With a writers strike threatening to close down Hollywood in the spring of 2001, films were being rushed into production all over town to try to get as many projects as possible produced. And the smaller and quicker the production, the better. Well, the strike never happened and we, the viewer ended up having so many cheap films come out 18 months later. One of the better strike films is Phone Booth, from leading director Joel Schumacher. Shot in three weeks on location in New York, the story line is very simple. Spunk Colin Farrell stars as a press representative for actors, who after answering a ringing phone, is told that if he hangs up or leaves the booth, he will be shot dead (the threat is proven when people start getting shot). It would seem hard to keep the film going for another 90 minutes without resorting to flashbacks, but with a gradual rise in tension, the film is a tight little thriller. My biggest problem with the film, apart from the fact it is very similar to the better Liberty Stands Still, is who cares about a PR agent. Especially as the film has set up the shooter as having killed drug and arms dealers, why on earth has he decided to go after a PR guy? They may be evil, but they are not destroying the world, and I just feel the film would have been better with a back story that was stronger. But the film still does well. I do think the very similar Liberty Stands Still is better, so check that one out.