Mojave Phone Booth (2006)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

John Putch

Writers:

John Putch (writer)
Jerry Rapp (writer)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In the middle of the Mojave desert rests an abandoned phone booth, riddled with bullet holes, graffiti...

Plot Keywords:

Phone Booth | Break Up | Money Problems | Interlinked Stories | Las Vegas Nevada

Awards:

7 wins

Cast

Annabeth Gish	...	Beth
Steve Guttenberg	...	Barry
Christine Elise	...	Alex
Tinarie Van Wyk-Loots	...	Mary
Robert Romanus	...	Richard
David DeLuise	...	Michael
Missi Pyle	...	Sarah
Kevin Rahm	...	Tim
Larry Poindexter	...	Darrell
Joy Gohring	...	Glory
Jacleen Haber	...	Rachel
Lee Wilkof	...	Supervisor Marv
Jerry Rapp	...	Flower Guy
Nicole Sherwin	...	Casino Beauty
Carl Mazzocone	...	Bartender Dan
Grant Vaught	...	Boy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shani Wallis	...	Greta
Darrell Vaught	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Gerold Wunstel	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
John Putch

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
John Putch		writer
Jerry Rapp		writer

Produced by
Jerry P. Jacobs	....	producer
John Putch	....	producer
Jerry Rapp	....	producer

Original Music by
Alexander Baker
Bruce Watson

Cinematography by
Keith J. Duggan

Film Editing by
John Putch

Casting by
Jeff Gerrard

Costume Design by
Bonnie Stauch

Production Management
Jerry P. Jacobs	....	unit production manager

Art Department
Rich Linton	....	phone booth designer

Sound Department
Gerald Beg	....	sound mixer
Patrick Giraudi	....	sound designer
Cristina Turek	....	foley artist
Rudy Zasloff	....	boom operator

Camera and Electrical Department
Devin DiLibero	....	camera operator
Julie Morgan	....	electrician
Greg Morris	....	camera operator

Other crew
Darrell Vaught	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• MPB Collective

Distributors

• Westlake Entertainment Group (2008) (USA) (all media)
• Paragon Pictures (II) (2008) (worldwide) (DVD) (internet)

Other Companies

• Virtualmix  sound post-production

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Company:

MPB Collective

Trivia:

Based on an actual phone booth (which accepted incoming calls) isolated in the Mojave Desert which gained an on line following. Callers from many countries dialed [phone] later [phone] to see who would answer (often people who hiked to the spot). The phone was removed at the request of the Mojave National Preserve in 2000 and per SBC policy the phone booth numbers were retired for good.

Quotes:

Beth: [first lines - phone conversation over scenes of cassette tape litter] Where does it come from, ya know? Seriously, what's on it? You ever wonder about that?
Greta: Mmm, not really.
Beth: Maybe just a desert phenomenon; I don't know. A desert road phenomenon.
Alex: [tears tape out of cassette and throws it out the car window]
Beth: In theory you should be seeing less of it, right? With the popularity of digital and all. But there seems to be more of it now than ever. All over the place.
Greta: Maybe it's because the tape is out-dated. Because everything *is* going digital.
Beth: Yeah. It's weird though. It seems like it's always been there. As long as I can remember. What about the pieces that are thrown away on purpose? What exactly is on that, ya know? We're just assuming it's either bad music or bad home movies. What if there's something on it we're *supposed* to know about.
Greta: Or not know about...
Beth: Or could it be something even more extraordinary? Something beyond even our comprehension?
Richard: [driving along drinking from a liquor bottle]
[...]

Good Independent flick....

Though I don't know the validity of the history of an actual "Mohave phone booth", the idea of a grass-roots internet site does remind me of the marketing plan for the Blair Witch Project. I saw "Mohave" at the 2007 Staten Island Film Festival and was a little disappointed that there was no Q&A afterward. Overall, this movie is of high professional quality from the acting, directing, sound, and editing...and of course producing. Definitely is of quality and ready for mass marketing. The only problem is this movie would have to be dumbed down to appeal to the masses. A must see if you want to watch a quality independent film. The magnetic tape, though...I didn't get it. Why wasn't there a Q&A in Staten Island???