Unconventional Billboard Stunt Captivates Los Angeles

Los Angeles residents and tourists gathered at the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Selma Avenue in West Hollywood on Friday morning. They were not there for the historic Chateau Marmont, a nearby hotel with a celebrity following, but to witness an unusual billboard about 30 feet above.

Inside it, a man lived in what seemed like a fully furnished, air-conditioned living room since Thursday. Often, he waved to onlookers with a coffee mug in one hand; at other times, he peered out with binoculars. Dressed in blue pajama pants and alternating bathrobes in red and blue, he communicated with spectators using a dry-erase board. One message read, “I’m stuck.”

The billboard’s “living room” featured a bookshelf, plants, a coffee table, an armchair, a desk chair, and paintings on the walls. Thick red curtains framed the “window,” below which “How long can you survive?” was inscribed on blue shutters. A passerby noted the billboard was part of a Netflix promotion for “The Last House,” which premiered on the platform Friday.

The film, helmed by director Louis Leterrier and starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura, depicts a family of four trapped within their home by an inexplicable force, challenging viewers to ponder their survival limits.

West Hollywood resident Jon Bruno ventured out to see the spectacle, sparked by social media buzz. “Friends and news are talking about it,” he remarked, curious about the billboard man’s accommodations and wishing for a better view. Bruno, a local voice-over actor, deemed the stunt “a great publicity move.”

In town from Oundle, England, Nick Lonj was intrigued after seeing news coverage of the billboard. The event reminded him of David Blaine’s glass box suspension over London’s River Thames. “We should try this with more things,” Lonj suggested.

Charise Butler traveled from Burbank with her son, intrigued by videos of the billboard. Her daughter, an actor residing in Woodland Hills, planned to visit as well. “It’s enough to make you want to watch the movie,” Butler commented.