‘In Search of Zombies’ heading to the Strip

Anyone who's ever pulled a casino all-nighter knows that morning-after zombie feeling.

So it hardly seems surprising that a project titled "In Search of Zombies" would find its way to the Strip.

What may surprise you, however, is the nature of the project: a video from artist Matthew Day Jackson.

The Thursday night shoot on the Strip will feature a narrator speaking to the camera -- and a second actor portraying a zombie oblivious to the surrounding throng.

"It's basically a humorous approach," says Joseph Hung, co-producer, cinematographer and editor of the project. "Las Vegas was chosen because of the Strip itself."

And, naturally, how well the Strip jibes with the Brooklyn-based Jackson's aesthetic approach.

A previous "In Search of ... " installation at a New York gallery featured a 30-minute video (inspired by the '70s TV show of the same name) that Art in America described as a "riveting, tongue-in-cheek, faux documentary that expounds upon the theories on mythology, materialism and the changing conception of self."

The Strip certainly qualifies as the kind of all-American icon Jackson features in his work, so perhaps his Vegas visions will turn up at future "In Search of ... " exhibits planned for Italy, Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Home base: DIY's new redo series, "Kitchen Crashers," returns to Southern Nevada this week to shoot its second upcoming episode.

It's easy to explain why the show's here: Host Alison Victoria's here.

Locally based Victoria earned the gig while appearing last year on another DIY show, "House Crashers."

When production officials "saw her on camera," they noted her "spark -- and the right knowledge we look for," according to DIY general manager Andy Singer. DIY and Sacramento, Calif.-based Big Table Media executives then decided "maybe we should look at her a little bit more" for another show -- which became "Kitchen Crashers."

Three more episodes are expected to shoot here this month and in October.

Quick takes: Local extreme wheelchair athlete Aaron "Wheelz" Fotheringham will be in the spotlight for a two-day CBS shoot; locations include the Jean dry lake bed, reports Mike Levy of Las Vegas-based Levy Production Group, which is providing crew and equipment.

And a music video featuring Sneaky Sound System is scheduled to roll today and Tuesday on the Strip, capturing Las Vegas' "cool neon" vibe, according to Sue Yeon Ahn of Make It Happen Productions.

On the reality-TV front, Showtime's "Gigolos" returns for a second season chronicling the lives of male escorts; recent locations included the Strip and Sunset Park. And the reality-star Kardashians partied -- make that bachelorette-partied -- at The Venetian's Tao to celebrate Kim's last days of singlehood before her planned Aug. 20 marriage to NBA star Kris Humphries. Inevitably, cameras came along to capture the bash.

Future feature: Another true-crime Vegas tale is set to storm the big screen.

Summit Entertainment has acquired the rights to John Huddy's "Storming Las Vegas: How a Cuban-Born, Soviet-Trained Commando Took Down The Strip to the Tune of Five World Class Hotels, Three Armored Cars, and Millions of Dollars."

Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day") is attached to direct the tale, which focuses on Jose Vigoa -- whose 1990s crime spree threatened Las Vegas' attempts to become a family-friendly vacation spot -- and Lt. John Alamshaw , the 23-year Metropolitan Police veteran on his trail.

Huddy and Alamshaw "have been in constant communication over the years" regarding the project, Alamshaw e-mails. "This is a project we have been working on since I retired. And yes, our goal is for me to consult on the project."

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