Dial Tone:
Twentieth Century Fox has delayed the November 15th release of the movie Phone Booth because of its vague resemblance to the recent sniper attacks in Washington D.C.
I’m pretty disappointed since the Phone Booth trailer rocked (and like a bunch of cowards, Apple Trailers seemed to have pulled it) and reminded me more of Miracle Mile, an overlooked Cold War gem in which Anthony Edwards (post-Top Gun, pre-Northern Exposure) idly picks up a ringing pay phone and hears that Russia has launched a nuclear missile that’s heading right for Los Angeles.
I suppose this makes sense from a financial standpoint. After all, who wants their film blacklisted by the headlines? But if Fox or any other studio had a wit of marketing creativity, they’d use Phone Booth’s sudden relevance (Colin Farrell plays a New York wheeler-dealer who answers a phone booth call. On the other end is Kiefer Sutherland, a sniper who will kill Farrell if he tells anyone what’s going on) to their advantage. How about news stories about the psychological profile of a sniper, a tie-in with America’s Most Wanted?
Alas, no. Fox is only saying the movie will be released at some point but doesn’t say when (via DT).