Sunday, September 3, 2023

Phone Booth (2003)






Slimy NY publicist Stuart Shepard finds himself in a claustrophobic nightmare after a madman calls him at The Big Apple's last remaining phone booth.  Stuart must right his wrongs, which includes confessing to his wife about an affair.  If he fails to comply or leaves the booth, he will be shot.  Stuart is interrupted by some hookers and a pimp, whom the sniper shoots dead.  The police and media soon arrive, as well as Stuart's wife Kelly and sidepiece Pam.  Stuart manages to call Kelly on his cell phone, who hears the exchange with the sniper.  She informs NYPD Captain Ed Ramey.  After his confession of a string of lies, Stuart leaves the phone booth is apparently shot dead by the police while a SWAT team breaks into the apartment of the sniper to find a body.  Stuart identifies it as a pizza delivery guy from earlier but while being treated, is visited by the real caller, who warns him his to remain honest to avoid further repercussions.

Screenwriter Larry Cohen originally pitched an a idea for a real time movie in the confines of a phone booth to Alfred Hitchcock, but it was shelved since he was unable to come up with a plot for an enclosed setting.  A few decades later, Cohen devised a plot that was supposed to star Jim Carrey.  Colin Farrell stepped into the role and did a great job as the unscrupulous Stuart Shepard and the always reliable Kiefer Sutherland provides the creepy voice of the caller.  The film was originally slated for release in the fall of 2002, but due to the Beltway sniper attacks, was pushed to the following spring.  The film had a modest box office performance among mixed reviews.  While phone booths have gone the way of the dinosaur, the message of the movie remains relevant to this day - don't answer the phone from an unknown caller.



Phone Booth was filmed in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA

Location: The Phone Booth
Address: 453 S Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA

The phone booth is located outside The Last Bookstore, also seen in Gone Girl (2014)...



























Location Visited: July 2023





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