Rick Ross’ house used as Zamunda Palace in ‘Coming 2 America’
The mansion is equipped with 12 bedrooms and a dining room that seats up to 100 people.
The Zamunda Palace in Coming 2 America is actually the real-life home of Rick Ross.
Jefferson Sage, the film’s production designer, said they needed to find a home that was big enough to be turned into a place of residence for the royal family. “Our big problem was, where do we find a house that had the scale of the possibilities for a very lavish palace?” he said.
After looking at multiple locations, Sage and his team chose Ross’ estate, which is located on the outskirts of Atlanta. The 45,000 square-foot mansion, which was previously owned by boxer Evander Holyfield, sits on 235 acres.
The mansion is equipped with 12 bedrooms and a dining room that seats up to 100 people. Two spaces in the home were transformed for the film’s main sets, including the King’s bedroom and the dining room.
“That entrance foyer with the big two-story interior and double-winding staircase was perfect,” said Sage. “Off of that, there were two beautiful big rooms with giant windows and 18-foot ceilings. We used five key spaces that we turned into Zamunda.”
Ross, who said the original Coming to America film is one of his favorites, was excited to see actors Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall in his home. He also mentioned the changes the film’s staff made to his mansion to bring the sequel to life.
“They changed the wallpaper in the dining room, so I asked them to keep it up there,” the “Aston Martin Music” emcee said. “They also created that huge dining room table for a dining scene that seats 50-60 people, and they left that for me as a gift. It’s humungous.”
Sage and set decorator Douglas A. Mowat used a similar color palette from the original film to renovate Ross’ home. His mansion had a white interior with gold trimming and they accented gold-leafing throughout the residence.