So you want to know where Ironman, LA Confidential and Pulp Fiction were shot? Well read more because we have the list of the hottest luxury homes featured in some of your favorite movies.
Creating the perfect backdrop for a film is more of a challenge than most realize. It helps the viewer believe the story they are watching and the set designer and location scout are key to helping fine tune a movie’s character persona. Certain luxury homes are real and others are staged but no matter what their real life listing value is or their mirage of remaining a fairytale to us, they always become a silent staple when referencing the film, t.v. show or photo shoot.
We have compiled a list of some of the luxury homes featured in movies you may reminisce about and now be able to put a name to. If you want us to add some of your other favorites to the list, just let us know.
__________________________________________________________
Oakley Court in Windsor UK
Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), The House in Nightmare Park, Brides of Dracula, The Curse of Frankenstein, Plague of the Zombies, and so many others.
Built in 1859 for Sir Richard Hall and immortalized by a series of cult horrors as Frankenstein’s home or Dracula’s abode, this Victorian manor known as Oakley Court. Over 200 films have featured the chateau and its grounds, most known for The Rocky Horror Picture Show movie as Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s estate, the “Sweet Transvestite” from Transsexual Transylvania. The property has since been extensively renovated and is now operating as a hotel.
Ennis House, Los Angeles
Films: Blade Runner (1982), House on the Haunted Hill (1999), The Day of the Locust (1975), and many others.
This futuristic and Mayan revival styled house was in 1924, by Frank Lloyd Wright. It caught the attention of many movie scouts and was featured in movies, TV shows, and commercials. You would have seen it in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner as bounty hunter Rick Deckhard’s cyberpunk apartment.
The Goldstein House, Benedict Canyon, Beverly Hills
Films: The Big Lebowski (1998), Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle (2003), Snoop Dog music video
Built into the sandstone of the hillside, this well known Hollywood staple has been featured on the cover of architectural digest numerous times, in music videos, movies, tv shows, the backdrop for many A-list celebrity events and just about every supermodel has shot there at least once. The Sheats/Goldstein house was built between 1961 and 1963 by John Lautner, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. It was intended to mimic a cave and it made a perfect party crib of fictional pornographer Jackie Treehorn in The Big Lebowski. Destination luxury has had the pleasure and opportunity to shoot here as well more then once.
Charles Deaton’s Sculptured House, Denver, Colorado
Films: Sleeper (1973)
Best known for its prominent role in Woody Allen’s sci-fi comedy Sleeper, this unique ‘clamshell’ looking house was built by architect Charles Deaton in the early 1960s and is on Genesee Mountain. With its one of a kind sleek concrete silhouette, endless looking glass windows, and a cylindrical elevator, it’s no wonder that it sold for $1.5 million.
Xanadu
Film: Citizen Kane (1941)
Xanadu was featured in Orson Welles’ iconic classic Citizen Kane. It was portrayed as a pleasure dome of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane (Welles), Xanadu is “the costliest monument of a man to himself,” a lavish palace that by the end turns into a prison of personal alienation.
Tjoloholm Castle, Halland, Sweden
Films: Melancholia (2011)
Built between 1894 and 1904 in the province of Halland, the Tjoloholm Castle was designed in the Arts and Crafts style by architect Lars Israel Wahlmann. The castle was quite modern for its time by having electricity and central heating. It is known for its cameo in Lars von Trier’s apocalyptic movie, Melancholia, featuring Kirsten Dunst and Charlotte Gainsbourg. As for an interesting fact about it, he man who owned it was James Dickson and sadly he died of blood poisoning after he cut his finger and never got to see the castle finished.
Elrod House, Los Angeles, California
Film: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
What luxury homes would you choose for the top villain in a James Bond movie’s humble abode? The reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte’s summer house in Palm Springs certainly was a top pick for us as well. The Elrod House was built in 1968 by John Lautner and is now valued at 14 million with its own rooftop deck to enjoy the breathtaking view, a gigantic pool and enough room for a few of your cars. It is well know for its feature in the James Bond movie, Diamonds are Forever, as well as in numerous photo shoot shoots.
The House from Iron Man
Film: Iron Man
Based off a real house in Point Dume California, this dream house in Iron Man is painted to be the ideal bachelor pad. It is said to have been based on John Lautner designs by set designer J. Michael Riva but alas the house was created on a Hollywood sound stage.
The Lovell House in Los Angeles, California
Film: LA Confidential
The Lovell House was designed and built by Richard Neutra in the International Style in 1927 and is located in Los Angeles. An interesting fact about The Lovell House was it was the first steel frame home in the United States and was an early example of the use of gunite (sprayed-on concrete). It appeared as the home of Pierce Morehouse Patchett in the 1997 film ‘L.A. Confidential’.
Mia Wallace’s Modern Abode in Beverly Hills
Film: Pulp Fiction
Do you remember Uma Thurman’s home in Pulp Fiction? The actual home was built in the 1960s and has three bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms. It measures 4,015 square feet and is on one acre of land and has an infinity pool.
The Chatsworth House in Derbyshire
Film: The Duchess (2008), Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Different from other luxury homes, the Chatsworth House is the most visited attraction in Derbyshire and is only 15 minutes from the Marquis of Granby. In 2010 it was a landmark year for Chatsworth, home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire, with more of the house open to visitors than ever before. It was featured as Mr Darcy’s home in the 2005 film version of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and was also used in ‘The Duchess’, starring Keira Knightley in 2008.
