Dean Devlin had his eyes on the building at 962 La Cienega for years.
“It had been on the market before and I made a lowball offer, so low that the owner told me to go jump off a bridge,” said Devlin, the producer behind Independence Day: Resurgence and TNT’s The Librarians and the director of the upcoming Warner Bros. sci-fi film Geostorm. So when the property came up for sale again earlier this year, Devlin wasn’t going to let it slip through his fingers.
In April, he closed on the 20,000-square-foot, two-story postproduction facility for $15.76 million. Located at the corner of La Cienega and Romaine Street in the heart of West Hollywood, the structure has a large private courtyard, two executive boardrooms with fireplaces, a client lounge and expansive views from several terraces. It also boasts a video production room, audio video transfer and engineering areas, a voiceover mixing room and 15 edit bays.
Related Stories
As the former home to Elektra and Asylum Records, the space also is a veritable cultural landmark. Both the Doors and the Eagles recorded albums there, and one of the original echo chambers used by the Doors’ lead singer Jim Morrison is still intact. “The history of the place was very sexy,” Devlin told THR. “But also it is kind of the perfect facility for what our company does.”
Devlin, who was speaking from Portland where he is shooting season three of The Librarians, said his company, Electric Entertainment, had outgrown its previous offices at 940 Highland. All three divisions of Electric Entertainment — production, postproduction and a newly formed distribution arm — already have moved into the new facility. “I always make my people move in before they are finished with all the construction. The place has a great energy,” he said.
Electric’s former home on Highland is in the process of being sold.
Devlin said Electric has made some cosmetic changes to the atrium and lobby and is converting the original recording studio into a mixing stage and screening room. The facility also was home to Don Ohlmeyer’s sports broadcast company, Intersound, and most recently Discovery Communications.
Marty Barkan of CBRE represented Electric Entertainment in this transaction.
See photos of the space below.
Reception area.
Interior wrap around stairway.
