Transmission from Sahara: Comic Jay Black hopes to resurrect ‘Police Academy’

By John Katsilometes

Saturday, May 15, 2010 | 4:20 p.m.

Notes on a Saturday afternoon, filed Somewhere On the Strip:

• Comics often talk of tough crowds (I tell ya!), and there might be none tougher than the ghosts of Nazi soldiers.

Jay Black can speak to performing in such a comedic bunker. Performing as part of a Department of Defense tour for Army enlistees in Germany, Black actually performed at a military base that employed an onetime Nazi war bunker as its venue.

"So where 60-70 years ago we had Nazis fighting against our own U.S. soldiers, I was performing stand-up," said Black, performing through Sunday with fellow headliners Michael Somervile and Jay Strong at Bob Kephart's Comedy Stop at the Sahara. "But it went well. For the troops, any kind of entertainment is good."

The bunker might be a good place to screen what might be Black's next big project, which is New Line Cinema's effort to exhume the "Police Academy" franchise. Black is one of the finalists, along with his writing partner Brian Herzlinger, to write the new "Police Academy" movie.

Is there a public outcry for another "Police Academy" installment? I'm remembering the joke by "Academy" alum Bobcat Goldthwaite from, oh, 1986, when he joked of "Police Academy 2" by saying, "We really need a 'Police Academy' sequel, because the first movie left so many unanswered questions."

The series started in 1984, when Black, the person who might well co-write its latest installment, was age 8. There have been seven "Police Academy" films, total, but none since 1994's "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow," which centers on a lowbrow assault on the town that is home to the University of Idaho. I think.

If Black and Herzlinger get the go-ahead to work on the project, they'll be challenged to put some sort of fresh perspective on a concept that's been mothballed for more than 15 years. But Black is up for the assignment. He's been in the trenches.

• Barring any post-production work, Wayne Newton has finished his role in the upcoming film "40 West." He caused quite a stir in and around Bangor, Maine, over the past few weeks while shooting on location for a feature film reported to be a "taut, character-driven thriller." That description comes from a news release from Saco River Grange Hall in Bar Hills, Maine, where Newton filmed most of his scenes. It's a low-budget effort, a small yet feature-length film produced by Maine's Honey Tree Films, due out in 2011.

• Vehicles have been towed from the Siegel strip mall across the street from Double Down Saloon on Paradise Road, to the point where owner P Moss has issued an email warning via Facebook that anyone parking in that mall risks being hauled away by the Blue Meanies. So don't park there! This is noteworthy because there was a time early in the club's history, around 1992, when hardly anyone drove to Double Down. It was primarily pedestrian traffic from employees at the then-new Hard Rock Café and anyone tossed from the Office bar, which was located — appropriately enough — across the street.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.