WHO’S WHO IN VENICE

•Fiona Apple: Rarely leaves the neighborhood; has admitted to anxiety about traveling to other parts of Los Angeles.
•Trey Parker: Lives on the canals not far from Matt Stone and their fellow South Park exec producer Anne Garefino.
•Robert Downey Jr.: He and wife Susan purchased a modernist three-story live/work building for $5.6 million in 2009.
•Jon Favreau: The actor-director has moved his offices to Abbot Kinney; frequent diner at Gjelina.
•Anna Paquin: New parents of twins, she and husband Stephen Moyer are said to have created a two-house compound.
•Tim Robbins: Bought Julia Roberts’ old double-lot property on the Walk Streets; frequently spotted on his bike.
•Joel Silver: Recently purchased the historic Art Deco-style Venice Post Office, which he’s renovating as new offices.
STORY: New York’s Hamptons Real Estate Smackdown: Southhampton vs. East Hampton

THE NEW WAVE: Kristin Jones, Jonathan King, Maha Dakhil, Bill Weinstein and Scott Z. Burns

“The canals struck me as this beautiful little monument to useless beauty,” says screenwriter Burns (Contagion, The Informant!) of his decision to move there from New York a decade ago. His circle of Venetians includes Jones, chief creative officer of multiplatform studio Vuguru; King, Participant Media’s executive vp production; CAA motion-picture agent Dakhil; and Verve talent manager Weinstein. Says Jones of her love for the area: “You don’t feel like a freak when you’re on the street.” For his part, King has noticed one thing that Venice’s popularity has affected: “It’s much easier to get people to come to my house for a dinner party. Before, I practically had to send a plane to get them to come all the way to the beach.”