Roger Birnbaum and the home
For Roger Birnbaum, the long wait is over. But for the Hollywood film producer of movies like the “The Rush Hour” franchise, it’s not the release of his next potential blockbuster. It’s the sale of his home.
Birnbaum, who founded Spyglass Entertainment, sold the Beverly Hills home at a sharp discount from its original asking price.
The 8,000-square-foot home in the Trousdale Estates traded for $21.4 million after Birnbaum originally asked $33.8 million last year, which amounts to a 37-percent drop. Still, it was more than a million dollars over what he paid for it.
Price cutting has been the rule not the exception in Los Angeles’ luxury real estate market in recent months. The Spelling Manor in Beverly Hills, which sold for $120 million — the most expensive residential sale in the county ever — was still 40 percent less than its original asking price.
Birnbaum paid $20 million for his home in 2014, records show. The modern-style home on Hillcrest Road was designed in 1956 by architect Harold Levitt. It includes four bedrooms and seven bathrooms. It also features a 500-square-foot music room and a pool.
The property appeared in the “Four Days in L.A.” ad campaign for Versace, and its past owners include Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi — who have become expert luxury home flippers — developer Brad Korzen and decorator Kelly Wearstler, media executive Rosalie Swedlin, and CIA analyst-turned-producer Robert Cort.
Stephen Shapiro of Westside Estate Agency had the listing; Ari Afshar of Compass represented the buyer, who was not identified.
Birnbaum, who is co-chairman of Spyglass, also produced films like “No Strings Attached,” “Get Him to the Greek” and “Dinner for Schmucks.”