Cellular (2004)

A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. The catch? The woman claims to have been kidnapped; and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.

Director:

David R. Ellis

Writers:

Larry Cohen (story), Chris Morgan (screenplay)

Stars:

Kim Basinger, Chris Evans, Jason Statham

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Caroline Aaron	...	Marilyn Mooney
Kim Basinger	...	Jessica Martin
Brenda Ballard	...	Irate Customer #1
Will Beinbrink	...	Young Security Guard
Jessica Biel	...	Chloe
Chase Ellis Bloch	...	Timid Boy (as Chase Bloch)
Chelsea Ellis Bloch	...	Surf Girl's Friend (as Chelsea Bloch)
Chantille Boudousque	...	Chloe's Chilly Friend
Robin Brenner	...	Excitable Customer
Richard Burgi	...	Craig Martin
Paige Cannon	...	Girl at Concert
Nikki Christian	...	Porsche Girl
John Churchill	...	Young Guard
Greg Collins	...	Aging Security Guard
Valerie Cruz	...	Dana Bayback

Storyline

After dropping her son off at the bus stop, the doting mum and high school science teacher, Jessica Martin, is kidnapped at gunpoint, and thrown in an unknown attic with only a nearly unusable phone. As her world turns upside down in an instant, the desperate mother manages to jury-rig the device and connects with the cell phone of the young college student, Ryan. Now, Jessica's life is literally in Ryan's hands--and as the ruthless abductors threaten to kill her--Ryan has to act fast to rescue the woman on the other end of the line. However, with a dying battery, how can Ryan save Jessica when this could be her last phone call?

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Plot Keywords:

cell phone | telephone terror | police | family in danger | phone conversation | 

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Taglines:

If the signal dies so does she.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for violence, terror situations, language and some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

Chris Evans did his own car stunts. Before production began, he was trained for five weeks at a Los Angeles stunt school. Most of the stunts are done by the actors themselves, also.

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Goofs

Before Ryan goes driving in the construction site, the cell phone switches from being on the seat to in his hands and then back on the seat again.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ricky Martin: Mom, will you still be a science teacher when I get into high school?
Jessica Martin: Hmm... You never know. Why?
Ricky Martin: 'Cause I think it'd be kind of weird to have your mom as a teacher.

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Crazy Credits

The first part of the closing credits show cast and crew names on cellular telephone screens, in scenes from the film.

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Connections

Remade as Connected (2008)

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Soundtracks

Them Jeans
Written by Master P (as Percy Miller) and Michael Robinson
Performed by Master P
Courtesy of Koch Entertainment
By Arrangement with Sugaroo!

User Reviews

Keeps you on your toes

I happened to catch this movie during a free-preview weekend on Starz. I had never heard of it, so I did not know what to expect. For the whole duration of the movie, about 90 min., I was at the edge of my seat. The plot takes several unexpected turns and is packed with continuous action, while the characters are very believable. O.k., fine, it does not deal with deep moral issues, if you want a movie that will make you want to go out and change the world this is not it. But if you want an entertaining movie that will give you a big dose of adrenaline, will have you raise yourself from your seat, I strongly recommend it. By the way, I am not a big fun of horror teenage movies like Scream, I just don't find them believable, and find the characters shallow. The best part about this movie is that you actually feel sympathy for the victims, the plot is probable, and the action scenes do not require that the actors possess superhuman strength. At the end of the movie the only thing I could think of was "holy cow", a response I usually associate with a great roller coaster ride.

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Warner Bros

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cellular

Filming Locations:

Baldwin Hills Mansion, Inglewood Oil Field, Culver City, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,600,000, 12 September 2004

Gross USA:

$32,003,620

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$57,678,321

Company Credits

Production Co:

New Line Cinema, Electric Entertainment, LFG Filmproduktions & Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1