marino, Cook E. Jarr, Monti Rock III and Tony Sacca were joined by actor Brad Dourif, currently starring in HBO's Western series, "Deadwood" ...

Amp: Future Golden Nugget headliner Lon Bronson is currently in the United Kingdom on a tour with David Cassidy ...

Another: The wait for the return of "Vegas Live! With Clint Holmes and Sheena Easton" will continue for at least another month. The restart date for the show has been pushed back to mid-June at the earliest. The deal to broadcast out of the Golden Nugget remains intact -- but building the broadcast facilities in the new room is going to take longer than anticipated ...

Adrien in town: Oscar winner Adrien Brody checked into the Palms late Thursday for some weekend relaxation. He had dinner with some old friends at N9NE, where he had an iceberg wedge salad and a New York sirloin, cooked medium ...

Amazing: ZZ Top closes its 35th anniversary tour at the Las Vegas Hilton on Sept. 25, it was announced Thursday. The band's original lineup of Billy F. Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard has been intact throughout the bearded band's entire run, quite an unusual distinction.

From Sun wires

Gere honored: Richard Gere has been honored by the American Museum of the Moving Image.

Louis Gossett Jr., his co-star in "An Officer and a Gentleman," recalled that his combat with Gere in the 1982 film left him with "a hairline fracture in the ribs."

"But we never had a cross word," Gossett added, the New York Daily News reported in Thursday's editions. "Debra Winger took care of that."