Blockbuster film producer Joel Silver is looking for his second major home release in two years. After selling his Malibu estate last year for $38 million, Silver has listed his Brentwood home for sale at $77.5 million.
The bright-colored and striking Mexican modernist residence was designed by architect Ricardo Legorreta. Completed in the early 2000s, the roughly 26,000-square-foot house includes a circular atrium, a dining room topped with a pyramid-like ceiling and a 30-foot-high family room with hydraulic doors.
“It’s a unique architectural,” said Hilton & Hyland agent Judy Feder, who is listing the property with Kurt Rappaport of Westside Estate Agency. “This was Legorreta’s best work.”
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Several of the outdoor areas were designed to be used as individual living spaces. Stone walls and mature trees provide cover for a sunken basketball court. Covered and uncovered patios surround the swimming pool, which has a lap area.
An English maze garden with an ornamental fountain at its center lies elsewhere on the roughly five-acre property.
The listing has the potential to set a new benchmark for areas west of the 405 Freeway, Feder said.
In Brentwood and neighboring pockets such as Pacific Palisades, past sales have yet to eclipse the $40-million mark. If the Silver estate sells for its asking price, it would be nearly double the Brentwood price record of $40 million set in 2014 when NFL star Tom Brady sold his home to hip-hop mogul Dr. Dre.
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Silver, 67, has been producing box office hits since the 1970s, including the “Predator,” “Matrix,” “Die Hard” and “Lethal Weapon” franchises. He is set to produce the upcoming “Sherlock Holmes 3” film as well as the reboot of the 1976 science fiction film “Logan’s Run.”
Moving to a new drag
No one’s busier than RuPaul. Between filming his new daytime talk show and hosting another season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the famous drag queen found time to shell out $13.7 million for a European-style home in Beverly Hills.
Spanning half an acre, the impressive estate holds a 10,000-square-foot mansion, a swimming pool, spa and gazebo surrounded by lush landscaping.
Everything’s dramatic inside, starting with a voluminous two-story, chandelier-topped foyer with splashes of marble and wrought iron. Past that, there’s a massive dining room with paneled walls and a chic kitchen with custom cabinetry and a rounded breakfast nook.
A media room, an office, a wine cellar and a pair of formal living spaces with parquet floors complete the main level. One living room boasts French doors and a fireplace. The other, wrapped in shades of burgundy, tacks on a wet bar.
Upstairs, a master suite under a tray ceiling expands to a bathroom with checkered floors and a balcony. It overlooks a lamp-lit backyard that carries the same elegant style as inside. In total, there are six bedrooms and eight bathrooms.
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Myra and Michael Nourmand of Nourmand and Associates held the listing. Michael Libow of Compass represented the buyer.
RuPaul, 58, boasts an impressive string of film and TV credits dating back to the 1980s, and his reality competition show “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has won four Primetime Emmy Awards. He’s also released 12 studio albums, the most recent of which was 2018’s “Christmas Party.”
Boogieing on out
After more than two decades, actress Heather Graham is ready for a change of scenery in the Hollywood Hills. Her Beachwood Canyon compound has hit the market for $2.85 million.
That’s $1.97 million more than the “Boogie Nights” actress paid for the property in 1998. She’s not the only notable name tied to the estate; according to the listing, novelist Zane Grey, author of “Riders of the Purple Sage,” was among its past residents.
Built in 1927, the Spanish-style home has been well preserved in the 92 years since. Past a rotunda entry, the floor plan features beamed ceilings, tile finishes, picture windows, arched doorways and bright splashes of color across three stories of living space.
A two-story living room with a sunny lounge serves as the focal point. Elsewhere, there’s a tile kitchen, dining room, wood-paneled library, brick wine cellar and colorful bonus room.
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The master suite sits upstairs and opens to a private balcony overlooking the sloping grounds. A total of three bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms lie within 2,150 square feet of interior.
Outside, tiered gardens descend the hillside, leading to a brick patio, swimming pool, spa and a pavilion with a fire pit. A bonus structure, which is currently used as a two-car garage, completes the scene.
Elisabeth Halsted of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties holds the listing.
A Hollywood staple since the ’80s, Graham scored roles in “License to Drive” and “Drugstore Cowboy” before more notable appearances in “Boogie Nights,” “Twin Peaks,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and the “Hangover” franchise. More recently, the 49-year-old starred in “Californication” and “Flaked.”
Getting in tune with the market
Actress-singer Lea Michele, known for her role as Rachel Barry on the musical television series “Glee,” has listed her Brentwood home of four years for sale at $3.15 million.
The upper Mandeville Canyon contemporary, built in the 1950s and since remodeled, sits on a little over half an acre on a private cul-de-sac with a swimming pool, an outdoor lounge, palm trees and fountains.
The 3,200 square feet of living space has vaulted ceilings, walls of steel-framed windows, four bedrooms and four bathrooms. Custom built-ins frame a concrete fireplace in the living room. The chef’s kitchen centers on a marble island with a waterfall edge. A pivoting glass door leads to the backyard.
Views take in the surrounding hillside and canyon.
Michele, 33, got her start as a child actress on Broadway, appearing in productions of “Les Misérables” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” among others. The Emmy-nominated actress recently appeared in the ABC sitcom “The Mayor” as well as the Fox show “Scream Queens.”
As a singer, Michele has released two studio albums, most recently “Places” in 2017. Her Christmas album, “Christmas in the City” is due out later this year.
Justin Huchel of Hilton & Hyland is the listing agent.
It’s no drop in the bucket
A waterfront Newport Beach mansion has sold to Qualtrics co-founder Jared Smith for a little over $35 million, placing it among the most expensive residential property sales in city and Orange County history.
The 12,710-square-foot Newport Harbor estate was listed for $44.995 million and sold in late August after a five-day escrow in an all-cash deal. The property has since been leased out for $195,000 per month.
The sale price is about $5 million shy of the previous Newport Beach record, set two years ago when a 12.5-acre estate in Newport Coast — considered the city’s largest private home parcel — sold for $39,999,999. It’s also $8,000 more than what actor Nicolas Cage sold his Newport Harbor home for in 2008.
Designed by Robert Sinclair and completed in 2018, the five-bedroom, eight-bathroom estate sits on three lots with 90 feet of frontage and a new private dock that can accommodate at least four vessels.
Inside, the multilevel house features about $1 million worth of Riviera bronze doors and windows, two bars, two chef’s kitchens, a craft room, a gym and a theater. A custom $100,000 aquarium designed by Nic Tiemens anchors the great room.
Three Tesla batteries and solar panels keep the home powered during outages. A glass elevator services four levels.
Terraces, balconies and multiple covered patios create additional living space outdoors. A 57-foot-long swimming pool with underwater speakers sits between the home and the dock.
Tim Smith of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage was the listing agent. Tara Foster Shapiro of Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty represented the buyer. The exact sale price was $35,008,000.
Jared Smith co-founded the enterprise software company Qualtrics with his brother, Ryan, in their parents’ basement in Utah, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. The Provo, Utah-based company was acquired last year by German software company SAP for $8 billion in cash.