The Telephone is a 1988

1988 in film

-Top grossing films :- Awards :Academy Awards:* Act of Piracy* Action Jackson, starring Carl Weathers, Craig T. Nelson, Vanity, Sharon Stone* The Adventures of Baron Munchausen* Akira* Alice...

 independent film comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg

Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...

 as an out-of-work actress who starts doing some prank phone calls which created a chain of events. Actor Rip Torn

Rip Torn

Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn, Jr. , is an American actor of stage, screen and television.Torn received an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in the 1983 film Cross Creek. His work includes the role of Artie, the producer, on The Larry Sanders Show, for which he was nominated...

 makes his directorial debut with this film, with Elliott Gould

Elliott Gould

Elliott Gould is an American actor. He began acting in Hollywood films during the 1960s, and has remained prolific ever since. Some of his most notable films include M*A*S*H and Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, for which he received an Oscar nomination...

 and John Heard in supporting roles. It was released on January 22, 1988 and was distributed by New World Pictures.

The film was neither a box office nor a critical hit and Goldberg was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as Worst Actress. Goldberg filed a lawsuit against the film's makers in order to prevent it from being released, but lost the case.