In Los Angeles the history of and myths of Hollywood are spread out amongst the hills where money and power gave birth to some of the most insane residences this side of the antebellum South or the royal castles of England. Four of these little mini-communities of the most ridiculously rich people on the planet are the subject of Michael Gross’ new book Unreal Estate. In it, Gross takes his penchant for researching the history of the most storied retreats of the ultra-wealthy and applies it to homes owned by decades of Hollywood royalty.
The book hits the stands next week, but the author already has a deal set with HBO and overseen by producer Joel Silver to bust out a series exploring the lives of the residents of Beverly Hills, Beverly Park, Bel Air, and Holmby Hills. What kind of stars could end up being characters or cameos in such a series?
Magic Johnson, Barry Bonds, Rod Stewart, Mark Wahlberg, Reba McIntyre, Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, Samuel L. Jackson, Sly Stallone, Richard Zanuck, and relatives of an Indonesian dictator and Saudi Arabia’s king, along with Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Harold Lloyd, Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, George Hamilton, Tony Curtis, Cher, decadent Spanish land-grant families, desperado oilmen and railroad titans, the country’s first all-powerful corporate legends, con men and pyramid schemers, porn magnates, and Arab potentates, not to mention contemporary tabloid luminaries from the worlds of business and entertainment.
The possibilities are endless as the stories span decades. This could be another Mad Men clone as easily as it could blaze a new trailer for 70s or 80s fetishizing. What could be great is some kind of time-hopping show that would juxtapose different inhabitants of the same house… we could see Marilyn Monroe getting banged by a studio head in the pool room and then cut forward a few decades to the pacing, worried CEO of a conglomerate in the midst of a financial collapse he helped create.
The only concrete details is that HBO is envisioning a “drama with soapy elements.”
Despite the resentment brewing in popular culture, it’s highly unlikely Americans will lose their appetite for watching wealthy people struggle with life issues. This is sure to be popular.
You can watch Michel Gross take you on a quick Google Earth tour of the properties in question below (though watch out, he misidentifies the playboy mansion). Feel free to pick up his book from us, right here.
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Source | Deadline