Thrills That Hit Too Close to Home

By Jeanne McDowell Sunday, Oct. 13, 2002
    • Pop culture never gets off scot free in any national tragedy. The first Hollywood casualty of the sniper shootings in the Washington area could be 20th Century Fox's thriller Phone Booth. Directed by Joel Schumacher and scheduled for a Nov. 15 release, it's about a man (Colin Farrell) pinned down in a telephone booth under fire from a sniper (Kiefer Sutherland). The film's zippy trailer was greeted enthusiastically when it began running in theaters weeks ago, says screenwriter Larry Cohen. But the reaction was much different last week: "There was a chill and fear," he says. Fox execs are now mulling whether to delay the movie's release. Cohen is grateful that at least his movie didn't come out before the shootings. "If it had happened the other way around, people might say the sniper got his idea from my picture," he says. "At least I'm spared that."