John Mayer has teamed up with filmmaker McG to buy the historic Los Angeles lot owned by The Jim Henson Company, the studio behind the Muppets.
The lot once belonged to Charlie Chaplin and was then held by A&M Records before it was acquired by the Henson firm in 1999, reportedly for $12.5 million.
Now Mayer has purchased the property along with McG, the director of the 2000 Charlie’s Angels film starring Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Cameron Diaz.
McG and Mayer are thought to have cumulatively paid approximately $60 million in order to obtain The Jim Henson Company Lot.
Mayer, 47, who already had offices there, is now officially ‘under contract’ with McG to buy the studio, the singer’s representative told The Hollywood Reporter.
John Mayer has teamed up with filmmaker McG to buy the historic Los Angeles lot owned by The Jim Henson Company, the studio behind the Muppets
McG, whose Christian name is Joseph McGinty Nichol, has directed such films as Terminator Salvation, We Are Marshall and This Means War.
He and Mayer were able to snap up the Henson lot after the expiration of a hold reportedly belonging to a Scientologist father-son duo.
The pair in question are the alleged major Scientology donor Steven Fabos and his son Shaun, who jointly run the music production company Fab Factory Studios.
In 2022, Shaun Fabos testified at the rape trial of his fellow Scientologist Danny Masterson, who was convicted of the crime and sentenced to 30 years to life.
Although the prosecution called Shaun Fabos to the stand, he gave evidence that was beneficial to the defendant, and the judge allowed prosecutors to treat him as a ‘hostile witness,’ according to Variety.
Insiders claim the Faboses had a hold on the Henson lot, but the allotted time ran out without a deal being struck, so Mayer and McG bought the property.
Charlie Chaplin had the original studio built in 1917, when the silent movie star was reaching the height of his international fame.
‘The site was the corner of Sunset and La Brea and had a very fine ten-room house and five acres of lemon, orange and peach trees,’ Chaplin wrote in his memoirs. ‘We built a perfect unit, complete with developing plant, cutting room, and offices.’
The beloved puppets are pictured in a publicity shot for Muppets Now, an improvisational series that premiered on Disney+ in 2020
Muppets creator Jim Henson (pictured) died after contracting a bacterial infection aged just 53 in 1990, nine years before his firm acquired the studio Mayer and McG have just bought
McG made his directorial debut with the 2000 Charlie’s Angels film starring (from left) Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore
Charlie Chaplin (pictured) had the original studio built in 1917, when the silent movie star was reaching the height of his international fame
A number of his iconic movies – including The Kid, The Gold Rush, City Lights and The Great Dictator – were shot on the premises.
Chaplin sold the lot in 1953 after leaving America because of the opprobrium and legal problems he faced during the Red Scare over his communist sympathies.
After a stint as a TV studio where shows like Perry Mason were filmed, the lot became the home of A&M Records in 1966.
The Jim Henson Company bought the property in 1999, nine years on from Henson’s shock death after contracting a bacterial infection at the age of just 53.