Friday, August 30, 2013
newsmakers
Casino seeks to evict raunchy nightclub
LAS VEGAS
It turns out that even in Sin City, some sins are hard to overlook.
The Palazzo hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip is trying to evict a 10-month-old nightclub for shows it says are so raunchy that they violate obscenity laws. It says actors — some nearly naked — toss condoms into the crowd and simulate sex acts and bestiality on stage.
The club is seeking a restraining order to halt the closure, arguing that simulated sex acts don’t constitute obscenity.
Casino officials “were well aware of our brand,” said Sean Dunn, special events director at The Act, in an email statement, adding that representatives of the hotel-casino have frequently attended shows and did not complain.
Las Vegas Sands, which owns the casino, did not immediately respond to requests to comment.
The Act remains open for business while a district judge considers its fate, but the fight over its future has exposed an underlying reality in Vegas: Though the city sells itself as a racy, no-holds-barred destination, there are limits.
Voight worked cheap in ‘Midnight Cowboy’
NEW YORK
It was Jon Voight’s portrayal of male prostitute Joe Buck in the 1969 film “Midnight Cowboy” that put him on the path to becoming an acting legend. Now he says he was paid a pittance for the part.
Voight says that he wanted the role so badly, “I said [to my agent], ‘Tell them I’ll do this part for nothing.’” The actor says to his surprise, “they took me at my word, and they gave me minimum for ‘Midnight Cowboy.’”
Voight spoke Wednesday as he was promoting his film “Getaway” co-starring Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez that opens today and “Ray Donovan,” the Showtime series he appears in opposite Liev Schreiber.
The Oscar- and Emmy-winning actor says the studio United Artists “even sent me a $14.73 coffee shop charge,” for meals his last day of shooting for the film in Texas.
Vindicator wire services