A Beverly Hills Remodel that Boasts a World Class View and Private Cinema too! - Paradise Theater
“We have a world class view, arguably one of the best views in all of Los Angeles. How do you match that?” The owner, who both designed and built the totally reconstructed Beverly Hills home for himself and his wife, posed the question. He answered by commissioning a world class private cinema. “I felt that for a home of this significance, you must have a real theater to match the property’s value”. It turns out the private cinema matched up pretty well as the owner shares, “It’s my favorite room in the house. Even with our great views, it’s my favorite.”
According to the owner, “most people have never been in a real theater. They've been in rooms that have speakers, a screen, and a projector.” He admits, “That's what I always thought of as a home theater.” After visiting a neighbor’s cinema though, he decided to find out more. Integrator John Alfano of AHT Global suggested they visit a private cinema that John had completed in collaboration with Paradise Theater. The experience was eye opening; it convinced him to engage Paradise Theater. The owner relates that experience to sharing his theater with friends. “These are people that are not necessarily sophisticated theater people, but they immediately recognize the difference. ‘They invariably say, ‘This is unbelievable.’ This is different in a positive way”
The timing was fortuitous. Although he was not aware of the technical requirements, the owner had a vision from the start. “I knew what I wanted the room to look like. I was determined to have tiered seating, telescoping walls and a simple elegant interior.” Since the home was already in construction, planning needed to happen fast. Ryan Brown of Paradise Theater describes the challenge of balancing technology, aesthetics, acoustics and environmental factors with project specific issues in real time. “Our team of specialists integrate every detail, holistically. The result is a cohesive cinematic experience we call experience nonpareil.”
It wasn’t always smooth sailing as the owner admits some original reticence. “When Paradise sent over the drawings, it was like 17 architectural pages of details! I said to John Alfano (AHT Global) it better be as good as the AMC 14.” To which John replied, “your cinema experience will blow away anything at AMC 14!” Paradise Theater’s VP of Operations and Director of Quality Assurance, Kyle Brown, explained how all those details would facilitate the owner’s theater dreams. Kyle recalls, “he (the owner) told me ‘I need to thank you for pushing me and educating me. The room turned out better than I ever imagined.” The owner has grown to appreciate, in his words the “incredible amount of stuff behind the fabric… That’s what feeds into the experience.”
Their private cinema has become the couple’s haven for both shared and personal moments. They love sharing the cinema with friends who he says are invariably “blown away by the experience.” But personal times are most cherished. “My wife loves tennis and especially Wimbledon. Experiencing it in our cinema is as close to being there as you can get.” He appreciates the serenity the cinema offers as well. “Our house hears nothing from our theater, and our theater hears nothing from the house. That’s what you want.” Good thing too, when he watches a personal favorite movie, James Bond, A Time To Die. A movie he likes to experience fully! “You want to experience some movies at a level where sound would travel throughout this house easily if we didn't have the isolation that you guys designed and that we built.” So how does the couple feel about their decision to include a private cinema in their home? “We wouldn’t change anything in terms of the experience, the result, or the cost. Whenever we sell this house, the next house will have a theater like this.”