July 9, 2007 949/494-4750 regrak@aol.com
Men of Laguna Beach Calendar Contest Fills 20 Slots
Next Up the 12 Finalists — Top Prize Now $1000.00
LAGUNA BEACH, CA — Over 30 men tried out in person on Saturday in SAVE the BOOM’S!!! (http://www.savethboom.com/) open casting in its search for the 12 best looking gay and straight men who live, work or play in beautiful Laguna Beach. There was a big crowd to root them on as the shirtless men came on stage one at a time and were greeted by Master of Ceremonies Miss Dede Rutherford and then questioned by the 5 judges. The contest was held at the landmark Boom Boom Room from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on an unusually dreary July day. Turned out the Boom — not the beach — was the place to be on lucky 07 – 07 -07.
The five Hollywood judges who came in town for the contest narrowed the field down to the top 20 finalists. All 20 men will have photo secessions with celebrity photographer Cris Lapp who began his photo secessions the very next day at locations around Laguna Beach. Once the pictures are all taken, the final 12 men will be chosen to grace the Men of Laguna Beach 2008 Calendar. When the final 12 are selected, the prizes will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place finishers.
The Hunks
The first place prize money was doubled Saturday when long time Laguna resident Peter Montgomery pledged an additional $500.00 to the winner. That make 1st prize now $1000.00! 2nd place will be $250.00 and 3rd place $100.00. All contestants at Saturday’s Open Casting received a SAVE the BOOM!!! T-shirt.
The calendars will go on sale in Laguna and around the world after Labor Day. All proceeds will be split between the SAVE the BOOM!!! campaign and local charities. The Men of Laguna Beach 2008 calendar promises to be one of the hottest male calendars ever produced since Chippendales launched the first ever venture in 1981. They have since sold 10,000,000 calendars worldwide.
Special thanks to our panel of judges, actresses and sisters Heather and Nicholle Tom, Paul Weber, head of casting for MGM Television Worldwide, Ethan Petersen Senior Producer / Supervising Casting Producer, Fremantle Media / Krasnow Productions, The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency, and Stan Zimmerman, noted TV and film writer and producer. And a big thank you to contest promoter extraordinaire and SAVE the BOOM!!! treasurer Shane Miller, Contestant Coordinator Brian Wilson, and all the volunteers and contestants who helped make this first ever Calendar Open Casting such a huge success!
Judges: Ethan Petersen, Heather Tom, Nicholle Tom, Stan Zimmerman and Paul Weber
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