Paul W.S. Anderson Covertly Sells Contemporary Along Venice Canals

SELLER: Paul W.S. Anderson
LOCATION: Venice, CA
PRICE: $3,495,000
SIZE: 2,622 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms

YOUR MAMA’S NOTES: It was eagle-eyed real estate yenta Yolanda Yakketyyak who first spotted the transaction and property records do indeed confirm action-adventure filmmaker Paul W.S. Anderson made a covert, off-market deal and sold a contemporary residence along the Venice Canals, in Venice, CA, for $3.495 million. Property records show the English-born filmmaker, whose professional milieu is turning violent video games into action-packed cinematic experiences and who is perhaps best known for writing, directing and producing the “Resident Evil” film series that all together have grossed nearly a billion dollars in worldwide box office receipts and star his Ukraine-born model/actress wife Milla Jovovich, came close to tripling his money on the property that was purchased in April 1999 for $1.325 million.

The 2,622-square-foot contemporary stands two stories tall with three bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms and we found plenty of digital evidence that prior to being sold the house had been listed as a furnished rental at $10,000 per month. An entry vestibule so puny it barely exists opens to combination living and dining space on the ground floor with inlaid honey-blonde hardwood floors and a muscular series of arched, rib-like beams on the ceiling. The living room area, anchored by a stacked stone fireplace, has a deep cushioned window seat set into a window-lined bay and the dining area is fitted with a high-backed tufted leather built-in banquette. Just outside the living room there’s a small terrace for al fresco canal-side dining as well as a built-in fire pit ringed by bench seating. Back inside the dining area steps up to a roomy and well-equipped center island kitchen with stone tile flooring, glossy black granite counter tops, flat-fronted honey blond cabinetry with sleek linear hardware, and all the customary stainless steel appliances typically found in a $3.5 million house.

A small den on the second floor leads to a pair of guest/family bedrooms, one of which has a slender balcony with open canal views, along with the master suite that features another deep and cushioned window seat next to a fireplace set into a wood-paneled wall with open bookshelves. Glass sliders lead to a small private balcony with charming views up and down the canal and the attached bathroom includes a double-sink vanity and giant jetted soaking tub backed by decoratively 1990s bank of glass bricks. A spine-tingling bridge-like catwalk links to an open tread floating staircase that makes a rather nerve-rattling climb to a petite roof terrace with wrap around views, built-in bench seating and a spa tub.

Miz Jovovich once owned a Greek Revival-style townhouse in New York City’s West Village she picked up in February 2009 for $6.375 million and, after several unsuccessful attempts to sell it in previous years for prices that went as high as $8.75 million, sold it in an off-market deal in February 2013 for $6.7 million to well-compensated IMAX CEO Richard Gelfond who reportedly leased the property for a couple of years before to making an “unsolicited offer” to purchase. Back on the West Coast property records and other online resources show the Jovovich-Andersons together and separately continue to own several properties that include an 8,493-square-foot Beverly Hills home tucked behind gates at the end of a long drive that was purchased in early 2007 for $8.5 million. Miz Jovovich owns a 5,559-square-foot residence in the Mount Olympus neighborhood above Laurel Canyon that was acquired in January 1998 for $775,000 Mister Anderson continues to own an approximately 5,000-square-foot contemporary in the Beverly Hills Post Office area that he snatched up in August 2003 for $2.2 million.

Listing photos: Coldwell Banker (via Zillow)

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