Today's wsj.com [sub. req'd] takes a look at an upcoming release, Cellular, and the filmmakers' strained relationship with Cingular even as Nokia gleefully product-placed its handset in the starring role. See, the wireless carrier didn't like suspenseful scenes that hinged on shitty reception. Here's an idea, shore up your service!
But let's hear it for the research department folks who pulled together the sidebar, "Memorable Celluloid Cellphones." As the 'Fesser has observed, often and wisely, nothing dates a film faster than the size of its cellphones.
Notable cinematic appearances by cellphones and other wireless devices:1987: In Wall Street, Michael Douglas, as corporate raider Gordon Gekko, makes deals from a giant cellphone on a beach.
1995: Casey Ryback, played by Steven Seagal, uses Apple Computer's ill-fated personal digital assistant, the Newton, to make an urgent fax from a hijacked passenger train in Under Siege 2.
1997: Pierce Brosnan's 007 totes an Ericsson phone in Tomorrow Never Dies. In a full-page newspaper ad, the cellphone maker proclaims, "James Bond uses his Ericsson for all his close calls."
1998: In Lethal Weapon 4, the characters played by Joe Pesci and Chris Rock rant about cellphone service. Among the tamer lines, Mr. Rock's character, Detective Lee Butters, says, "You get a call, they cut you off. You make a call, they cut you off. What's the point?"
1999: In the first Matrix film, Keanu Reeves's Neo receives a Nokia phone in an overnight-mail package, then gets a call helping him escape a sting. The Nokia 8110 also pops up elsewhere in the movie. Nokia opens a Matrix Web site centered on the film.
1999: In The Insider, a scientist and a news producer spend much of the movie plotting their exposure of the tobacco industry by talking over cellphones. In one scene, the producer, played by Al Pacino, wades into the ocean to get a better signal to talk to the despondent informant.
2000: Nokia surrounds placement in the first Charlie's Angels film with a major marketing push, including TV ads and retail-store contests.
2003: The Matrix is back with two new films, only this time the phones are by Samsung. The South Korean handset maker launches a Web site and a specially designed model around the movies.
2003: Teenager Frankie Muniz, playing Agent Cody Banks, uses a T-Mobile Sidekick as one of his many gadgets.
2004: Tom Cruise's character checks messages on a Sidekick, and a cellphone runs low on battery charge at a crucial moment in Collateral.
2004: The titular character of Little Black Book is Ron Livingston's character's Palm hand-held device, which his girlfriend examines to learn about his dating history. The movie had made just $18.4 million through Aug. 22.
And don't forget, in 2002's Collateral Damage, Ahnuld fights baddies who are constantly letting their fingers do the walking and detonating shit via cellphone. [Curse you, J Hoberman, for putting me in a position to know this!]
