L.A. Times bestsellers and Chateau Marmont

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Although what’s hip in Hollywood changes faster than you can say ‘paparazzi,’ there’s one destination that’s been consistently starlit since it opened in 1931: the Chateau Marmont hotel. That’s why it makes it into the title of Lauren Weisberger’s new novel, ‘Last Night at Chateau Marmont.’ In the latest from the author of ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ a struggling New York couple find themselves swept up in the whirlwind of celebrity life when his dreams of becoming a famous singer actually come true. Where does a newly minted star stay in Hollywood? Chateau Marmont, of course.

Chateau Marmont was originally built as an apartment complex in the 1920s, but found its fortunes as a hotel, which opened in 1931. From its earliest years, its staff were known to be discreet: Legend has it that Harry Cohn, founder of Columbia Pictures, said, ‘If you must get in trouble, do it at the Chateau Marmont.’ That was back in 1939. By 1982, when John Belushi died from a drug overdose in one of its bungalows, perhaps the degree of trouble one could get into there had gone too far. But many other celebrities have stayed, unharmed, at Chateau Marmont, including Greta Garbo, Hunter S. Thompson, Howard Hughes and Lily Allen.

Lauren Weisberger’s ‘Last Night at Chateau Marmont’ enters our hardcover fiction bestseller list this week at No. 9. Rankings are based on a weekly poll of Southland bookstores; our extended L.A. Times Bestseller List for Sunday, Sept. 5 is after the jump.

-- Carolyn Kellogg