Stars align for CineVegas

By Melissa Arseniuk

Thursday, June 11, 2009 | 7:21 a.m.

While the celebrities might not be exactly lining up for this year’s CineVegas film festival, Las Vegas’ miniature version of Sundance is attracting a decent number of stars both big and small.

Dennis Hopper, Jon Voight, Willem Dafoe, Sam Rockwell and Sarah Silverman are among the big names expected during the 11th-annual, six-day event.

Wednesday night’s opening night event, a red carpet screening of “Saint John of Las Vegas,” attracted Hopper and Silverman, along with Romany Malco (“The Love Guru,” “Weeds,” “40 Year Old Virgin”), and mononymous “Superbad” actress, Aviva.

Sadly, one of the film’s stars, Steve Buscemi, did not make it to the festival premiere at Planet Hollywood.

Holly Madison, Carrot Top, Miss Nevada USA, Georgina Vaughan, the cast of “Jersey Boys,” the doo-wop band Human Nature, and female impersonator Frank Marino, did, however, and were among the other, well-known local personalities who came out for the event.

And of course, the party is just getting started.

Champion poker player Annie Duke and World Series of Poker president and commissioner, Jeffery Pollack, will be among the card-carrying card players at tonight’s 7:30 p.m. screening of “All In: The Poker Movie.”

Meanwhile, acclaimed director Sam Rockwell will be on hand at the 8:30 p.m. screening of his film, “Daylight.” (There is a chance he might show up at the 4 p.m. showing of “Moon,” too, though that is unconfirmed.)

Former “3rd Rock from the Sun” star, Joseph Gordon-Levitt – who has acted in films including “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” and “Women in Trouble,” among others, since the series ended in 2001 – will be at the 8 p.m. showtime for “500 Days of Summer” on Friday.

George Wallace will join father-son duo James and Scott Caan and others on Saturday for the 8 p.m. screening of “Mercy” at the Brenden Theaters.

Hopper, who serves as CineVegas’ creative advisory board chairman, will spend Sunday morning with a cast of Boys & Girls Clubs of Las Vegas members and “Jersey Boys” castmates for a 10 a.m. CineVegas Clubhouse event titled, “Where da Girls at.”

Voight and Dafoe are said to host screenings and post-film Q and A sessions on Sunday afternoon but again, these appearances have not been confirmed.

Regardless, they will be at Rain later that evening to join Hopper, along with Rio resident entertainers Penn and Teller and actress/“Access Hollywood” correspondent Maria Menounos, among others, for the festival’s annual honorees reception.

Voight will reportedly be given the CineVegas Marquee Award for artistic excellence, professional accomplishment and dedication to cinema, while Dafoe will receive the Vanguard Actor Award for his distinctive mark in the world of film.

George and Mike Kuchar will also receive hardware during the reception (the Vanguard Director Award for vision and refusal to compromise), as will Jenova Chen and Kellee Santiago, who will be given the inaugural Planet Illogica Award for Excellence in New Media for pushing of traditional storytelling boundaries.

And finally, our very own resident star-gazer, Las Vegas Deluxe’s Robin Leach, will be honored on Monday with a celebrity star by Brenden Theaters president Johnny Brenden.

The 11th annual CineVegas film festival continues through Monday. While the majority of screenings and events take place at the Palms, a complete guide to the festival, its events and corresponding parties can be found here.

Melissa Arseniuk writes about Las Vegas entertainment and celebrity events. She can be reached at 702-948-7823 or by e-mail at [email protected].