"The Call" is an American thriller film that stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin, and it was directed by Brad Anderson.
Its plot revolves around a 911 operator taking a call from a teenage girl whose life is in danger.
The screenwriter of the "The Call," Richard D'Ovidio, first came up with a script centered on the life of a 911 operator after listening to a radio interview.
Originally, the script was designed to be made into a television series but eventually ended up as a movie.
It seems that D'Ovidio chose a female lead character simply because most 911 operators are women.
Halle Berry was attracted to the role because of the film's ability to show female actresses in a good light.
D'Ovidio took suggestions for the script from his wife as well as from the film's lead actresses.
For example, Berry offered advice on how the film could be adapted to tell the story from a woman's point of view.
Although Berry had signed up for the role, she did not know very much about the inner workings of a 911 operator.
So, to prepare for her part as LAPD operator Jordan Turner, Berry visited a local call center on a number of occasions.
She remarked how calm and collected 911 operators are in taking a call, especially because the life of the other person on the end of the line may depend on how that call is handled.
In addition to Berry prepping in a call center, lead actor Morris Chestnut, who plays the role of LAPD officer Paul Phillips in the film, traveled in police squad cars to get a feel of what it is like to travel to a crime scene.
During filming, Berry found it difficult to connect with many of the other characters due to the fact that she was sitting by a phone almost every day of shooting scenes.
Additionally, Berry found it tough to read pages and pages of lines with very few breaks in between.
A small accident occurred while filming in July 2012, when Berry suffered a minor head injury as a result of falling headfirst onto concrete during a fight sequence.
All of the production was filmed in Los Angeles, with major shooting locations in Burbank and Santa Clarita.
The opening scenes of the film show the amount of pressure that LAPD call operators are under on a daily basis.
A young teenage girl phones Jordan Turner for help in escaping from a serial killer, but Turner somehow loses the call.
When Turner calls back, the killer hears the ringtone and ends up murdering the teenager.
As a result of this gross error, Turner decides to leave the LAPD.
Six months later, however, Turner is training 911 operators.
Then, she receives another call from a teenage girl who has been kidnapped by a serial killer.
Casey Welson, played by Breslin, calls Turner from the trunk of the killer's car, but Turner cannot get a GPS signal of her location.
The killer leaves a path of destruction in trying to get away from police, but he leaves his fingerprints at the scene of one of his killings.
The fingerprints allow the police to determine that the killer's name is Michael Foster.
Turner goes with police to raid Foster's house, but Welson is not found.
From piecing together some clues, Turner figures out that Foster is the same man who murdered the teenage girl Turner was speaking to moments before she died months earlier.
Turner goes down into the cellar of the house in search of Foster only to find Welson tied up.
Turner frees Welson, and the pair manages to knock Foster unconscious.
They tie him up and leave him to die in the cellar.
A few weeks before "The Call" was released to theaters nationwide, the Women's International Film Festival held an advanced screening, of which several main characters attended.
Film critics predicted that "The Call" would make roughly $12 million for its opening weekend, but the movie surpassed this figure easily, bringing in $17 million over the first three days after its release.
This unexpected success is in spite of mixed film reviews.
Many critics commented that the first hour was packed with fast-paced action but that the plot slowed down from there.
Given that the film has already grossed $40 million (more than three times the film's budget of $13 million), many are predicting that a sequel will be made sometime in the future.
Berry and Chestnut have already voiced their support for a sequel and said they would return to reprise their roles.
Its plot revolves around a 911 operator taking a call from a teenage girl whose life is in danger.
The screenwriter of the "The Call," Richard D'Ovidio, first came up with a script centered on the life of a 911 operator after listening to a radio interview.
Originally, the script was designed to be made into a television series but eventually ended up as a movie.
It seems that D'Ovidio chose a female lead character simply because most 911 operators are women.
Halle Berry was attracted to the role because of the film's ability to show female actresses in a good light.
D'Ovidio took suggestions for the script from his wife as well as from the film's lead actresses.
For example, Berry offered advice on how the film could be adapted to tell the story from a woman's point of view.
Although Berry had signed up for the role, she did not know very much about the inner workings of a 911 operator.
So, to prepare for her part as LAPD operator Jordan Turner, Berry visited a local call center on a number of occasions.
She remarked how calm and collected 911 operators are in taking a call, especially because the life of the other person on the end of the line may depend on how that call is handled.
In addition to Berry prepping in a call center, lead actor Morris Chestnut, who plays the role of LAPD officer Paul Phillips in the film, traveled in police squad cars to get a feel of what it is like to travel to a crime scene.
During filming, Berry found it difficult to connect with many of the other characters due to the fact that she was sitting by a phone almost every day of shooting scenes.
Additionally, Berry found it tough to read pages and pages of lines with very few breaks in between.
A small accident occurred while filming in July 2012, when Berry suffered a minor head injury as a result of falling headfirst onto concrete during a fight sequence.
All of the production was filmed in Los Angeles, with major shooting locations in Burbank and Santa Clarita.
The opening scenes of the film show the amount of pressure that LAPD call operators are under on a daily basis.
A young teenage girl phones Jordan Turner for help in escaping from a serial killer, but Turner somehow loses the call.
When Turner calls back, the killer hears the ringtone and ends up murdering the teenager.
As a result of this gross error, Turner decides to leave the LAPD.
Six months later, however, Turner is training 911 operators.
Then, she receives another call from a teenage girl who has been kidnapped by a serial killer.
Casey Welson, played by Breslin, calls Turner from the trunk of the killer's car, but Turner cannot get a GPS signal of her location.
The killer leaves a path of destruction in trying to get away from police, but he leaves his fingerprints at the scene of one of his killings.
The fingerprints allow the police to determine that the killer's name is Michael Foster.
Turner goes with police to raid Foster's house, but Welson is not found.
From piecing together some clues, Turner figures out that Foster is the same man who murdered the teenage girl Turner was speaking to moments before she died months earlier.
Turner goes down into the cellar of the house in search of Foster only to find Welson tied up.
Turner frees Welson, and the pair manages to knock Foster unconscious.
They tie him up and leave him to die in the cellar.
A few weeks before "The Call" was released to theaters nationwide, the Women's International Film Festival held an advanced screening, of which several main characters attended.
Film critics predicted that "The Call" would make roughly $12 million for its opening weekend, but the movie surpassed this figure easily, bringing in $17 million over the first three days after its release.
This unexpected success is in spite of mixed film reviews.
Many critics commented that the first hour was packed with fast-paced action but that the plot slowed down from there.
Given that the film has already grossed $40 million (more than three times the film's budget of $13 million), many are predicting that a sequel will be made sometime in the future.
Berry and Chestnut have already voiced their support for a sequel and said they would return to reprise their roles.
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