Skip to Content
Architecture

Blade Runner Obsessed Developer Plans Giant Moving Billboards ~ DTLA

nyt_blade02
nyt_concerto

According to developer Sonny Astanti's website, what downtown needs is a more futuristic look:

That is the world of “Blade Runner,” Ridley Scott’s 1982 film set in a futuristic dystopia. It is also an obsession of a real estate developer, Sonny Astani, who hopes to evoke those atmospherics by affixing rows of light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, to the facades of his two newest condominium towers in downtown Los Angeles.

“That movie really hit a chord with me,” Mr. Astani, 55, said with a broad smile. “It was beautiful.”

On a recent afternoon in his Beverly Hills office, he held up digital renderings of the two buildings, the geisha’s face from “Blade Runner” superimposed on their facade

People are lining up to condemn the idea, citing light pollution, too m any advertisements as it is, driver distraction etc. Others, however, love the idea and think it would bring LA into the future where it belongs. The article quoted above is from July of last year, does anyone out there know the fate of the development and the signs?

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

From the Kitchen to the Octagon: One L.A. Chef’s Journey Into the World of Mixed Martial Arts

Chef Walther Adrianzen survived a diabetic coma. He then lost more than 30 lbs. and fought in his first mixed martial arts match.

April 19, 2026

You Think L.A. Smog is Bad Now? Let’s Set the Record Straight

“I remember my eyes stinging and my lungs burning [from smog]," UCLA environmental law professor Ann Carlson writes in ‘Smog and Sunshine.'

April 18, 2026

Daily Memo: ICE Arrests Plaintiff of Federal Lawsuit Challenging ICE Raids

A second ICE-custody death has also been reported this week, while acting ICE Director Todd Lyons has submitted his resignation and will leave the agency after the end of May.

April 17, 2026

The 4/20 Guide to Underground Parties and Events in L.A.

A free music festival, a record shop pop-up, and other underground ways to celebrate 4/20 cannabis culture in 2026!

See all posts