Director pays $14.7 million for storied Bella Vista estate
In one of Beverly Crest’s biggest deals so far this year, director Joseph McGinty Nichol, better known as McG, has paid $14.7 million for the storied Bella Vista estate. He bought it from actress Donna Scott.
The sale ends a six-year marketing journey for the 95-year-old Spanish villa. It first surfaced for sale in 2015 for $42.5 million along with seven acres of land. With no takers, the price and land size were steadily reduced; it most recently listed earlier this year for $15.5 million with one acre.
It’s a natural landing place for McG, director of the films “Charlie’s Angels,” “We Are Marshall” and “Terminator Salvation.”
Since the home was built in 1926, a parade of actors and filmmakers from different eras of cinema have lived there.
Scott, who starred in the films “Déjà Vu” and “Domino,” owned the home with her husband, Tony Scott, the director of “Top Gun” and “True Romance,” who died in 2012.
It was built for prolific director King Vidor and later owned by John Barrymore, the stage and screen legend whose film career spanned the silent and talkie eras.
Spanish Colonial Revival-style master John Byers designed the place, and his signature work is on full display across the compound, which has a main house, two guest cottages, a bungalow and a two-story guesthouse.
White stucco and clay tile adorn the main house, which opens to grand spaces with hand-painted murals, dramatic beams, arched doorways and ornate fireplaces. Highlights include a wine cellar, cigar room, bar and an aviary that was converted into a two-story space spanning more than 3,000 square feet.
Upstairs, the primary suite adds a wraparound veranda and opium den accessed by a hand-carved ladder. It surveys the landscaped grounds dotted with gardens, fountains, koi ponds and a pool with a waterfall.
Kirby Gillon, Bryce Lowe and Aaron Kirman of Aaron Kirman Group at Compass held the listing. Billy Rose of the Agency represented McG.
McG, 53, rose to prominence with 2000’s “Charlie’s Angels” and also directed the sequel, “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.” His credits as a producer include “Supernatural,” “Chuck” and “The O.C.,” which were all created through his production company, Wonderland Sound and Vision.
Chopra gets a quick sale in La Jolla
New Age guru Deepak Chopra owned his La Jolla home for 28 years, but selling it took little more than a month. The author and alternative medicine advocate just unloaded the scenic spot for $5.5 million, accepting an offer roughly five weeks after he listed it for $5.65 million.
He more than doubled his money on the deal; records show he paid $2.2 million for the striking, swirling home in 1993.
Located about a mile from the water, the property capitalizes on its coastal setting with two curved decks overlooking the fairways of the La Jolla Country Club golf course and the ocean beyond. A spiral staircase descends to a patio with a swimming pool and spa.
The curves continue inside, where an open floor plan combines a living room and dining area separated by a dual-sided fireplace. A triangular skylight tops a triangular island in the kitchen.
In 5,863 square feet are five bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms, a media room, family room and office. On all three levels, walls of windows overlook the ocean.
A prolific author and figure in the New Age movement, Chopra rose to fame after an appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” the same year he bought the property. He has penned more than 90 books, including “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success,” “Creating Health” and “Quantum Healing.”
Susana Corrigan and Patty Cohen of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices California Properties held the listing.
Actor looks to wrap in Hollywood
After a decade in Hollywood, Lance Gross is ready for a scene change. The “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” actor just listed his architectural penthouse for $1.125 million, or $300,000 more than he paid in 2010.
A modern concoction of concrete and glass, the three-bedroom condo was designed by Clive Wilkinson, the South African architect who also worked on the design for KCRW-FM’s offices in Santa Monica.
It’s one of nine units in 10 Palms, a striking complex on Franklin Avenue wrapped in white stucco, sheet metal panels and red cedar siding. Gross said the architecture and design are what drew him there a decade ago.
A skylit great room with oversize windows and accent walls anchors the home, and a floating staircase ascends to the dining room and kitchen. The nearly 2,000-square-foot floor plan also holds an office, primary suite with wood ceilings and bonus room decked out with a baseball scoreboard.
The unit includes underground parking, as well as a turf balcony overlooking Hollywood.
A native of Oakland, Gross has starred in multiple Tyler Perry productions including “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne,” “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” and “Tyler Perry’s the Paynes.” Later this month, he’s set to appear in the Fox drama series “Our Kind of People.”
Kofi Nartey and Michael Joseph of Globl RED hold the listing.