Las Vegas Weekly

June 16, 2009 · 11:54 AM

Photo Gallery: Successful 2009 CineVegas Film Festival comes to a close

By Robin Leach

Tony Hawk at Rain in the Palms.

Photo: Getty Images/CineVegas

With the CineVegas Awards behind them, it was time for the stars to celebrate their closing party. The presentations were made at Rain in the Palms, with Access Hollywood personality and actress Maria Menounos as emcee and actor Dennis Hopper and professional skateboarder Tony Hawk helping to hand out the awards to honorees Jon Voight and Willem Dafoe.

Afterward, they joined about 60 CineVegas Film Festival officials for dinner at Nove Italiano in the Palms Fantasy Tower. They dined on the terrace getting an incredible view of the Strip by night. After the meal, Jon, Willem and Tony hit The Playboy Club one floor above for a late nightcap.

Also partying in the Palms were Grammy nominated comedienne Lisa Lampanelli at N9NE Steakhouse and dynamic deejays Donald Glaude, Scooter & LaVelle and Miss Lisa celebrating DJ Scotty Boy’s birthday in Moon.

I asked Trevor Groth, CineVegas’ artistic director, to sum up the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival: “The shortened six days worked fabulously, and because we weren’t doing as many events -- we didn’t have time -- it allowed us to really focus on the events that we are doing and really give them the polish that they needed so that they flowed well and really enhanced the experience for everyone. And also the crowds in the theaters, we had to stack three movies all day long in the Brenden Theatres in the Palms. I didn’t know if that would dilute the audience, but they have all been full to sold-out. Our attendance is way up per screen attendance.

Photo: Denise Truscello

Maria Menounos and Trevor Groth host the 2009 CineVegas Film Festival Filmmaker and Honoree Awards at the Palms.

“It’s great, the city has fully embraced what CineVegas is, and that it’s something for them, it’s something to be proud of and excited about. We’re going to do a wrap meeting the next couple of weeks and break the whole festival down and figure out what worked and what didn’t and then start planning CineVegas 12. I think that it’s been a test run with the shortened dates, but that’s one thing I know worked.

“I also know we will do more of moving around Las Vegas. The two events that we did, the opening night at The Peepshow Theater at Plant Hollywood and the Yellow Submarine screening at Mandalay Beach, are two of the best events I’ve ever been to, not just in CineVegas, in any film festival I’ve ever been to. I loved them. They’re such electricity in the air. We are thrilled to be here at the Palms in Brenden Theatres, it’s the best home base anyone could ever have for a film festival. We’re looking at all of the great resources Vegas has to offer.”

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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