Hell of a thing, getting caught up in a celebreality-show shoot while just trying to grab a burger and beer at 2 p.m. on a Saturday. Shoulda known something was up when the kiddo and I pulled into Keller's Drive-In on Northwest Highway and spotted phony tour buses, one bearing the grizzled visage of Tommy Lee and one sporting the grinning face of Ludacris. The woman who took our order wasn't sure what was up; she thought it was something for HBO. Turns out the duo are in town this weekend shooting an episode of their forthcoming Discovery Channel "eco-centric" competition show Battleground Earth, which airs this summer on Discovery's new Planet Green network. (Update: At 8:31 p.m., I drove by Keller's again -- and, for those with absolutely nothing else to do tonight, it's still a very live set and quite the scene.)
The unlikely twosome were in Fort Worth last night; guess Startlegram'er Andrew Marton's got the Tommy Lee-Ludacris beat, as we spied him at the drive-thru burgery too, talking to someone about the "mainstreaming of" ... something (porn, maybe?)
Some of the Keller's staff, trying to serve diners whilst dodging the scampering crew members and some two dozen motorcycle-riding extras, wasn't terribly delighted by the intrusion, which lasted a few hours longer than expected: Without warning, exits were blocked by bikers escorted in by a director, and half the lot was shut down for several hours to accommodate the crew and a couple of limos, which, no doubt, are fueled by hydrogen and pixie dust. (The closing of the lot really cut into tips.) And, a question: Is it really eco-centric to hire a bunch of bikers to idle their engines and roar through the crowd, all for "a nice visual"? --Robert Wilonsky
