ËœPHONE BOOTH AND ËœCELLULAR SCREENWRITER FINISHES 87th SCRIPT ON TELECOMMUNICATIONS
Larry Cohens new scripts include ˜*69, ˜Redial, ˜Long Distance, ˜Collect Call
Hollywood - Screenwriter Larry Cohen who penned ËœPhone Booth, ËœCellular and the upcoming ËœMessages Deleted has just completed his 87th full feature script that deals with telecommunications. Cohen, who is being treated by several psychotherapists, has been unable for the last two years to write anything that doesnt involve the telephone industry.ËœI just love telephones, says Cohen in an interview he demanded be conducted over the telephone. ËœNot only have I been writing movies about phones, but Ive just finished writing a three volume book on Alexander Graham Bell. The book is titled, ËœSaved by Bell: Volumes 1, 2, 3. Its the easiest 4,384 pages Ive ever written.
Among the 87 new screenplays Cohen has written is the script ËœCall Waiting. Cohen says its about a woman whose husband is severely injured in a car crash, and when he calls his wife at home, she lets Ëœthe beeps go through and never answers his call. The husband dies, and shes haunted by the fact that she didnt take advantage of her Call Waiting plan.
ËœIts just one of those things thats right in front of you that you see all the time, says Cohen. ËœYoung writers come to Hollywood, and they try to come up with all these imaginative scripts. What they fail to do is simple. They simply dont write about the things that are right in front of them. For instance, telephones!
Other new scripts include ˜*69, ˜Redial, ˜Long Distance and ˜Collect Call which he wrote in two afternoons.
˜I was at home working when the phone rang, says Cohen. ˜It was some foreign woman ˜ I think Chinese or Japanese or Mexican ˜ but I couldnt tell. I tried to help her as she struggled through her broken English, but after a few minutes, I hanged up.
It wasnt until the next month that Cohen received his phone bill which listed a collect call from Beijing for $92.73.
ËœI felt so violated at that moment, says a tearful Cohen. ËœI felt betrayed by telephones. But then I realized it was the force behind the call; that Chinese or Mexican woman. I picked up my laptop and started writing a screenplay. Its about a victims journey to find the person who made that collect call. Its scintillating.
Another new script, ËœOn Hold, also arose from a personal experience.
ËœWhen I showed this one to my agent, he thought right away it would be about some guy going nuts because some company put him on hold for way too long, says Cohen. ËœActually, its a lot more terrifying than that.
Cohen says the script is about the sinister forces at a long distance company that cleverly switches his long distance provider.
ËœThe company is called House Owner Long Distance or HOLD, says Cohen. ËœThese bastards called me and said if I wanted to switch to House Owner Long Distance. I said no. But then they asked me if they could put me on HOLD. I said yes, and they switched me to their company. Those f**kers!
ËœOn Hold follows a Los Angeles man as he tries to track down the evil-doers behind HOLD.
As the prolific Cohen basks in his success, he also finds himself in the middle of a controversy. It has to do with another script, ˜10-10-220. Critics say its a blatant example of product placement in movies and claim that Cohen got paid a hefty sum to write a movie for the company 10-10-220.
ËœThis movie is not about product placement, argues Cohen. ËœPeople are picking on me, but I didnt hear any criticism when ËœYouve Got Mail or ËœHarold and Kumar Go to White Castle came out. Im unfairly being targeted because of my passion for telephones.
Cohen claims he doesnt even use 10-10-220, but adds that, ËœYou can make a call for 20 minutes or less and pay only 99 cents. What an incredible deal!
