Inqlings: Messy Mustang goes to Army vet

Skippack's

John DelVecchio,

who lived in a flaming-red 2009 Ford Mustang for 11 days, will have to wait a bit before taking delivery of the car he won.

The cream interior was pretty much creamed. Food containers and empty bottles were packed into every nook. Salad dressing was caked in the back window. A milk shake, flavor undetermined, stained the backseat. Scalp oil clouded the rear windows. Fruit flies swarmed in the trunk.

DelVecchio, 25, climbed into the car outside Tony Luke's South Philly cheesesteak stand with three others on June 22 for WYSP's "Live in It and Win" contest. They were allowed 15-minute breaks every three hours. After nearly six days, Airen Hess, 19, quit. But with DelVecchio, Michele Levin, 21, and Joe Arena, 55, going strong, WYSP had listeners pick the winner on Thursday.

DelVecchio's story: He enlisted in the Army, and his mother sold his beat-up truck. But, he says, he was discharged when he was diagnosed with ADHD. He got a landscaping job and learned he was allergic to bee stings. When host Danny Bonaduce announced the winner, DelVecchio bawled. It wasn't the lack of sleep. "I've never won anything in my life," he said.

Levin, a Bon Jovi fan, got a trip to a concert as a consolation prize. Arena, a trucker who didn't tell his boss that he was skipping work, received up to $1,500 for his missing pay.

Station manager Andy Bloom says the contest, which he and program director Jeff Sottolano cooked up, cost about $30,000, including the car from Chapman/C+C Ford.

Wednesday's shooting of the comedy

The Best and the Brightest

had star

Neil Patrick Harris

outside Center City's G Lounge, renamed the Nectar Room for a scene. Inside, the husband-wife characters of Harris and

Bonnie Somerville

unwittingly walk into a swingers club. The film's last day of shooting here will be Tuesday.

And as if by magic, Tuesday marks the start of summer-into-fall shooting of the untitled James L. Brooks film starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, and Jack Nicholson (who has a short visit here scheduled for September). Gawkers will be disappointed because street scenes will be few. Most shooting will be done on soundstages in West Philly and near Philadelphia International Airport. Brooks and company were attracted by Pennsylvania tax incentives. Philly is subbing for Washington, where exteriors were shot.

Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams were holed up at the Radisson Valley Forge over the last two weeks while shooting scenes for the film Blue Valentine, in which they play a couple flashing back on their marriage. Gosling cut his hair and added a mustache to look older. Last week, Williams was seen limping around the hotel, as she had cut her toe while filming a fight with Gosling. Making things all better for Williams were skin sessions with Judy Kim from 3000BC WellMed Spa in Wayne.

Thursday was wrap day for

The Last Airbender

, the

M. Night Shyamalan

action flick that spent the last three months here. Herewith, high points of Philly, from six actors:

Young Noah Ringer, who stars as Aang, dug the food at Pietro's Coal Oven Pizza, took in the Liberty Bell and Franklin Institute, and enjoyed a Ride the Ducks tour.

Teen Nicola Peltz (Katara) balanced her youthful tastes (Wendy's) with a grown-up side (Parc and Alma de Cuba) and said the Flyers game she attended was one of her favorites.

No airs for Jackson Rathbone (Sokka), who fit in with many 24-year-olds at Fairmount Pizza and Midtown III Diner. He and his band, 100 Monkeys, played both the North Star Bar and Kung Fu Necktie.

Dev Patel (Prince Zuko) said he felt at home at the Rittenhouse Hotel - particularly since his girlfriend/Slumdog Millionaire costar, Freida Pinto, visited him last weekend. He said his favorite restaurant was Melograno.

Shaun Toub (Uncle Iroh) enjoyed the Art Museum, especially the Japanese exhibit, and spoke highly of Parc and the Saloon.

Aasif Mandvi, who juggled his Airbender work with appearances in New York on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, said he grew to appreciate Philly's atmosphere, which he described as "a little more chill than New York's."

Future Weather,

a short film starring

Perla Haney-Jardine

and made by Philly's

Jenny Deller

, is one of 10 semifinalists in the national Netflix Find Your Voice Competition. Winner of online voting, ending today at

» READ MORE: www.netflixfindyourvoice.com

, receives production funding and a premiere at the 2010 L.A. Film Festival.

The Second City comedy troupe arrives Wednesday for the Philadelphia Theatre Company's production of

City of Nutterly Love: Funny as Bell!

at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre. The troupe will host a comedy contest - emceed by WYSP's

Danny Bonaduce

- from noon to 2 p.m. July 17 at the Rotunda at Liberty Place, and participants will get one minute to make two judges laugh with borrowed or original material. Winner will get a spot in an improv scene in the show. To register, call 215-735-0906.

ESPN's

Sal Paolantonio

will sub for the vacationing

Mike Missanelli

on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday on 950ESPN (3 to 7 p.m.).

Dan Schwartzman

and

Harry Mayes

will do tomorrow's and Tuesday's shifts.

Action News says it's too soon to discuss staffing, as it's been only two weeks since the death of sports director Gary Papa. I wrote in Thursday's column that the name of ESPN's Kevin Negandhi was being floated for a job. In a statement, the station said: "There is no search taking place for someone to join the Channel 6 sports department. Gary Papa can never be replaced, and just as importantly, the newsroom needs time to heal. We are going to take that time to grieve for our loss and to remember and honor our courageous colleague and friend. That is where our focus is now - cherishing the moments and memories we shared with Gary." The station also thanked viewers for thoughts and support.

Harvey Pollack

, the sports-statistics legend, started wearing a different T-shirt every day after the death of his wife,

Bea

. (Laundry thing.) Pollack, 87, surpassed the 2,200 mark last Sunday and gave 1,100 of the shirts to the Salvation Army. The first 1,000 went to Sixers Charities.