Will ‘Ransom’ Pay This Note?
RENE RUSSO, who co-stars with Mel Gibson in the upcoming thriller “Ransom” and appears with Kevin Costner and Don Johnson in the golf film “Tin Cup,” and her husband, screenwriter Danny Gilroy, have bought a Brentwood home for nearly $4 million, sources say.
The former fashion model also appeared with John Travolta in the 1995 movie adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s “Get Shorty,” and she was in “Outbreak” (1995) with Dustin Hoffman and in “In the Line of Fire” (1993) with Clint Eastwood.
Russo, 41, made what is considered her breakthrough in feature films opposite Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in “Lethal Weapon 3” (1992). “Ransom,” directed by Ron Howard, opens Nov. 8.
Gilroy was one of several screenwriters who worked on “Outbreak” and the 1994 comedy film “Chasers.”
The couple met while working on the Mick Jagger sci-fi film “Freejack” (1992). Gilroy initially had turned down the offer to rewrite it; Russo had turned down the offer to appear in it. They changed their minds, met and, soon after, married.
Before buying their new home, the couple, who have one child and plans for another, had been living in a 1,000-square-foot house where Russo, a native of Los Angeles, had lived since 1975, sources say.
Her new home has four bedrooms in 8,500 square feet on a bit more than an acre. The house, described as “romantic and beautiful with a European flavor and charm,” was built in 1990.
The asking price was $4.4 million, and the property was sold at $3.75 million, sources say.
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The Beverly Hills home of GENE KELLY, who died at 83 in February, has been sold for nearly its $2-million asking price, sources say. Escrow closed Thursday.
The buyers are Richard “Dick” Costello, president of MCA’s Universal Strategic Marketing Group, and his wife, Ann, sources say. His appointment was announced in June, and they are moving here from New York.
Kelly had the house rebuilt in 1984 to look the same as it did before a fire destroyed it and his only Oscar. The legendary dancer-actor owned the property for more than 30 years, sources have said.
The traditional-style home has three bedrooms and a guest house in about 5,000 square feet.
Brett Lawyer of Nourmand & Associates, Beverly Hills, had the listing, and Ed Fitz of the same office represented the buyers.
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BRANDON TARTIKOFF, former NBC Entertainment chairman who recently became an independent producer after resigning as chairman of New World Entertainment, and his wife, Lilly, a former dancer with the New York City Ballet, have purchased a Bel-Air home for $3 million, sources say.
The six-bedroom 6,000-square-foot house was built in 1940 and is said to be in need of refurbishing. It is, however, on 1.5 acres of prime, usable land, sources say.
The Tartikoffs have lived since 1985 in what sources describe as “a modest home” in Coldwater Canyon.
The Bel-Air home was on the market at $3.5 million last December when it was sold, with multiple offers, at just under $3.7 million. The buyer then resold the property.
Tartikoff, 47, overcame lymphatic cancer to become, at 31, the youngest division chief in the history of the NBC network. In 1986, he received much of the credit for helping NBC overtake CBS in the Nielsen ratings for the first time in three decades.
In September, it was announced that Tartikoff and Spike Lee, director of “Do the Right Thing” and “Malcolm X,” will produce a new series for ABC, which Lee will write and direct. The series, a buddy comedy that will be filmed in New York, is expected to premiere next fall.
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NICHOLAS TURTURRO, who plays idealistic detective James Martinez on “NYPD Blue,” has purchased a ranch-style Tarzana home for himself and his bride, Lissa Espinosa, sources say.
The couple were married just before escrow closed. She was working as a flight attendant when they met, sources say.
Turturro, 34, is from New York but has lived for some time in L.A., where “NYPD Blue” is filmed. He has an 11-year-old daughter from a previous marriage.
The newlyweds’ new home has four bedrooms in 2,100 square feet, a pool, a grotto spa, a waterfall and a yard of rolling hills surrounded by a wood rail fence. Turturro bought the home for $380,000, sources say.
Paul Bilski of Fred Sands’ Sherman Oaks office represented Turturro, and Isabell Harper Smith of the same office represented the sellers.
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Oscar-winning sound editor STEPHEN FLICK and his wife, Judee, have bought a gated, hillside villa in Glendale for close to its $995,000 asking price, sources say.
Flick, 47, has won two Academy Awards, one for best sound effects editing for “Robocop” (1988), the other for “Speed” (1994). He also did the sound editing for “Twister” (1996).
The Flicks’ new home is Mediterranean in style and has a guest house, pool and spa. They were living nearby in a smaller classic Spanish-style home, which they plan to sell through Pat Howell of the Prudential-Jon Douglas Co., Glendale.
Howell represented the Flicks in their purchase, and Debbie Jaeschke, R.R. Gable Inc., represented the seller.
