Columnist Kate Maddox: Julia gets greasy at Skillet Cafe

Kate Maddox's column appears Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at [email protected].

A local greasy spoon played host to the cast and crew from "The Mexican" this week. On Monday Julia Roberts and James Gandolfini shot a scene at the Skillet Cafe at Charleston and Valley View. Although sneaking a peek at the action proved nearly impossible -- Las Vegas' finest kept a tight lock on the perimeter -- the actors held court for most of the morning.

In the scene at the Skillet, Roberts and Gandolfini munch on a breakfast of scrambled eggs and attempt to hatch plans for future success. Roberts plays a girl trying to recognize her dreams as a croupier while her beau, Brad Pitt, hunts down a cursed Mexican pistola (gun) south of the border. Gandolfini is the whacked-out hitman keeping a friendly eye on Roberts' character.

After some downtown re-shoots at the Plaza in the afternoon, the crew celebrated the wrap of the movie Monday night with another private Mandalay Bay pool party, similar to the one Pitt threw for friends last week.

In one of the strangest career moves to date, "NYPD Blue" fans were stunned when Andrea Thompson, who played Detective Jill Kirkendall on the hit ABC series, announced she was leaving at the end of this season. But unlike other actors who have left the cop drama, Thompson wasn't hoping to pursue more acting opportunities. Instead, she announced she was going into local TV news. And she wasn't kidding.

The actress wanted to switch to desk duty and has apparently been hired on as a co-anchor for the summer at KRQE, the CBS affiliate in Albuquerque, N.M., -- about as far away from the Hollywood spotlight as one can get.

This week she'll be in Las Vegas. Thompson is one of the broadcast TV hopefuls who have shelled out $350 to participate in the World Television Journalism Conference. Thompson is probably hoping to pick up some pointers from the pros in attendance at the two-day event. Broadcast heavyweights such as Hugh Downs, Helen Thomas, Bob Kur and John Cochran are all scheduled to make appearances.

For sports fans following the rise of kindergarten punching machine Mara Callihan, the bantamweight teacher knocked out her first pro opponent in the third round of Friday night's fight at the Joint at the Hard Rock. "The Educator" sent Geraldine Iglesias to the mat after soundly dominating the match. Although this probably won't change things at Callihan's day job -- she's a teacher at Selma Bartlett Elementary -- there is already buzz that she'll get right back into training for her second pro fight at the Hard Rock on Aug. 4.

Magicians of the Century Siegfried & Roy returned from their usual summer hiatus last week with a new honor. Rep. Jim Gibbons presented the duo with a Congressional Certificate of Appreciation for their work in the field of animal rights and protection.

Which lady-loving Las Vegas assemblyman pulled a fast one on his longtime sweetie? Seems the former bachelor politician up and got married on the sly to a new flame in a super hush-hush ceremony about a month ago. These things happen, but the trouble is he detached himself from his previous engagement the same day he walked down the aisle with bachelorette No. 2 -- a fact he chose to leave out when breaking up, via telephone, with his former love. Ouch. There are so many things wrong with this picture, it's hard to know where to start, but I guess all's fair when it comes to love and politics. With moves like that, this guy should aim for the White House.

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