Las Vegas Weekly

January 25, 2010 · 4:28 PM

Strip Scribbles: NATPE kicks off its 47th annual convention

By Robin Leach

Neil Patrick Harris, second from left, and Emily Deschanel, third from left, were among the attendees of the National Association of Television Program Executives convention in 2008.

Photo: NATPE

It began last night with a party that star chef Susan Feniger hosted at her Border Grill in Mandalay Bay and will continue through Thursday. Executives have descended on Las Vegas for their 47th Annual National Association of Television Program Executives convention where they pour over new and syndicated programs. The pilots and presentation reels they see might wind up on air in September. England’s BBC Worldwide and Australia’s Fremantle Corp. are big exhibitors alongside 20th Century Fox.

Much of the buzz will focus on Twitter as a tool to boost TV news in between broadcasts, and there’s talk of TV coming to Twitter for viewers to scoop local news and provide video short programs. Senior executives from A&E, Bravo, CBS Entertainment, Disney Channel, Fox Television Studios, Gannett Broadcasting, Globo TV, Hearst Television, Lionsgate, MarVista Entertainment, Meredith Corp., NBC Universal, Telemundo Network Group, Televisa, TNT, Tribune Broadcasting, TruTV and USA Networks are among those attending. Digital world innovators represented include Blip.TV, Google, LucasFilm Ltd., Nokia, Tube Filter, TubeMogul, Twitter, Microsoft Xbox and YouTube.

Bravo’s Andy Cohen will feature Donald Trump, Jillian Michaels and Curtis Stone as his guests. Philip Gurin, Hugh Laurie, David Shore and Katie Jacobs from House are part of tomorrow’s sessions; Bill Lawrence, creator and executive producer of Scrubs and Cougar Town, plus Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, executive producers, The Amazing Race, are set for Wednesday. Other stars include Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell of Modern Family and Judge Judith Sheindlin. Judge Judy will be honored with the 7th Annual Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award at a ceremony tonight.

Additionally, there will be daily chef appearances in the Celebrity Kitchen, including Paul Bartolotta, Alex Stratta, David Walzog, Jet Tila and Carlos Guia from the Wynn, Kerry Simon from Palms Place and Charlie Palmer from Mandalay Bay. They’ll be competing in a combo Quickfire Challenge from Top Chef and Iron Chef America.

*Kerry flew in from the Sundance Film Festival, where he entertained more than 200 VIPs, including longtime pal Bill Murray, to a first-night dinner at Chefdance, the festival’s premiere culinary event. Last night, chef Geno Bernardo of Nove Italiano in the Palms was the Chefdance star. Kerry and Geno represent the two Las Vegas restaurants selected for Sundance. Tao in The Venetian also has a satellite music lounge at the festival.

*The Las Vegas Marathon last month generated more than $64 million, according to a report. As Ira Sternberg commented: “That’s an event that gave Vegas some money for its run.”

Star surveillance

*Country Hall of Famer Roy Clark won’t be 77 until April, but that didn’t stop him celebrating in tandem with his wife Barbara’s birthday this weekend. They stayed at the Wynn and watched Garth Brooks’ show, where Garth and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to the couple, and Le Reve. When the longtime Hee-Haw star was inducted into the Country Hall of Fame last year, it was Garth who performed Roy’s No. 1 hit “Come Live With Me” at the ceremony.

*Actor and Elvis Presley fan Mickey Rourke, girlfriend Anastassija Makarenko and five friends watched Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis in Aria at CityCenter. Before the show, Mickey picked up souvenirs from the Elvis Boutique and smooched Ana in front of the Elvis bust in the theater’s lobby.

*Criss Angel took a break from the tough schedule of his Cirque du Soleil Believe show at the Luxor with a visit to XS in Steve Wynn’s Encore. Criss was at a VIP table overlooking the dance floor, while nearby was UFC legend Chuck Liddell.

*DJ Paul of Three 6 Mafia enjoyed a glass of wine before taking over the dance floor and hanging out with fans at Vanity in the Hard Rock Hotel. Olympic stars Carl Lewis and Bryan Clay were at another VIP table enjoying vodka and Patron shots. Patrick Crayton, Marion Barber and Tashard Choice of the Dallas Cowboys partied in a VIP dance floor booth while sipping on Patron and Dom Perignon. … UFC President Dana White was over at Carey Hart’s Wasted Space, and Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf were spotted at the blackjack tables in the new HRH Tower.

*Holly Madison satisfied her craving for Mexican food at Sammy Hagar’s Cabo Wabo Cantina in Planet Hollywood’s Miracle Mile and enjoyed a beef fajita burrito and Diet Coke while cheering on the Indianapolis Colts yesterday.

*Reality TV star Duane “Dog the Bounty Hunter” Chapman was at The Playboy Club and Moon in the Palms last night. His wife Beth and he also partied at Vanity, where Carrot Top made an appearance with the duo.

Tonight’s tips

The Spazmatics turn the clock back to the 1980s at the Hard Rock Cafe on the Strip. … Naughty by Nature performs at Jet in The Mirage. … Prive in Planet Hollywood hosts a Haiti Relief Charity Event, where $5 bracelets will be on sale to support the American Red Cross. … At 6’ 3” and 250 pounds, James Scott is the comedian known as Mr. Bigfoot who kicks off Monday night shows at Las Vegas Rocks Cafe downtown on Fremont Street. James lives here and has been touring for 11 years.

Tomorrow’s teases

We’ll continue our daily coverage of the 2010 Miss America Pageant preparations with photo galleries of their rehearsals and the visit to Phantom -- the Las Vegas Spectacular at The Venetian. We’ve also got an incredible photo gallery of the Chinese New Year decorations at the Palazzo.

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.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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