Las Vegas Weekly

September 15, 2009 · 6:33 AM

Does new Tom Hanks film signal Barry Manilow exit from Hilton?

By Robin Leach

Barry Manilow at the Clio Awards.

Photo: Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

When the entertainment bible of showbiz reports a movie in its planning and development stages, it usually means it will come to fruition sooner rather than later. So it’s the Barry Manilow movie project that has folks wondering if it’s a clue in his continuing negotiations to remain at the Las Vegas Hilton, where his current contract expires in December.

Click HERE for my interview with Barry in May, when he talked with me about his Hilton residency and the contract status.

Superstar Tom Hanks is named by Daily Variety as co-producing the new project with Barry’s manager Garry Kief and Michael Stipe, R.E.M.’s lead singer. Despite the perceived odd couplings, they are the moneymen behind the deal -- and online music sites are boasting the unexpected partnership between Barry and Michael from opposite ends of the musical spectrum.

The storyline is a “character-driven romantic comedy” focusing on fans arriving in Las Vegas for Barry’s concert. Barry himself will perform two concert production numbers for the film, and his music will be used throughout as its soundtrack.

Sam Morris

Barry Manilow's show at the Hilton has undergone a makeover and been renamed Ultimate Manilow: The Hits, but fan interaction and a focus on hits remain.

What’s intriguing is that the movie has Barry headlining at Mandalay Bay and not the Hilton, where he currently performs, or at the Paris, where rumors have circulated that he’s booked for next year as the resident in the theater long vacant since The Producers with David Hasselhoff closed in February 2008.

I’ve tried to get comment from the Hilton about the contract status and Mandalay Bay about the movie location and the Paris rumors, which also mention Barry’s record label co-star Whitney Houston, but nobody seems to know -- or at least admit to -- anything. From years of being in my business, that tells me something is afoot but has yet not had its I’s dotted and its T’s crossed! We’ll keep watch on this developing story!

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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