Less than two hours ago (1.59 pm Eastern) TMZ reported that the sprawling Mediterranean home of Steven Spielberg has not succumbed to the Palisades fire! Forbes had reported otherwise but good news!
Earlier this morning: Until this morning I hadn’t heard that the Palisades fire has reduced Steven Spielberg’s Pacific Palisades home (Amalfi Drive near Spoleto Drive, adjacent to Santa Monica Canyon) to cinders. Update: Casa Spielberg is safe!
I had never visited, of course, or even looked past the tall hedges (Tatiana and I would stroll right by during our weekend Pacific Palisades hikes) but photos tell us it was a beautiful, sprawling, old-world Mediterranean palazzo. Actually “a little Spanish, a little French and a little Italian,” Spielberg told his redesign architect Harry Newman.
Renovated by Newman in the late ’80s and profiled in ’89, the place was thoroughly infiltrated with Hollywood legend. Previous residents included Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., David O. Selznick and Cary Grant. “The history of the house attracted me instinctively,” Spielberg says. “It was important for me to know that Selznick had lived there during the time he produced Gone With the Wind.”
Homes can be rebuilt, of course, but the vibes of history (i.e., ghosts) can’t be replicated. Not to mention Spielberg’s own history. Think of the many movie-shoot artifacts that Spielberg or his staffers may not have had time to carry out. Think of the leather-bound scripts, the old photos and 3/4″ tapes, the Bluray collection, etc. Was the original Rosebud sled saved?
In 2018 Spielberg told BBC1 that the Indiana Jones whip and fedora, props from 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, are kept in his office.
“This house was a burden of dreams,” Spielberg told Architectural Digest in a May 1989 article. “It was not an easy house to do. Somewhere in the back of my mind is the challenge of doing another house, but that’s far in the future.”
The home of Miles “don’t be a pervert, man” Teller was also eaten by the Palisades fire. Ditto the homes of Billy Crystal, Anthony Hopkins, James Woods, Mark Hamill, Mandy Moore, Adam Sandler, etc.
@michaellevitt_1 #greenscreen #hollywood #fire #pacificpalisades #palisades #malibu #la #celebrity #wildfire #famous #rich #fyp ♬ original sound – MICHAEL LEVITT
