Courtney Love leases home

Rocker Courtney Love -- who once declared that she wasn’t a woman but a force of nature and got little argument -- has rented a sprawling Mediterranean in the Hollywood Hills for about $20,000 a month.

FOR THE RECORD:
‘Entourage’ condo: The Feb. 21 Hot Property column in the Home section reported that the Hollywood Hills condo used to film HBO’s “Entourage,” available for lease at $6,950 a month, comes with many of the same furnishings and decor used in the show. According to Jill Sprayregen Henkel, set decorator for “Entourage,” only the built-ins and draperies used in the show are part of the lease. —

The five-bedroom, five-bathroom home with views has about 5,500 square feet. The house has a media room, cantera stone floors, balconies off a million rooms and an attached guesthouse where, just a few weeks ago, the celebrity gossip circuit was measuring available closet space for “The Wrestler” star Mickey Rourke to park his Golden Globe award.

Love -- the widow of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain -- and Rourke reportedly had been romantically linked after he text-messaged her for a date several weeks ago; who needs roses when you can get a text?

Both were honored earlier this month in London -- Love, 44, was named Elle Woman of the Year and Rourke, 56, picked up the best actor prize at the Elle Style Awards. And yes, the texting apparently continued from across the table.

So, has Love joined the housing bubble-ites who preach “rent, don’t buy?” Don’t count on it. Tax laws make it attractive for celebrities to lease high-end properties. In this case, the home is not listed for sale and was available for lease only as a pocket listing, meaning its availability wasn’t publicly advertised.

The home’s owner is Latin movie producer Jeanette Longoria, who represents Televisa Videocine.

Trista Rullán of Hilton & Hyland, Beverly Hills, represented the owner in the transaction.

She quit the hills, not ‘ The Hills’

Speaking of renters, add to the list “The Hills’ ” Lauren Conrad, or L.C., as she apparently no longer likes to be called.

Conrad, 23, is a reality TV star with a knack for making something out of nothing. As a high school senior, she appeared in the MTV reality series “ Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” and now she stars in her own spinoff show, “The Hills,” which follows her life as she pursues a fashion career. Glued to the set, are you?

Now, the not-one-to-miss-an-opportunity Conrad has moved to a rented condo in Westwood and hopes to lease out her Hollywood Hills home for $11,000 a month. In this economy, that’s what many call Plan B, although in Conrad’s case, the downsize comes from wanting greater security.

The house she just listed for lease, according to the Multiple Listing Service, features “plasmas throughout with a built-in sound system.”

The 1920s Spanish-style house has hardwood floors and a custom kitchen with high-end stainless-steel appliances. There are three bedrooms, 2 1/2 bathrooms, a den and a detached guesthouse.

Conrad’s Westwood rental has 24-hour security. She tired of fans jumping over her fence, said her listing agent, Jana Kartchner of 360 Realty.

Hip digs for your own ‘ Entourage’

If $11,000 a month is too rich for your blood . . . “Entourage” fans can sleep where Johnny Drama and the rest of the boys slept, so to speak. Drama’s condo -- the one where HBO films scenes in the hit series -- is for lease at $6,950 a month. It comes with many of the same furnishings and décor used by the show, says the MLS. The entertainment system is included.

The two-bedroom, 2 1/2 - bathroom condo in the Hollywood Hills has 1,986 square feet. And the two bedrooms are located sufficiently apart to make a roommate situation viable -- a good thing since Vinnie and the boys all had to bunk together at Drama’s place for the last two seasons.

There is one balcony with views of Runyon Canyon and the hills and a second with views of the ocean and Century City off the master bedroom. There is parking for three cars and the building has valet parking, a pool, spa and gym. The unit has hardwood floors; bring your own bearskin rug.

Jeffrey Hobgood of Sotheby’s International Realty, Beverly Hills, has the listing.

Paparazzi? Not at rustic hacienda

Movie and commercial producer Lee Nelson is selling a house that somehow missed its freeway exit: It belongs in Montecito, which is not to say there is anything shabby about Brentwood’s Sullivan Canyon -- a place where Steven Spielberg and Robert Wagner also hang their hats.

But this house -- which Nelson designed himself -- is a hacienda on 3 private acres with the ambience of genteel Montecito.

It is listed at $9,950,000and has six bedrooms and 5 1/2 bathrooms in about 6,000 square feet.

The home is about as paparazzi-proof as they come, reached only by a long driveway and sitting on a knoll that isn’t visible from the street.

It’s one of those “new- but-made-to-look-old” houses that includes heavy wooden entry doors, a living room with vaulted beamed ceil- ings and floor-to-ceiling windows.

There is a fireplace of native stone that’s big enough to stand in; at one end of it are bookcases and at the other, a drop-down 13-foot projection screen.

The formal dining room overlooks gardens. The kitchen has Viking appliances and a center island. The breakfast area opens to an outdoor sitting room with a trellised alcove. There is a wine tasting room and an 800-bottle wine cellar.

Nelson is owner of the TV commercial production company, XOVER (pronounced: “crossover”). He has produced award-winning spots for Coca-Cola, Toyota, Ford and Fuji, among others.

He also has an extensive career in the movies. He executive produced “Pathfinder” (2007); co-produced “Basic” (2003); and produced “The Seventh Coin” (1993). He is currently developing a feature film called “Waco,” exploring the 1993 standoff between federal agents and David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidian sect near the Texas town.

Mary Lu and Kathleen Tuthill at Coldwell Banker Previews, Brentwood Court office, are the listing agents.

ann.brenoff@latimes.com