‘Shahs of ‘Sunset’ hits the Strip for E!

Las Vegas welcomes visitors from all over the world -- including Tehrangeles .

That's home base for the young Persian-Americans featured in the upcoming Bravo reality series "Shahs of Sunset," which was scheduled to conclude a four-day Vegas visit Sunday.

Executive produced by "American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest (who, lest we forget, is also executive producer of E!'s "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" and ABC's "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution"), the "docu-series" focuses on a group of friends trying to balance their social lives and careers with family traditions.

"Unafraid to flaunt their designer clothing, tricked-out cars and boisterous personalities, spending money is no foreign concept to these young socialites," who "also treasure the value of family and Persian traditions," according to an announcement on Seacrest's website.

The Vegas visit reportedly centered on CityCenter and other MGM Strip properties.

'Neon' Nirvana: The title "Neon Dreams" explains why London-based DJ and producer L-Vis 1990 (real name: James Connolly) is in town to shoot a music video for his first album.

In addition to around-town locations, the Island Records production is shooting at Dream Vision Studios, which is supplying cameras, props, crews and special effects (including smoke bombs) for the music video, along with a very vintage -- and very Vegas -- 1960s convertible.

Local motion: It's almost a wrap for the return of "Bob the Clown," as Las Vegas-based filmmaker Tony Clifford and collaborators conclude production this week on comedy sketches showcasing the title character, a boozy kiddie-show host.

"Bob" made his debut in a short film, for which Nathan Uhlig captured best-actor honors at the 48 Hour Film Festival. That short will be "Episode Zero" in a projected nine-episode Internet series, explains director Tony Clifford, who collaborated on the scripts with Uhlig and UNLV film department colleagues Ryan Troe and Devon Byers.

"Bob the Clown" will arrive on YouTube in mid-August, Clifford explains, with additional episodes debuting once a week for the next two months.

The decision to put the series online was "a matter of getting our work seen," he says. "With the indie circuit, there are so many films being made."

Fellow UNLV grad Andrea Walter, meanwhile, was expected to shoot a promotion Sunday for a proposed feature, "Patient Zero," to be showcased on the funding website Kickstarter.

UNLV instructor Michael Tylo, featured in the promo for the "zombie transformation" tale, loaned the production his office as a location, Walter notes.

If and when the project receives funding, she adds, "we want to shoot all of it in Las Vegas."

Casting about: Considering Las Vegas' culinary-capital status, it comes as no surprise that "Food Network Star" has chosen the city as an audition site for the show's upcoming eighth season. (And let's not forget seventh-season finalist Vic "Vegas" Moea .)

The cooking competition will hold open tryouts -- for professional and amateur chefs alike -- from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Westin Casuarina Hotel, 160 E. Flamingo Road. Las Vegas is one of eight location sites. If you're interested in auditioning, bring an application, two photographs and resume or biography; click on www.FoodNetwork.com/Star for applications, rules and submission instructions. And if you can't make the Aug. 20 audition, you can always send in a three-minute audition video; go online to www.FoodNetworkStarCasting.com for more information.

Carol Cling's Shooting Stars column appears Mondays. Contact her at (702) 383-0272 or ccling@reviewjournal. com.