The Elevator (1996)

Directors:

Arthur Borman, Nigel Dick,

Writer:

Gabriel Bologna

Stars:

Martin Landau, Gabriel Bologna, Gretchen Becker

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martin Landau	...	Roy Tilden
Gabriel Bologna	...	David Brochman
Gretchen Becker	...	Doris
Dean Jacobson	...	Mail Boy
Richard Lewis	...	Phil Milowski
Richard Moll	...	Man Nun
Phil Fondacaro	...	Dwarf Rabbi
Martin Sheen	...	Sarge
Bokeem Woodbine	...	Malcolm
Vic Trevino	...	Nick
Arye Gross	...	Moshe
Athena Ashburn	...	Katy (as Athena Stensland)
Paul Bartel	...	Acting Coach
Fred Mata	...	Actor 1
Lynne Johnston	...	Actor 2

Storyline

---

Plot Keywords:

independent film

---

Taglines:

It's a hell of a ride

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ano-kato

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cabin Fever Entertainment, HIT Entertainment

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gabriel Bologna was stuck in an elevator with Ron Howard in real life. Gabriel happened to have a script under his arm and contemplated pressing the stop button and pitching him the movie, but instead, came up with the idea for "The Elevator" about a struggling writer who traps a producer in an elevator and forces him to listen to his script that he reads from cover to cover.

User Reviews

Inventive first-time effort

Big-time Hollywood producer (Martin Landau) on his way to receive a humanitarian award, gets stuck on an elevator with a quirky, naively idealistic neophyte (the film's author, Gabriel Bologna) who has a head full of dreams and a backpack full of short scripts. Nothing is as it first appears, however, even the depiction of the first segment, an off-the-wall indie student's grade-C exercise that features Richard Moll, Phil Fondacaro and Richard Lewis.

As Bologna reads his shorts to a surly and reluctant Landau, the stories get better and more realistic, leading up to a totally unexpected finale. The shoestring production values show, and the credits may elicit a few knowing snickers, (Bologna co-starring and writing, and Athena Stensland, who stars in the third story with Arye Gross a co-producer.)

Yet I applaud them both as well as the rest of the filmmakers, for not only managing to get their work made and seen, but for creating something compelling enough to attract this kind of a cast. BEING JOHN MALKOVICH it's not, but it does mark Bologna as a writer/actor to watch.