R.E.M. frontman finds his niche in Hollywood

STIPE may be best known as the lead singer for the Athens, Ga.-based band R.E.M., but since 1994 he’s been working in Hollywood, producing films through his company, Single Cell Productions. His hits include “Velvet Goldmine,” “American Movie: The Making of Northwestern” and “Being John Malkovich.” His latest production, “Saved!” is a comedy about the students of a Baptist high school, starring Mandy Moore, Jena Malone and Macaulay Culkin.

Looking good

On a Friday, the first thing I’d do is go to Maxfield or Fred Segal in West Hollywood and get some clothes. And I’d get some stinky candles. Zipper, on 3rd Street, has good stuff. I’d be out with friends, so I’d ask them where they want to eat. I like the place Cha Cha Cha on Virgil Avenue. They have black beans and fried plantains. They have sangria there too and a very casual vibe. It’s a little bit like a great restaurant in the Yucatan.

I’d probably avoid Hollywood. I’d go see a show at the Greek Theatre or the Wiltern. There’s a warmth and a feeling at the Greek, and the Wiltern is such a beautiful building that, for me, there’s energy in the building and in the space that’s really conducive to a great night of music. I saw one of the best shows at the Wiltern. Patti Smith, when she was coming back from semiretirement from music, played a show at the Wiltern that was one of the most extraordinary I’ve ever seen. Another one of the greatest shows I ever saw was Chris Rock at the Universal Amphitheatre. That ranks in my top five. If he, or Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, an amazing singer who I saw perform there, were playing, I’d go see them.

Art, tobacco, sushi

On Saturday, I’d get up and hit some galleries. I love Fahey/Klein on La Brea. It’s classic and modern photography from midcentury on. They had a great show by Allen Ginsberg. I would definitely stop at the newsstand at the corner of Fairfax and Melrose and pick up some tobacco and check out the magazines. They have a great international section there.

Saturday night, I would go to Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills and get some great sushi. I love sea urchins -- uni -- and they do a great uni at Matsuhisa. And you can request shiso, which is the green leaf they put on some things. Anything with shiso I love. It’s my favorite flavor. I think it’s what every hair conditioner and candle should be scented as.

A casual touch

I love Bar Marmont on Sunset. I love the butterflies on the ceiling. Pretty much anything Andre Balazs puts his name on, I really like.

There’s a casual atmosphere in the places he’s opened. I had dinner at the Standard across the street from there recently. I’m working in Miami right now and I’m staying in one of his hotels there, the Raleigh. I stayed at the Mercer in New York when my apartment was being renovated. He’s got a great touch.

If I went to Hugo’s in West Hollywood for breakfast, it would be a business meeting with my producing partner, Sandy Stern. I would order the tea that unfurls inside the cup. It comes in a disc shape. It’s a jasmine tea that’s tied together. It looks like a squashed sea urchin and it unfurls once it hits hot water and turns into a puffball of gorgeous jasmine tea.

-- Patrick Day