The Chateau Marmont in L.A. most recently grabbed the attention of hipsters after Sofia Coppola made it the setting of her film Somewhere, but it's been famous among Hollywood regulars for years. Now The Office's John Krasinski is planning a little tribute to the Chateau Marmont, in the form of an HBO mini-series. Krasinski is collaborating with Aaron Sorkin, who will write and produce the series. It's based on the book Life at the Marmont, by former co-owner Raymond R. Sarlot and Fred Baston.
The still untitled series will naturally begin at the beginning, specifically the 1930's, and attempt to tell the often-absurd history of Hollywood through the lens of the hotel. Krasinski is expected to take a starring role (bellhop?) and to recruit as many of his actor buddies as possible to join the staff. "My dream is to have a whole slew of great actors — some very famous, and some not famous at all, to make it an homage to Hollywood."
The list of bizarre incidents the Chateau Marmont has witnessed is a long one: F. Scott Fitzgerald had a heart attack there, and Howard Hughes lived in the attic for a spell, where he perched and spied on women in the pool below with his handy prism binoculars. James Dean entered through a window to audition with Natalie Wood for Rebel Without a Cause, and Jim Morrison dangled from a Chateau Marmont drainpipe and injured his back trying to swing from the roof to his room's window. John Belushi OD'd in a bungalow there, and Helmut Newton died when his car crashed into a wall of the hotel's driveway. If the mini-series lives up to the history of the hotel, it should be pretty incredible.