‘Phone Booth’ at 20: Star Colin Farrell on how Mel Gibson, Will Smith and Jim Carrey all almost took the role before him

The iconic thriller Phone Booth, starring Colin Farrell, is marking its 20th anniversary this Tuesday. However, the film could have been released as early as the 1960s, as screenwriter Larry Cohen had initially pitched the idea of a man trapped inside a phone booth to Alfred Hitchcock. Despite not being able to solve the conundrum of why the man couldn’t leave until the late 1990s, Hollywood was immediately hooked when Cohen came up with the idea of having a sniper hold the man hostage.