The Canfield-Moreno Estate from “Scream 3”

One location that I have wanted to stalk for what seems like ages now is the Canfield-Moreno Estate – an absolutely humongous Italianate-style villa that was featured extensively in the 2000 thriller Scream 3.  I first found out about the locale thanks to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, who had stalked it a few years back and, as fate would have it, had been invited onto the property and INSIDE OF THE MANSION by a caretaker to snap some pictures.  For whatever reason, though, I had just never made it out there.  Then, a few weeks ago, Mike reminded me of the site and suggested that I blog about it during my Haunted Hollywood month.  Because it is not at all visible from the street, he also kindly agreed to provide the photographs for the post.  “All you need is a pic of yourself in front of the gate,” he said, “and I’ll take care of the rest!”  So I dragged the Grim Cheaper right on out there just a few days later.

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A production of some sort was actually being filmed when the GC and I showed up to stalk the estate and the main gates were standing wide open.  Unfortunately though, as you can see below, even with the gates open, not much was visible.  So I honestly cannot thank Mike enough!  Without his pictures, this would have made for a very boring blog post.  (I ended up having to pose for a photograph in front of the mansion’s back gate as too many cars were driving in and out of the front one, making it impossible for me to stand by it.)

The 22,000-square-foot Canfield-Moreno Estate, which is also known as The Paramour Mansion and The Crestmont, was originally constructed in 1923.  It was designed in the Mediterranean Revival-style by Robert D. Farquhar, the same architect who also designed the California Club in downtown Los Angeles, Beverly Hills High School in Beverly Hills, and the William Andrews Clark Jr. Mausoleum at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.  The 22-room villa was commissioned by silent film star Antonio Moreno and his wife, oil heiress Daisy Canfield Danziger, after whom the residence is now known.

During the time that Antonio and Daisy lived there, the mansion was the site of regular Sunday night soirees with many of Hollywood’s elite in attendance.

When the couple decided to separate in 1928, they deeded the estate to the Chloe P. Canfield Memorial Home, a finishing school for girls that was founded according to Daisy’s father’s will.  Sadly, a few years later, on February 23rd, 1933, Daisy lost control of her car while on Mulholland Drive and plunged off a 300-foot cliff.  She died instantly.  Since that time, it has been rumored that her ghost haunts the mansion.

In the 1950s, the Chloe P. Canfield Memorial Home Foundation was dissolved and the estate sold to Franciscan nuns, who turned the site into a boarding house for troubled girls.  After the residence was damaged during the Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987, the nuns vacated the property and put it up for sale.  Sadly, the once-grand mansion was left to deteriorate over the decade that followed.

The Canfield-Moreno estate was finally purchased in 1998 by a developer named Dana Hollister for $2.25 million.  Hollister, who has an affinity for historic sites, set about restoring the mansion to its original grandeur.  She also added a recording studio to the premises and countless musicians have since recorded there, including Gwen Stefani, Papa Roach, Fiona Apple, and Sarah McLachlan.  And while Hollister’s original intention was to turn the four-and-a-half-acre site into a luxury hotel, opposition from neighbors halted that plan and it is currently being used as her primary residence.

The ginormous Canfield-Moreno estate is comprised of a 15,388-square foot, U-shaped main house, which boasts 8 bedrooms and 8 baths, as well as several detached cottages and stables that dot the sprawling hilltop land.

As you can see in the aerial views pictured below, the estate is absolutely gargantuan and more of a compound than a residence.

And, as you can also see below, the place also exhibits some pretty amazing views.

The estate’s interior boasts a Moroccan flair and, though remodeled recently, looks like it came straight out of Old Hollywood.

Thanks to the unique look and gargantuan size of the estate, which is a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument, it has appeared in more than a few productions over the years.

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In Scream 3, the Canfield-Moreno Estate stood in for the home of Stab 3 producer John Milton (Lance Henriksen).  Both the exterior . . .

. . . and the interior appeared in the flick.

In 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, the estate stood in for Hillcrest Academy High School, where Keri Tate (Jamie Lee Curtis) worked.  Both the interior   . . .

. . . and the exterior were used in the filming.  The estate’s pool was covered over for the shoot, as you can see below.

A different location – one that I have yet to find – was used for Hillcrest Academy High School’s front gate.

Also in 1998, the interior of the estate appeared in the music video for the R.E.M. song “At My Most Beautiful”.

You can watch that video by clicking below.

In the Season 2 episode of Alias titled “Truth Takes Time”, which aired in 2003, the Canfield-Moreno Estate stood in for the Tuscan villa where Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin) hid out with his wife, Emily Sloane (Amy Irving).

The interior of the property was also used in the episode.

Oddly enough, though, at one point during “Truth Takes Time”, the exterior of a different home was shown as an establishing shot of Arvin’s villa.

In the season 3 episode of Monk titled “Mr. Monk and the Panic Room”, which aired in 2004, the Canfield-Moreno estate was the mansion where record producer Ian Blackburn (Stewart Finlay-McLennan) lived and was murdered – presumably by his pet chimpanzee.

The interior of the house also appeared in the episode.

The estate also appeared in Britney Spears’ 2004 “My Prerogative” music video, in which she crashed her Porsche into the residence’s pool.

You can watch that video by clicking below.

                   In 2009, the mansion appeared in the Season 4 episode of Brothers & Sisters titled “From France with Love” as a prospective wedding venue for Rebecca Harper (Emily VanCamp) and Justin Walker (Dave Annable).  While Rebecca is scouting the location with her mom, Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig), and Justin’s mom, Nora Walker (Sally Field), she realizes that a pornographic film is being shot on the premises and therefore decides to go with another venue.  LOL

The villa was also used in the music video for Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds’ 2011 song “If I Had a Gun”.

You can watch that video by clicking below.

According to Wikipedia, the estate was also used in Rock Star: INXS, Rock Star: Supernova, Scream Queens, From G’s to Gents, Rock of Love: Charm School, Charm School with Ricki Lake, Mad Mad House, and MTV’s The X Effect, but I was, unfortunately, not able to find copies of any of the productions with which to verify that information.

On a side-note –  The photograph of the Canfield-Moreno Estate that is pictured below, which Mike took, was actually chosen to be featured in the 2012 issue of Locations Magazine!!  How incredibly cool is that?

The magazine . . .

. . . and printed photograph are pictured below.  Um, LOVE IT!

You can find me on Facebook here and on Twitter at @IAMNOTASTALKER.  And be sure to check out my other blog, The Well-Heeled Diabetic.

Big THANK YOU to Mike, from MovieShotsLA, for telling me about this location and for allowing me to post his FABULOUS pictures of it here. 

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 

Stalk It: The Canfield -Moreno Estate from Scream 3 is located at 1923 Micheltorena Street in Silver Lake.