'W' Magazine Given Exclusive Photo-Tour Of The CAA Death Star
mark · 01/11/08 08:50PMWe haven't had time to fully digest W's just-released, Hollywoodcentric "A-List" issue (it is, after all, Friday afternoon, and the liquid lunch hit us a little harder than we anticipated), but we did take a moment to have at look at the magazine's exclusive tour of the CAA Death Star, a piece that includes some stunning photography of the evil agenting monolith's intimidating new Century City headquarters. Writes Kevin West on the current Creative Artists leadership's wise display of restraint in not trying to outdo co-founder Michael Ovitz's legendary, I.M. Pei-designed shark-tank: "In the end, what makes CAA's building most interesting is not that it's an architectural masterpiece, but rather that it isn't. And that may be its smartest success. For [Bryan] Lourd and Co., the heirs of a brilliant visionary, to attempt to outbuild Ovitz would have smacked of edifice-complex insecurities—or, even worse, unbridled vanity, since no architecture should distract attention from the real stars of the building, the CAA clientele." Still, Lourd did allow himself a single, selfish extravagance. After the jump, the partner invites W's photographer to observe him in the custom-designed sanctuary where he winds down after a hard day planning the total domination of the industry: