Alaska Ear

Alas, the movie folks seem mostly hard-working, well-behaved and even (gasp) nice people, which is not the way Ear prefers things, but never mind:

• Spotted last Saturday night at Villa Nova, talk show host/columnist Shannyn Moore relaxing over a glass of wine in a foursome that included John Cusack. For those of you who just checked in from Saturn, Cusack plays serial rapist/murderer Robert Hansen. He's been talking to people who were around back in Hansen's time, fine-tuning his portrayal of the bad guy, an unusual role for him.

Ear is proud to report that none of the customers who did a double take as they passed his table were tacky enough to bother him for an autograph or phone photo, demonstrating that some Alaskans have class. (Or maybe it's just Villa Nova customers.)

Shannyn is playing Alaska Ambassador for Cusack. Last week she showed him around Anchorage. Next week she's going to take him out in the woods to see if any bears are still awake.

• Later that night, people showing up for a goodbye dinner at the Crow's Nest for John Ross, outgoing CEO of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, had to squeeze past a string of tables where the "Frozen Ground" cast was being treated to dinner by the producers. Cusack was there, as were Nicolas Cage and his wife. Cage plays a composite Alaska State Trooper who nails Hansen. Other diners included writer-director Scott Walker; producer Mark Ordesky; actress Vanessa Hudgens; local actor Robert Forgit, who plays Trooper Wayne Von Clausen; and Katherine LaNasa, who plays Hansen's wife.

If you don't know LaNaca's name, you know her face. She's been in every TV series you've ever seen, most recently "House" and "Burn Notice." All Ear can say is she's going to need some serious makeup and acting skills to dowdy down her shiny blond good looks and dumb down her obvious intelligence to become the "I didn't know nothin' about nothin'" character the former Mrs. Hansen reportedly was.

• No details available but earwigs report rapper 50 Cent and his entourage had dinner at Sullivan's last week. He's an investor in the movie and plays a pimp "managing" one or more of the vanishing strippers.

OUT AND ABOUT . . . Spotted on a plane from Seattle to Newark on Tuesday, failed U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller with wife and children. An earwig who inquired says they were overnighting in New Jersey then continuing on to Germany.

PREPARED . . . Now that Rep. Anna Fairclough, R-Eagle River, is running for the state Senate, someone needs to take over her House seat, right? Well, someone who knows the district inside and out after working for Fairclough for five years has thrown her hat in the ring. Will Kim Skipper just have to change desks if she wins? (Actually, she's resigned her job with Anna to focus on the race).

GET ME OUT OF HERE . . . Coleman Barney, one of the defendants in the federal case against the most recent bunch of militia wackos from the north country, doesn't want to face a jury in Anchorage, where the trial is scheduled to be held. Why? "Anchorage is an Environment Alien to the Accused," to quote the request for a change of venue. Some people claim the best thing about "Los Anchorage" is that it's "only one hour away from Alaska," says the plea. It's sort of a suburb of Seattle, etc.

And what do the lawyers offer as proof? "A columnist with the Anchorage Daily News instead of referring to "Fairbanks" refers to the "City on the Edge of Nowhere." Really darlings, would any judge use something Ear said as the basis for a ruling?

AWARD . . . Speaking of the feds, the Anchorage federal prosecutor's office provided the best press release correction of the month Thursday. A second email corrected the middle name of a guy sentenced for wildlife trafficking: The correct name is "George Dongdong Jia," the second notice said not "George Dingdong Jia."

RETURN OF THE CHAMP . . . Service High grad Brian Meacham, who won $90,500 on "Jeopardy" in April, will compete for even more money in the show's "Tournament of Champions" starting Thursday. Brian, valedictorian of the Service class of '93, lives in California and is a film preservationist for the Oscar people. Earwigs who know all the answers don't know how long he survives in the big-bucks rematch but say he definitely will be there on Nov. 3.

ON THE MOVE . . . Jim Robbins, who has been on country music radio since, like, the 1970s, signed off for good Friday. Is he retiring? Of course not. He's already up and running with Robbins Voice Works, which promises "comprehensive public speaking seminars, individualized public speaking coaching and interview techniques."

KUDOS . . . Congregation Beth Sholom sent out "save-the-date" notices this week, announcing that Byron Mallott will receive the 2012 Shining Lights Award. The date to save is April 26 at the Cook. Over the years Byron has been CEO of Sealaska Corp., a trustee and executive director of the Permanent Fund Corp., commissioner of Community and Regional Affairs and mayor of Juneau.

WE'RE No. 1 . . . and No. 9 on a Washington Post list of the top 10 most bizarre political ads in recent history. This is big, d'Ears. There are 50 states and Canada, and we nailed two of the 10 slots. (Aggghhh).

The ranking was apparently prompted by Herman Cain's strange ads. No. 1 on the list is that weird 2008 Mike Gravel ad where he just stares at the camera and then throws something in the water and walks away. Technically he's not ours anymore, but we spawned him so we must bear some responsibility. (Ear swears Mike wasn't that weird when he was our Democratic U.S. senator.)

No. 9 is the Diane Benson ad from her 2008 congressional race, the one where she illustrates that she's experienced at dealing with public office by shoveling poop. Ear kind of liked that one.

Check them out for yourself at The Post's Fix blog but be warned: some of them are pretty ugly. (Our guys are just comical, as usual.)

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Compiled by Sheila Toomey. Message Sheila at ear@adn.com or 257-4341. Find Ear online at www.adn.com/ear.