Clooney and Pitt to Buy the Boom?

dear friends – we wanted you to be the first to know about our new campaign to find a buyer for the Boom Boom Room and Coast Inn. We are formally asking superstars George Clooney and Brad Pitt to buy the Boom and keep it as a gay club in a ¼ page ad running tomorrow, Monday, June 4th in Daily Variety.

They were reported to have purchased the property along with Beverly Hills billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy in the fall of 2005. And now that Mr. Udvar-Hazy has officially put the Boom and the Coast Inn (in which it is located) up for sale, we are hoping that George and Brad will come in and save the day and SAVE the BOOM – Forever!!!

We have some more activities planned throughout the week to coincide with the opening of Ocean’s Thirteen starring George and Brad which opens this Friday. We’ll keep you posted.

The news release announcing the campaign is below, as is a copy of the Variety ad, the story from the Orange County Business Journal that told of their purchase of the Boom back in the fall of 2005 and a great photo of the two stars.

Best regards,

Fred Karger
Founder
www.savetheboom.com


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Fred Karger –Founder
949/494-4750
Robert F. Gentry – Co Chair
June 4, 2006 760/770-8787

George Clooney & Brad Pitt -- Help Save the BOOM!!!
Gay Community Runs Ad in Daily Variety Appealing to Stars for Help

LAGUNA BEACH, CA – The one year old grassroots effort to save the landmark Boom Boom Room and Coast Inn in Laguna Beach reached up to Hollywood today to help SAVE the BOOM!!! (www.savetheboom.com)

In a ¼ page ad running today in the Daily Variety, there is an all out appeal to superstars George Clooney and Brad Pitt headlined: “George and Brad, Please Help SAVE the BOOM!!!” The ad goes on to ask the superstars, “Now we are appealing to both of you to buy our 60 year old landmark before it is converted into a boutique hotel.”

Clooney and Pitt were widely reported to have purchased the nightclub and hotel back in the fall of 2005 along with Beverly Hills Billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy. E! Entertainment On Line broke the story and it became a big international news item. Spokespeople for the two stars denied their partnership with Mr. Udvar-Hazy at that time.

“The Gay Community of Laguna Beach is being thrown out into the Pacific Ocean and we are looking for some help from our friends,” said Bob Gentry, former Laguna Beach Mayor and City Councilman and Co-Chair of SAVE the BOOM!!!! “We have been talking to lots of potential buyers over the past several months and we thought we would try this bold approach to appeal to these thoughtful and caring stars.”

The ad states, “Both of you are true leaders in human and civil rights. Over 100 years of gay history that the Boom represents is a stake in Laguna Beach.”

It was reported 10 days ago that the property was officially put up for sale. Mr. Udvar-Hazy purchased the ocean front hotel and bar built in 1927 in the fall of 2005. He and his architects have been working with city planners to convert the gay hotel and bar into a boutique hotel and upscale restaurant. A Los Angeles realtor reported that Mr. Udvar-Hazy was planning to take his hotel and restaurant concept to another city in Orange County.

“When we first found out that our landmark bar was about to close, we got organized and decided to fight its closure,” said Fred Karger, founder of SAVE the BOOM!!!. “The landmark Boom Boom Room was set to close last Labor Day (2006), but Mr. Udvar-Hazy was very helpful and gave us a one year reprieve. With Labor Day 2007 rapidly approaching, we figured we’d see if these great stars would come help the gay community down here in Laguna.”

“The citizens of and visitors to Laguna Beach are behind us,” added Karger. “We gathered 6,000 signatures on petitions to SAVE the BOOM!!! in just 3 months last summer. The petitions were asking the Mayor and the City Council to help us. Our cries for help have been heard. Now we are appealing to George Clooney and Brad Pitt to Please Help Save the BOOOM – Forever!!!.”

The Daily Variety Ad is in the previous posting today.

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Posted date: 10/31/2005
Clooney, Pitt to Buy Boom Boom Room

Nightclub, Hotel Could Be Converted Into Restaurant and B&B

By Rick Reiff
Orange County Business Journal Staff
George Clooney, Brad Pitt and an airplane finance tycoon are buying one of Laguna Beach’s best-known gay bars and plan to turn it into a ritzy restaurant and bed and breakfast, according to sources.
The actors have teamed with Beverly Hills billionaire Steven F. Udvar-Hazy, chief executive of airplane lessor International Lease Finance Corp., to buy the Boom Boom Room and its adjoining Coast Inn on Pacific Coast Highway, sources said.
The bar and hotel could be converted into a restaurant and the first bed and breakfast in a chain of such getaways to bear the names of Clooney and Pitt.Clooney also has teamed with developers who are planning the $3 billion Las Ramblas condominium and hotel complex near the Strip in Las Vegas.
The real money behind the Laguna Beach deal, sources said, is Udvar-Hazy, who ranks 125th on Forbes’ list of richest Americans with an estimated net worth of $2.1 billion.
With a mansion in Monarch Beach, Udvar-Hazy also appears on the Business Journal’s list of the county’s “Weekend Wealthy.”
The link:
http://www.ocbj.com/article.asp?aID=18617706.8819544.1218711.8948284.8234304.573&aID2=93738

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