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"It takes a certain amount of self-assurance to stand up to a house that possesses an outstanding provenance. After all, the weight of history can be daunting when it comes to putting a personal stamp on a storied place. Not so, however, for acclaimed director and producer Brett Ratner\u2014the genial wunderkind behind the Rush Hour movies and the monster-hit TV series Prison Break\u2014who acquired the deed to one of the most famous residences in Hollywood. He saw the purchase as an opportunity to respect the past while adding a stylish chapter to a star-studded narrative.  &amp;quot;When it came on the market nine years ago, I said, &amp;#039;I gotta have this house,&amp;#039;&amp;quot; recalls the fast-talking Ratner. Though the five-bedroom, stone-and-redwood relic known as Hilhaven Lodge is fairly modest, its karmic presence is huge. Built as the entertainment quarters of a mansion by Hoover Dam architect Gordon B. Kaufmann in 1927, it became the first house ever owned by Ingrid Bergman, who bought it during World War II and called it the Barn\u2014probably because of its grand vaulted living area. Director Richard Quine (Bell, Book and Candle; The World of Suzie Wong) lived here while romancing Kim Novak, and James Caan rented it after him, &amp;quot;turning the living room into a basketball court,&amp;quot; Ratner says. From 1972 until 1999 Hilhaven Lodge was owned by Allan Carr, who produced the movie Grease and the Broadway musical La Cage aux Folles and threw Tinseltown&amp;#039;s gaudiest parties in a glitzy orange-and-mirror disco he installed in the basement. The whole house, Ratner remarks, was &amp;quot;a gem.&amp;quot; The two-acre property&amp;#039;s history may have star power, but neglect had brought its interiors down to walk-on status. Nobody knew that better than interior designer Waldo Fernandez, himself a Hollywood treasure (clients include Elizabeth Taylor, John Schlesinger, and Russell Simmons). &amp;quot;I was very close to Allan Carr when I was younger,&amp;quot; he explains, going on to recount his own Hilhaven Lodge stories ranging from sybaritic boogie nights in the disco to flying down to Puerto Vallarta on the spur of the moment with Carr, Marisa Berenson, and her then-husband Jim Randall (they partied until dawn, then caught the next flight back). &amp;quot;Those were crazy times,&amp;quot; Fernandez says, laughing. Which, he adds, might account for the lodge&amp;#039;s worn condition: &amp;quot;Allan believed in spending money on parties, but not on fixing the house.&amp;quot; Ratner, on the other hand, wanted to restore it to its original glory\u2014a process that became even more meaningful when he met the son of Hilhaven&amp;#039;s original owner. &amp;quot;He told me he had a great childhood here, which made me feel good about the place,&amp;quot; Ratner says. &amp;quot;And he gave me home movies of the construction of the lodge. They even showed guys hand-cutting two-by-fours\u2014the same two-by-fours I&amp;#039;ve seen underneath the house!&amp;quot; Exorcising Carr&amp;#039;s theatrical decor was first on his list. &amp;quot;Mirrors and leopard-spot carpeting are fun, but I wanted to see the wood floors,&amp;quot; Ratner says. (He did, however, restore the disco as an icon of Hollywood extravagance, though &amp;quot;it will become a playroom when I have kids.&amp;quot;) In the vast beamed living area, the plank walls went from gloomy dark stain to cheerful white paint. &amp;quot;We needed to lighten the place up,&amp;quot; Fernandez notes, adding that outmoded details like 1970s light switches were replaced with more sympathetic modern versions. Carr&amp;#039;s projection equipment was also upgraded, so the living area could continue to be used as a screening room. &amp;quot;It was all about making the best of what was here rather than knocking everything down and starting over,&amp;quot; the decorator says, modestly calling his work &amp;quot;a good makeup job.&amp;quot; The furnishings project a similarly d\u00E9gag\u00E9 attitude. The director is as enthusiastic a host as Allan Carr\u2014the range of guests at Ratner&amp;#039;s shindigs, from Victoria&amp;#039;s Secret models to Hillary Clinton, has been documented by the vintage photo booth in his backyard\u2014but he wanted the rooms to be &amp;quot;very masculine and very eclectic&amp;quot; as well as easygoing. (That being said, visitors must leave their shoes at the door to preserve the floors.) It&amp;#039;s all about leather, linen, and wood, accented with Danish Modern stools, Windsor chairs, and Moroccan rugs. Bold photographs by snap masters such as Peter Beard and the late Helmut Newton are casually propped against walls, fabrics are treated to facilitate postparty cleanup, and down cushions are refilled every nine months. &amp;quot;If you have as much traffic as Brett does, they have to be replumped,&amp;quot; reports Fernandez, who also had a lazy Susan made for the dining table to accommodate fuss-free entertaining. The result? A home its proud owner calls &amp;quot;incredibly charming, with incredibly positive energy.&amp;quot; The stars who preceded him would surely agree. Click here to view the resources. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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