Celebrity Home of the Week

Well, we knew it would be a tough decision this week. We just didn't know it would be this tough! Let's have a look back at the candidates:


Candidate #1: Shia LaBeouf's Cool Sherman Oaks Home

PROS
* Gorgeous mid-century house. Hollywood style and glamour.
* Shia's a Hollywood Hottie!

CONS
* Shia is at about minute 12 of his 15 minutes of fame.
* The house is so fab, we're just plain jealous! Yes, we reserve the right to 'playa hate.'


Candidate #2: The "Ferris Beuller" House of Glass

PROS
* Another mid-century beauty (albeit probably freezing cold during those Chicago winters).
* Nice period furniture pieces inside.
* It's for sale. So you can own a piece of movie history . . . if you've got $2.3M.

CONS
* Infamous Ferrari is not included in the sales price.
* It's not really a celebrity's house. This actually disqualifies it from winning.
* It's not even the movie house of the movie's only celebrity--to the extent that we're still calling Matthew Broderick a celeb. Remember, it was his friend Cameron's house.

(Cameron was played by Alan Ruck, in case anyone cares and we know no one does.)


Candidate #3: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's Overpriced New York Home


PROS
* It's a normal person's house. (Of course, Geithner may be a psycho.)
* It's the first house to garner its own segment on The Daily Show.
* It's possibly still for sale on the down low + at a greatly reduced price after that segment.

CONS
* That now infamous royal blue tile in the bathroom could get on our nerves.
* That aqua blue and salmon pink bedroom could make us commit hari-kari!
* It's overpriced, Geithner, you dumba$$! No wonder folks want you fired!


Candidate #4: Whoopi Goldberg's Eccentric SoHo Co-op

PROS
* It's a cool and quirky SoHo loft that happens to be for sale.
* AOL thought enough of it to put it on full blast to its subscribers yesterday.
* Despite our observations, a lot of people seemed to really dig her place.

CONS
* It's a little too quirky for us.
* It's a little too Shabby Chic-y for us.
* Did she ever f*ck Ted Danson there? Ewww!


So after weighing all the pros and cons, we have to call it a three-way tie this week. Congratulations Shia, Tim, and Whoopi. All of you have the Celebrity Homes of the Week!

Ciao!

Ferris Bueller's House

R.I.P. John Hughes. Thanks for showing us a great house in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which starred Matthew Broderick in the titular role. Okay, so if you saw the movie, you know it wasn't really Ferris Bueller's house. It was his best friend Cameron's house. And it was WICKED cool! Even without the infamous Ferrari glimpsed in the photo in our post on Monday.

Well, guess what? It's for sale!

Located in yet another affluent Chicago suburb, Highland Park, Illinois, this 5300s.f. house is totally worth the $2.3 million asking price. First, it was featured in a great movie. Second, it's architecturally significant. Third, it's nestled like a treehouse in the woods. And, finally, it's gorgeous!

The home was built in 1953 by notable architects, A. James Speyer and David Haid. It consists of two buildings made of steel and glass, cantilevered over a ravine.

All we can say is, (cue the music) "OH . . . YEAH!" Looks like we have another contender for our Celebrity Home of the Week.

Goodbye John Hughes--Thanks for the House Memories

John Hughes, one of America's notable writer-directors of the 1980's, died suddenly last week at the age of 59. Hughes brought us many memorable ensemble films such as National Lampoon's Vacation, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Home Alone.

As we mourned his loss, we checked out the tributes on the Huffington Post. Some were from and about actors whose careers he helped launch, like Molly Ringwald, Matthew Broderick, and Macaulay Culkin. We also read a great blog post on how the soundtracks for his movies provided the soundtrack of our lives--or at least for those of us who were in high school back then. Who could forget "Don't You Forget About Me" by Simple Minds?

But we didn't see any mention that Hughes' films gave us two of the coolest houses ever seen on film: the Home Alone house (shown above) and the Ferris Bueller house (below).

Ordinarily, we only discuss houses belonging to celebrities. But this week we're making an exception for the two houses that are celebrities in their own right. To be continued . . .

Celebrity House Hunters: Brangelina, Megan Fox & Others

Looks like a few of our favorite celebrities are on the hunt for new digs.

Photo: Corkery/News

New York Daily News reports that megastars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are checking out hi-rise digs on NY's Upper West Side. Under consideration is the century-old Apthorp Building, described as "fortress-like luxury" and in the process of converting to condos. They might spend to the tune of $25 million for 3 units. Guess they need all that space for their tribe.

Other celebs who may buy there too: Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick with their recently expanded clan, and Alec Baldwin. Hey, maybe uber-parent Alec can babysit all the kids!

Poor Megan Fox. Perez Hilton reports that she's house shopping in L.A. But we think she's shopping with chump change: $2-$3 million. Fortunately for her, the economy is lousy, so she might score a real bargain. Of course, no amount of money can buy her some class. Saw the photo, Perez. Geesh!