The Best Seat In the House – Deluxe screening rooms in private homes are becoming Hollywood’s most exclusive social networks

Hong Kong – March, 2012

When Brett Ratner, the director behind the “Rush Hour” franchise, presses a button, the lights in his living room — part of a Beverly Hills estate once owned by Ingrid Bergman — go dim. Shades creep across the windows, shrouding a Rodin sculpture in darkness. As an 18-foot-wide screen descends from the wood-paneled vaulted ceiling, part of the dark wood floor falls away, revealing an enormous speaker that rises from the basement below.

The first private screening rooms were built in the 1930 and 1940s for the original movie moguls to watch films they and their competitors made. But in recent years, as digital projection has replaced the need to hire a projectionist and run 35-millimeter film, there has been a screening-room building boom. As DVDs, video on demand and movies on the Web proliferate, the idea of watching a new movie the old-fashioned way has taken on new allure. Exclusive private screenings have become an increasingly essential component of both the social and business culture of Hollywood.

For people in the entertainment world, having an elaborate private screening room can be a tool for entertaining business associates, building buzz and ginning up awards support. The ability to show a film at home before or when it comes out in theaters requires getting on an exclusive list, often referred to as the “Bel-Air circuit.” Each of the six major Hollywood studios has its own list, but their rosters include mostly the same cast of characters, with a few variations. They spell out the roughly 300 to 500 power brokers, mostly in Los Angeles — from Mr. Spielberg and actor George Clooney to rapper Dr. Dre and businessman Ron Burkle — who are eligible to receive films from the studios on, or before, opening weekend.

The cost of a top-of-the-line screening room averages $500,000 but can run up to $2 million or more with all the bells and whistles, according to Joseph Cali, a high-end home-theater designer and installer who built the screening rooms for George Clooney, Matt Damon and Tom Cruise. In Hollywood, few on the circuit have a screen smaller than 14 feet in width, says Mr. Cali. Most are 16 to 18 feet.

Standard screening room accoutrements are stadium-style seating, cutting-edge acoustics, ergonomic couches and automated shade coverings as well as fancy candy offerings. The room of restaurateur Michael Chow, best known for his eponymous restaurant chain Mr. Chow, shares a wall with his pool to create an aquarium effect. Often, the same companies that build screening rooms for the major studios are constructing these spaces.

The screening-room designer most in demand is Jeff Cooper, an MIT-educated architect and acoustic engineer who has built facilities for George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert Zemeckis and, most recently, Mr. Spielberg.

Bill Gates is a member, as are Tom Cruise and Derek Jeter. In Hollywood, one coveted prize is a spot on the “Bel-Air circuit,” a list of VIPs who are allowed to borrow prints of movies the weekend they hit theaters (and sometimes earlier). Each of the six major Hollywood studios has one, and the lists are highly similar with some small variations. Below is a sampling of the “circuit,” compiled from several lists supplied by people close to the studios.

Tommy Mottola, music executive [& Thalia]

Ben Affleck, actor

Judd Apatow, director

George Clooney, actor

Robert De Niro, actor

Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder

Tom Hanks, actor

Hugh Hefner, Playboy magnate

Dustin Hoffman, actor

Derek Jeter, New York Yankee

Calvin Klein, fashion designer

Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp. (which owns The Wall Street Journal)

Martin Scorsese, director

Ryan Seacrest, host of “American Idol”

Sylvester Stallone, actor

Barbra Streisand, singer, actress

…Read the Wall Street Journal for the entire story and list.

Source: The Asian Wall Street Journal