Celebrity spotting in Melbourne

Melbourne’s Crown is well on the way to becoming a world-renowned gastro-temple: celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is planning to open a signature restaurant at the buzzing casino complex - and make a reality TV series about the experience. The new TV show, scheduled to air later in 2008, will centre on the search for a chef to run the top-end venue in Australia.

Ramsay is expected in Melbourne in June to set up his new venture at the imposing Crown Complex. The restaurant, rumored to open in December 2008, will be Ramsay’s first in Australia – and his 13th outside the UK.

The highly successful - yet controversial - British chef has been a big success Down Under this year (his ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ is the most-watched show in the country) and he will begin next month a promotional tour, which will include TV appearances, live chef demonstrations and book signings.

Find out more at Gordonramsay.com.

Nicholas Cage back in Melbourne

Nicholas Cage is back in Melbourne for the filming of ‘Knowing’, a science-fiction drama where the Oscar-winning actor’s character is in a race to stop a time capsule full of chilling prophecies from coming to life.

The actor, who had spent the first half of 2005 in Melbourne shooting the box office blockbuster ‘Ghost Rider’ and bought shortly after a luxurious apartment at the sought-after Eureka Tower, is reported to have been keen to return to the city, praising the “nice, sophisticated” Melburnians; over the last few weeks, he has been often spotted in the fashionable beachside suburb of St Kilda.

The AUD$50million (£25million) project, which Cage describes as an “apocalyptic kind of story”, will feature a spectacular plane crash, shot on the Geelong ring road; other locations used in the film include the Melbourne Museum (the largest museum in the southern hemisphere), Collins Street (Melbourne’s most famous shopping strip) and Mount Macedon (renowned for its collection of 19th century gardens). In addition, hundreds of locals will appear on the screen alongside the cast, playing from motorists and journalists to paramedics and policemen.

‘Knowing’ is due to be released next year.