Fox shelves Phone Booth due to real-life sniper

A Hollywood thriller about a sniper has been pulled from its November 15 release slot while a real-life gunman terrorizes residents around the nation's capital, Variety reported Wednesday. Phone Booth, which centers on a man who answers a ringing pay phone and learns he will be shot by a sniper if he hangs up, does not have a new release date. But it could be released in early 2003, the paper said, citing insiders at the film's distributor, 20th Century Fox.

The $12 million thriller stars Irish actor Colin Farrell and 24 TV star Kiefer Sutherland and was directed by gay filmmaker Joel Schumacher. The D.C.-area sniper has killed nine people since launching a 15-hour shooting spree earlier this month.