Filmmakers have been using the Hollywood Sign as a visual motif, with utmost versatility across genres. Sometimes the sign serves as a symbol for destruction, other times it is a quiet getaway. Many times, it stands as an omniscient observer, reminding us of the glorious past and how far we have come from there.
In this article, we have compiled the most iconic movie scenes in which the Hollywood Sign made a cameo.
The Hollywood Sign’s 7 Most Iconic Cameos
1. Earthquake (1974)
Mark Robson used the collapse of the Hollywood Sign as the ultimate visual of the destruction caused by an earthquake. As the characters struggle to survive the quake, the fall of this iconic 45-foot-tall sign enhances the feeling of catastrophe and underscores nature’s raw power and humankind’s inability to contain it.
2. Superman (1978)
The Hollywood Sign makes an appearance towards the tail end of Richard Donner’s Superman. Lex Luthor’s (Gene Hackman) first missile strikes the San Andreas Fault, triggering a high magnitude earthquake across California. After managing to free himself from Luthor’s trap, Superman (Christopher Reeve) races to minimize the missile’s impact. By then, the earthquake has begun wreaking havoc across California: the Hollywood Sign being one of many iconic landmarks that collapse under its impact.
And, oh…how it collapses is just…brutal. A few school girls are hiking to the Sign when they begin to feel tremors. Looking up, they see the massive sign swaying menacingly. Cries of fear fill the air as the kids start running frantically to save themselves. Each letter of the sign drops to the ground, one by one. Thankfully, no kids are hurt.
Donner uses the Hollywood Sign to heighten the emotional stakes and provide immediate visual cues to the audience about the scale of devastation.
3. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
While the Hollywood Sign makes an appearance in more than one scene in the film, Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood uses it to establish the city of L.A..
The shot of the Hollywood Sign realigns the film with its central themes: the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood, the rise of the counterculture, and nostalgia tinged with impending loss.
The Sign itself is a cultural icon that reminds viewers of the dreams, myths, and realities of showbiz that have defined L.A. for over a century The film’s leads, Rick (Leonardo Dicaprio) and Cliff (Brad Pitt), struggle to find their place in an industry that’s undergoing seismic changes — that is moving faster than they’re able to keep up with. Tarantino uses the Hollywood Sign to symbolize both the allure and fragility of the Hollywood dream.
4. Sharknado (2013)
Anthony C. Ferrante’s Sharknado depicts the destruction of the Hollywood Sign in an innovative way. In the narrative, an absolutely unexpected shark hurricane, “Sharknado”, strikes LA, flooding the city with shark-infested seawater and wreaking havoc all over the city. As people are dying left and right by shark attacks, a group led by professional surfer and bar owner, Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering), sets out to save the city.
But the rescue mission is easier said than done. Intense winds of the approaching "Sharknado" begin to tear the Hollywood Sign from its hillside perch, ripping it from its foundation and hurling it through the air.
Ferrante further extends the scene to play on irony and dark humor. As the Hollywood Sign begins to fly off into the air, letter by letter, Ferrante cuts to a school bus driver (Robbie Rist) getting crushed to death by a falling letter from the Sign. The comedy hits its peak with the driver’s last words being, “My mom always told me Hollywood would kill me.” The irony hits so well, because the driver had survived a shark attack right before this.
5. Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief (2009)
In Percy Jackson & the Lightning Thief, it seems that Chris Columbus paid a homage to the iconic Hollywood Sign while cautioning reckless dreamers about the cost of such dreams. In the story, Columbus has made the Hollywood Sign a landmark to the entrance to the underworld, turning it into an integral part of the narrative and a part of the mythological quest of Percy, Annabeth, and Grover. Underneath the Sign is Hades.
The juxtaposition of the bright, dazzling Hollywood Sign that symbolizes hope and the American showbiz dream with the ominous entrance to hell creates a strong visual metaphor for the duality of Hollywood: dreams vs darkness.
6. The Black Dahlia (2006)
Universal’s true crime thriller, The Black Dahlia, directed by Brian De Palma, shows the Hollywood Sign in its original form, reminding us of its true origin. The film is set in 1940, about 17 years after its installation. By the 1940s, it was quite dilapidated and needed repair. In the scene, the Sign still reads, “Hollywoodland,” with the H particularly damaged, suggesting the decayed state of the Sign and emphasizing the historical accuracy.
The scene makes its appearance as the story is nearing its climax. Detective Bucky (Josh Hartnett) visits an abandoned house to investigate Elizabeth Short’s (Mia Krishner) murder, and recognizes the location as one of the sets used in Elizabeth’s porn film. Right behind the house, we can see the “Hollywoodland” Sign. On searching thoroughly, he discovers evidence that ties the Linscott family, the owners of this abandoned house, to Elizabeth’s murder.
The Hollywoodland Sign looms over this abandoned house, which seems to have a close connection to Elizabeth’s murder. Its presence right behind an isolated, alleged crime scene is a visual symbol of the Sign being a silent witness to the city’s darkest secrets..
7. Knocking (2006)
In Knocking, Joel P. Engardio and Tom Shephard associate the Hollywood Sign with warmth, hope, and dreams. The story follows a man traveling to California to get a life-saving liver transplant for his dying son.. The surgery has high emotional and medical stakes, requiring the father to put his own life on the line by donating part of his liver to the son.
On the night before their operation, the family of three visits the iconic Hollywood Sign—one last outing as a family together before facing the unknown tomorrow. The father and the son stand before the Sign as the mother snaps a photo of them together, smiling brightly—hopefully not for the last time.
Which are your other favorite cameos by the Hollywood Sign?
