Adam Sandler keeps getting spotted on the Fox lot — here’s why

There’s a handful of projects shooting on the sprawling Fox lot, we hear, including Season 2 of ABC’s “High Potential” and the reality show “The Masked Singer,” while cameras will soon roll on one of the iconic Century City stages for a “Baywatch” reboot (interiors only, naturally). But industry insiders have been telling us they’re confused as to why they keep seeing Adam Sandler on the famed lot, given that the beloved “Jay Kelly” star is deep in business with Netflix — thanks to a very lucrative deal signed in 2020 worth about $250 million.

No, the recent Golden Globes nominee won’t be donning a furry costume or red swim trunks anytime soon. Sandler has moved his Happy Madison offices from the Pacific Palisades to the Fox lot. 

Sandler’s company had been in Rick Caruso’s Palisades Village, one of the rare stretches that escaped the deadly inferno that decimated the neighborhood and parts of Malibu last January. 

Adam Sandler attends Netflix’s Golden Globes afterparty. Getty Images for Netflix

While Palisades Village didn’t burn like much of the area, it isn’t exactly fully functioning. Sources say Sandler didn’t want to subject his staff to the toxic fumes still wafting through the streets after 6,837 structures were destroyed, including the homes of Jeff Bridges, Paris Hilton and Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt.

Another consideration for the “Happy Gilmore” actor was the dearth of lunch options remaining in the charred remnants of the once-bustling neighborhood. One insider says Sandler followed Caruso’s instructions on properly cleaning Happy Madison’s Palisades offices, carefully detailing the memorabilia he had collected over the years including movie posters, and then hit the road.

Over the past several months, Caruso has been trying to gin up optimism for the village’s grand reopening, slated for August. He said that fashion retailer Elyse Walker would be rebuilding her flagship store in town and that chef Nancy Silverton, of Osteria Mozza, Max & Helen’s and Chi Spacca fame, would open a new steakhouse called Spacca Tutto. Earlier this week, Palisades Charter High School reopened its campus. Despite these signs, large swaths of the Palisades remain dirt plots with little noticeable construction to speak of.

So, why didn’t Sandler simply set up shop at Netflix’s Hollywood compound? A source close to the funnyman says the decision hinged on convenience. “He lives seven minutes from the [Fox] lot. And he asked his employees, ’Is this closer for you?’” the source said. “While he would have gotten a free deal over at Netflix, he wanted to make sure his employees are closer to home and having an easier ride.” The source added that the actor also liked the tight security on the lot, complete with manned gates.

In the meantime, Fox has a fair amount of primo office space given that its major tenant — Disney’s 20th Television — is in the middle of exiting the Century City lot for Disney’s Burbank digs.