''Phantom of the Megaplex'' is a 2000 American comedy mystery film and
Disney Channel original movie
Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner na ...
, produced by the
Disney Channel. With a title and concept very loosely based on
Gaston Leroux
Gaston Louis Alfred Leroux (6 May 186815 April 1927) was a French journalist and author of detective fiction.
In the English-speaking world, he is best known for writing the novel '' The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra, ...
's 1910 novel ''
The Phantom of the Opera
''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...
'', the film concerns strange happenings at a monstrous
megaplex
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens within a single complex. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into s ...
on the night of the
premiere of a major movie, ''Midnight Mayhem''.
The central character, played by
Taylor Handley
Taylor Laurence Handley (born June 1, 1984) is an American actor.
Early years
Handley was born in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Santa Monica City College.
Career
In 1998, Handley played Rory Buck in the movie ''Jack Frost''. In 20 ...
, is Pete Riley, the 17-year-old assistant manager of the theater. He has to cope with malfunctioning equipment, disappearing staff, and a broken popcorn machine, among other headaches. He investigates to see if the troubles are coincidence or the result of
sabotage
Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, disruption, or destruction. One who engages in sabotage is a ''saboteur''. Saboteurs typically try to conceal their identitie ...
by a mysterious "phantom". The senior manager of the theater is played by Rich Hutchman, and Ricky Mabe, Julia Chantrey, Joanne Boland, J.J. Stocker, and Lisa Ng appear as other employees of the theater.
Caitlin Wachs
Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs (pronounced ''wax''; born March 15, 1989) is an American production coordinator and actress. She appeared alongside Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the NBC television series '' Profiler'' in the role of Chloe Waters and ...
and
Jacob Smith play the central character's younger siblings, and Heather and Jennifer Bertram appear as his love interest and her friend.
Plot
17-year-old Pete Riley works as the assistant manager at the local 26-screen grand megaplex, a job that he loves and spends the majority of his time at. Rumor has it that the megaplex is haunted by a "phantom", someone who was trapped inside the old movie theater that was demolished to build the current megaplex. Pete, senior manager Shawn MacGibbon, the other employees, and an elderly member of the family who once owned the original theater known as "Movie Mason" (played by
Mickey Rooney) who loves movies and thinks he works at the megaplex, are working to prepare the theater for the star-studded premiere of the new Hollywood blockbuster ''Midnight Mayhem''. Wolfgang Nedermayer, the owner of the megaplex, is to be among the guests. To Pete's disappointment, he is forced to bring along his younger siblings, 13-year-old Karen and 10-year-old Brian, to the theater while their widowed mother goes out on a date with her boyfriend George.
Pete dumps his siblings in a movie (which Karen ditches to see a horror movie with her friends) so he can focus on setting up for the premiere, but problems begin to pop up all through the megaplex. The other movies begin to suffer mishaps, which Karen and Brian realize are all related to the titles of the films being shown (for example, a theater showing a movie called ''Cyclone Summer'' has a giant fan moved in front of the screen, which blows everyone out of their seats). Pete, Karen, and Brian work together and discover that the rumored phantom is behind these acts of sabotage. Through online spoilers, Brian and Karen are able to learn the movie's plot, and Pete is able to stop the phantom from sabotaging the premiere. The phantom is revealed to be Shawn, who Nedermayer immediately fires; however, Shawn explodes with anger as he did all this so Nedermayer would finally notice him (and get his name right, since he never did). Shawn is then offered partnership by the director of ''Midnight Mayhem'' to make a movie based on his exploits—''Phantom of the Megaplex: The Shawn McGibbon Story''.
Nedermayer offers Pete the job of senior manager at the megaplex, something Pete has always wanted. Though Pete tells Nedermayer that he'd be honored, he turns down the job. Inspired by Karen and Brian from their help exposing Shawn as the phantom, Pete realizes the importance of his childhood and doesn't want to waste it anymore, asking for the rest of the night off; Nedermayer complies, giving Pete money to treat his girlfriend Caitlin Kerrigan to a nice breakfast after the film. George proposes to Julie, as per suggested by Brian who said a 4–star ending was needed to wrap things up. As everyone enters the movie theater, Movie Mason explains to Brian that he never once believed in the Phantom of the Megaplex; however, "the Werewolf of the Megaplex is another story." Both enter the theater as an employee, known for her horrifying tales, "Scary Terri" closes the doors as a wolf howl sounds.
Cast
*
Taylor Handley
Taylor Laurence Handley (born June 1, 1984) is an American actor.
Early years
Handley was born in Santa Barbara, California. He attended Santa Monica City College.
Career
In 1998, Handley played Rory Buck in the movie ''Jack Frost''. In 20 ...
as Pete Riley, 17-year-old assistant manager of the theater.
*
Caitlin Wachs
Caitlin Elizabeth Wachs (pronounced ''wax''; born March 15, 1989) is an American production coordinator and actress. She appeared alongside Ally Walker and Robert Davi on the NBC television series '' Profiler'' in the role of Chloe Waters and ...
as Karen Riley, Pete's 13-year-old sister.
*
Jacob Smith as Brian Riley, Pete's perceptive 10-year-old brother.
*
Corinne Bohrer
Corinne Bohrer (born October 18, 1958) is an American film and television actress whose career has continued uninterrupted for four decades and includes regular roles in eight primetime series produced between 1984 and 2015: '' E/R'' (1984–8 ...
as Julie Riley, Pete's widowed mother.
*
John Novak
John Novak is a Canadian voice, film and television actor who frequently does work for the Ocean Productions based in Vancouver, Canada.
Biography
He was born in Venezuela to Canadian parents who were visiting the country.
He has also starred ...
as George, Julie's boyfriend.
*
Mickey Rooney as Mason / Movie Mason, elderly movie fan. His family opened the old theater before the megaplex was built. When the theater closed down and the megaplex opened, Mason thought that he worked there, though technically he doesn't. He comes to the theater every day and is welcomed and well liked by all the staff, except Shawn.
* Rich Hutchman as Shawn MacGibbon, the theater's senior manager who is constantly worried about his job.
*
Colin Fox as Wolfgang Nedermayer, the owner of the megaplex who never gets Shawn's name right.
* Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Tory Hicks.
*
Carlo Rota
Carlo Dante Rota (born 17 April 1961) is a British-born Canadian actor. He has appeared in ''Little Mosque on the Prairie'' and as systems analyst Morris O'Brian on the Fox series '' 24''. He also co-starred as Emilio Solano in ''Jane the Vi ...
as Tyler Jesseman, the director of Midnight Mayhem.
* Eric Hempsall as Lamonica, the new general manager.
* Ricky Mabe as Ricky Leary / Ricky Rules, a theater worker who has the correct procedure for anything and does everything by the book.
*
Julia Chantrey as Terri Tortora / Scary Terri, a theater worker who loves telling scary stories.
* Joanne Boland as Hilary Horan / Hillary Honey, a theater worker who described as a grandma in a teenage body due to her caring personality.
* J.J. Stocker as Mark Jeffries / Question Mark, a theater worker who is a bit slow-witted, always asking questions.
* Lisa Ng as Lacy Ling / Racy Lacy, a theater worker who known for being quick in movement and personality.
*
Joe Pingue
Joe Pingue is a Canadian actor and film maker.
Early life
Pingue was born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario. He attended Ridley College for both elementary and high school, and studied theatre at York University.
While attending Ridley Col ...
as Merle, the theater's head projectionist. Even on a simple question, he has a habit of saying too complicated of an answer in return.
* Heather Bertram as Caitlin Kerigan, a girl Pete has a crush on.
* Jennifer Bertram as Lisa, Caitlin's friend.
*
Jeff Berg as Donny Hollie, Pete's rival.
*
Daniel DeSanto
Daniel DeSanto is a Canadian actor.
Early life
Raised in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, DeSanto made his acting debut at the age of 8 as the lead protagonist in ''Brown Bread Sandwiches'' (a.k.a. ''La famiglia Buonanotte''), a film about Ita ...
(credited as Daniel De Santo) as Zeke, theater worker.
* Nicole Hardy as April Popko, Karen's friend with whom she sees a scary movie despite Julie not letting her.
*
Sarah Gadon
Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as '' Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and ''Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...
as Sarah, April's friend.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom Of The Megaplex
2000 television films
2000 films
2000s comedy mystery films
American children's films
American comedy mystery films
Disney Channel Original Movie films
Films based on The Phantom of the Opera
Films directed by Blair Treu
Films set in a movie theatre
Films shot in Toronto
Films shot in Utah
2000s American films