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The Telephone (film)

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Director
  
Rip Torn

Initial DVD release
  
July 21, 2007 (Japan)

Duration
  

Country
  
United States

4.4/10
IMDb

Genre
  
Comedy, Drama

Music director
  
Christopher Young

Language
  
English

The Telephone (film) movie poster

Writer
  
Terry Southern
,
Harry Nilsson

Release date
  
January 22, 1988

Cast
  
Whoopi Goldberg
(Vashti Blue),
John Heard
(Telephone Man),
Elliott Gould
(Rodney),
Hervé Villechaize
(Voice on Freeway),
Severn Darden
,
Amy Wright

Similar movies
  
Terry Southern wrote the screenplay for The Telephone and The Loved One

Tagline
  
She's on the line... and off the wall.

The telephone 1988 movie


The Telephone is a 1988 comedy-drama film starring Whoopi Goldberg as an out-of-work actress who starts doing some prank phone calls which creates a chain of events. Actor Rip Torn makes his directorial debut with this film, with Elliott Gould and John Heard in supporting roles. It was released on January 22, 1988 and was distributed by New World Pictures.

Contents

The Telephone (film) movie scenes

Plot

The Telephone (1988 film) The Telephone 1988 IMDb

Vashti Blue is an out-of-work actress who we watch make a series of prank calls throughout the night, that causes a chain of events. She is eventually revealed as being medically unstable, as a telephone contractor turns up to her home to confiscate the handset due to arrears with her phone bill. It is revealed that her telephone line was disconnected some time ago, much to her denial. As he struggles to take the handset, she strikes him in the head and stabs him with a knife.

Cast

The Telephone (1988 film) The Telephone 1988 Movie YouTube

  • Whoopi Goldberg as Vashti Blue
  • Severn Darden as Max
  • Elliott Gould as Rodney
  • John Heard as Telephone Man
  • Background

    The Telephone (1988 film) ReUpload Epic Rant on The Telephone 1988 aka Movie Review YouTube

    The Telephone was produced by Hawkeye, a company formed by screenwriter Terry Southern and singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson. According to Southern, "We had this idea about an out-of-work actor who gets so into hallucinatory-type improvisations that he even makes up phone calls to himself." Nilsson and Southern wrote the screenplay with Robin Williams in mind for the main character, and attempted to get the comedian a copy of the script, but Williams' manager did not want him to make the film. After viewing Whoopi Goldberg's standup performances, Nilsson and Southern thought that she would be right for the part. After seeing Rip Torn's direction of stage plays, the writers felt that Torn would be ideal to direct the film.

    Filming

    The Telephone (1988 film) The Obscurity Factor Whoopi Goldberg in The Telephone 1988

    The film's producers persuaded Goldberg to ignore the film's script and improvise, leading to arguments with Torn, who preferred to direct the film as scripted.

    Post-production

    The Telephone (1988 film) Whats The Bottom Line Whats The Bottom Line special Anonymous

    Whoopi Goldberg states that she was given approval over the film's final cut. The film was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in a version edited by Rip Torn. Unhappy with Torn's editing of the film, Goldberg filed a $5 million lawsuit against New World Pictures and Torn to prevent its release. Following arbitration, the jury found in favor of New World.

    Reception

    The Telephone (1988 film) Cineplexcom The Telephone

    When the film was screened in New York, audiences allegedly cried out "I want my money back!" and "I hope the film breaks!" Grossing $54,811 during its opening weekend, the film went on to become a box office flop with a total domestic gross of $99,978. The movie was poorly received by critics, with The New York Times stating that the quotes mentioned in this section were "the truest, most sanely existential lines spoken during the film [that] night," as the Los Angeles Times wrote "Sorry, but [the film] is a wrong number." Leonard Maltin wrote that "Goldberg may have hit rock bottom with this clinker". For her role in the film, Goldberg was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. According to Southern, "I was ambivalent about it. I was too close to the film to be objective, but a number of people ended up liking the released film. [The New World version] is still selling well as a cassette at my local drug store." Obsessed With Film named The Telephone as the 10th best "One Man Band" film, in a list of films with only one or very few characters.

    References

    The Telephone (1988 film) Wikipedia
    The Telephone (film) IMDb The Telephone (film) themoviedb.org