LOS ANGELES _ Oscar-winning director James Cameron is eyeing a blockbuster sale in Malibu. His prized compound, a collection of two mansions he's owned for decades, hit the market last week at $25 million.
Cameron, a film industry veteran whose scores of credits include "The Terminator" and "Titanic," began compiling the estate in the late 1980s, buying an 8,300-square-foot home with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms. He added the place next door in 2003, buying the 7,700-square-foot home of late actor George C. Scott.
Together, the two estates combine for 16,000 square feet on four acres and take in views of the rolling hills above Surfrider Beach. There are 11 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a guesthouse, a guardhouse, two pools, two spas, a sports court, a gym and a lounge.
Each home features sunny living spaces sandwiched by beamed ceilings and Saltillo tile floors. One wraps around a dramatic courtyard with fountains, and the other boasts a custom movie theater fitting for a decorated director.
Both properties are tucked into a four-home cul-de-sac in guard-gated Serra Retreat, and you'd be hard-pressed to find an enclave more jam-packed with celebrities over the years.
In 2004, singer Olivia Newton-John bought the home opposite Cameron's from the widow of actor Charles Bronson for $5.995 million and sold it four years later for over $10 million, records show. Britney Spears scooped up the other home in the cul-de-sac for $6.3 million in 2004 and sold it three years later to "The Mummy" director Stephen Sommers for $10 million.
In addition to the two homes, Cameron has owned plenty of undeveloped land in Malibu. He began buying parcels after the release of "Titanic" in 1997 and eventually amassed a collection of 730 acres of ranchland in the Santa Monica Mountains and planned to develop it into a family sanctuary called "Tranquility Base."
He eventually put the land on the market for $25 million in 2007 and sold 703 acres of it seven years later to the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority for $12 million.
Cameron, 66, is known for directing blockbuster films with big budgets and groundbreaking special effects. His films have won 21 Academy Awards over the course of his career. His credits include "Aliens," "The Abyss" and "True Lies." Two of his films, "Avatar" and "Titanic," are the second- and third-highest grossing films of all time, respectively.
