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Publicist Stuart Shepard finds himself trapped in a phone booth, pinned down by an extortionist's sniper rifle. Unable to leave or receive outside help, Stuart's negotiation with the caller leads to a jaw-dropping climax.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writer:

Larry Cohen
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Popularity
4,114 ( 230)
1 win & 8 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Farrell ... Stu Shepard
Kiefer Sutherland ... The Caller
Forest Whitaker ... Captain Ramey
Radha Mitchell ... Kelly Shepard
Katie Holmes ... Pamela McFadden
Paula Jai Parker ... Felicia
Arian Ash ... Corky
Tia Texada ... Asia
John Enos III ... Leon
Richard T. Jones ... Sergeant Cole
Keith Nobbs ... Adam
Dell Yount ... Pizza Guy
James MacDonald ... Negotiator (as James Macdonald)
Josh Pais ... Mario
Yorgo Constantine ... ESU Commander
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Storyline

Stu Shepard is a fast talking and wise cracking New York City publicist who gets out of trouble and lies with his clever charm, connections, and charisma. Stu's greatest lie is to his wife Kelly, who he is cheating on with his girlfriend, Pam. Upon answering a call in a phone booth in belief it is Pam, Stu is on the line with a dangerous yet intelligent psychopath with a sniper rifle. When realizing it is not a joke, Stu is placed in a powerful mind game of wits and corruption. The New York City Police eventually arrive thereafter and demand Stu comes out of the phone booth- but how can he when if he hangs up or leaves the booth he will die? Written by commanderblue

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Hang Up And You Die See more »

Genres:

Crime | Thriller

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language and some violence | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film marked the third collaboration between Kiefer Sutherland and Forest Whitaker. They both previously collaborated in Article 99 (1992) and Sutherland's directorial debut, Last Light (1993). See more »

Goofs

When the 911 operator hangs up on Stu's cell phone call, there's a dial tone from his cell phone, but cell phones don't emit dial tones. See more »

Quotes

The Caller: You can't understand the pain of betrayal until you've been betrayed.
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Crazy Credits

The 20th Century Fox logo blends into the white clouds that open the film. See more »

Alternate Versions

The Indian video release received a U (universal) rating after some profanity and visuals of a lady showing her breast were deleted. See more »

Connections

Referenced in Film Geek (2005) See more »

Soundtracks

Six Days
(Remix featuring Yasiin Bey)
Written by DJ Shadow (as Josh Davis) and Brian Farrell
Performed by DJ Shadow
Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises
(Contains a sample of "Six Day War"
Performed by Colonel Bagshot with vocals featuring Kenneth Perry
Courtesy of Splash Records Ltd.)
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User Reviews

 
Farrell is great
10 November 2003 | by rbverhoefSee all my reviews

Stu Shepard (Colin Farrell) uses a pay phone to call his mistress (Katie Holmes) and after he hung up the phone rings. He picks it up, of course, and learns that there is a sniper on the other side of the line. When he hangs up the sniper will shoot him, so he is told. Before he entered the booth we saw Stu talking on his cell phone as a PR-man, constantly lying to people. The sniper has observed Stu and thinks he deserves to die.

When the sniper demonstrates he is real by shooting a pimp near the booth the police arrives and thinks Stu is the shooter. Capt. Ramey (Forest Whitaker) slowly understands things are not as they seem.

Colin Farrell who is in almost every scene is great. First he looks so confident and slowly he becomes more and more desperate. The voice of the sniper (Kiefer Sutherland) is also perfect for the movie. It sounds calm but creepy, like a dangerous man who knows what he is doing.

The movie is not very long and here that is a very good thing. Scenes are not dragged to make the movie as long as most movies and therefor it doesn't get boring. It kept me on the edge of my seat. A very good thriller.


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Frequently Asked Questions

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Swahili

Release Date:

4 April 2003 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Phone Booth See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$15,021,088, 6 April 2003

Gross USA:

$46,566,212

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$97,837,138
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Company Credits

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Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1
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