1408
Short description
1408 centres on Mike Enslin, a writer who makes a living exposing supposed hauntings in hotels and other places. He does not believe in anything he cannot see for himself. His research leads him to the Dolphin Hotel in New York and to room 1408, a room with a long history of unexplained and violent deaths, which has stood empty for years. The hotel's manager, Gerald Olin, warns him repeatedly against staying there, but Enslin insists on spending the night. What begins as another sceptical investigation turns into an ordeal, and the question becomes whether he will survive it. The film is based on a short story by Stephen King.
Mikael Håfström directed, working from a screenplay by Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski and Matt Greenberg. It was the fourth feature Håfström directed, following Evil, Drowning Ghost and Derailed, and it came before Shanghai, The Rite and Escape Plan. John Cusack plays Enslin, with Samuel L. Jackson as Olin, Mary McCormack as Lilly Enslin, Jasmine Jessica Anthony as Katie, Tony Shalhoub as Sam Farrell and Len Cariou as Mike's father. Lorenzo di Bonaventura produced for di Bonaventura Pictures and Dimension Films.
Made for about 25 million dollars, the film took roughly 133 million dollars worldwide, a strong return on its budget. On IMDb it holds 6.8 out of 10 from around 313,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.7 from about 5,000. A critics' rating of 6.7 from 177 reviews places it close to both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Filming began on July 13, 2006.
- In his story, Stephen King drew inspiration from the story of real-life parapsychologist Christopher Chaykin, who described his investigation of a room haunted by spirits at the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California.
- King's story was never actually published in print. He used the plot for his book "On Writing," but he liked the story so much that he included it in a collection of stories for an audio compilation.
- Mike’s wife, Lily, was originally supposed to be played by Kate Walsh. However, the actress was under contract with the series "Grey's Anatomy" and was unable to leave the show during filming. She was replaced by Mary McCormack.
- One of the victims of room 1408 is named Grady. Grady is also the name of the hero in "The Shining," another of King's stories about a terrifying hotel.
- The film contains a significant number of references to the unlucky number 13. For example, the sum of the digits in room 1408 is 13; it is located on the 13th floor (although the hotel seemingly does not have a 13th floor, and the 14th floor follows the 12th); the room key bears the number 6214, which also adds up to 13; the hotel address is 2245 Lexington (13!); and finally, the first victim died at the hotel in 1912: again, adding up to 13.
- One of Mike’s early books is called “The Long Walk Home.” The hotel manager, Gerald Olin, confuses the title and pronounces it as “A Long Walk,” which is the title of one of King’s novels.
- The Roosevelt Hotel, located on the corner of 45th Street and Madison Avenue in New York, served as the stand-in for the “Dolphin” hotel.
- In his speech before the autograph session, Mike Enslin says: “You have to be afraid.” This is one of the favorite phrases of the classic of American horror cinema, director, screenwriter, and producer George A. Romero, a friend of Stephen King, who directed two films based on his works – “Creepshow” (1982) and “The Dark Half” (1992). Romero likes to say this phrase in public and often uses it as part of his autograph.
- Once in the film, Mike Enslin appears wearing a head covering with the inscription “Paranoia is full understanding.” This is a reference to one of Stephen King’s favorite sayings: “Perfect paranoia is perfect understanding.”
- Mike Enslin has a hat with the logo of the Chicago White Sox baseball team. Chicago is the hometown of actor John Cusack.
- The shot of Mike Enslin hanging from the ledge is a quote from Alfred Hitchcock's classic thriller *Vertigo* (1958).
- When Mike, having just checked into the room, takes a Bible from the nightstand and opens it somewhere in the middle, a close-up shows two pages with 'Samuel' written at the top. Samuel is the name of the actor who played the hotel manager in this film at the 'Dolphin' hotel (Samuel L. Jackson).
- The director's cut of the film, with a different ending than the theatrical release, was released on DVD.
- The underwater sequences were filmed in a special underwater pavilion at the Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England.
- The axe used by the firefighter to break down the door is exactly the same as the one Jack Torrance had in Stanley Kubrick's film 'The Shining' (1980), based on the novel of the same name by Stephen King.
- Jackson's character states that there were 56 deaths in room 1408. He then hands Cusack's hero a bottle of cognac called 'Les Cinquante Sept Deces' (57 deaths).
- In the scene where Mike regains consciousness on the beach for the second time, the word 'Psycho' is visible on his suit – a reference to Alfred Hitchcock’s film 'Psycho'.
- In addition to the theatrical and director's cuts, there is a third, alternative ending to the film. In it, Sam Farrell, Mike Enslin's editor, receives the manuscript that Mike wrote after supposedly returning from the room, waking up on the beach.
- At the beginning of his stay in room 1408, Mike Enslin says: "'The banality of evil,' someone of great intellect once said." This refers to German political theorist Hannah Arendt, who wrote about 'the banality of evil' in her essay 'Eichmann in Jerusalem.'
- The hotel's name is a reference to Haruki Murakami's novel *Hear the Wind Sing* and its sequel *Dance Dance Dance*. They featured a hotel called 'Dolphin,' where strange things happened.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
