Does Halle Berry Film 'The Call' Have an Alternate Ending — and Is the Movie Based on a True Story?
Apr. 13 2022, Published 4:58 p.m. ET
The Call is the perfect movie to watch for anyone interested in a thrilling crime drama. The 2013 movie was recently added to Netflix’s streaming platform. It stars Halle Berry and Abigail Breslin in the leading roles of a 911 operator and kidnapping victim, respectively. Halle’s character makes a huge mistake when handling a 911 phone call and feels she must do everything in her power to fix the dire situation.
She goes above and beyond to track down a missing teenage girl to save her life before a serial killer gets his way. Does The Call have an alternate ending? Is the movie based on a true story? And what kind of salary do 911 dispatchers earn?
Does 'The Call' have an alternate ending?
It turns out there’s an alternate ending that viewers of The Call can watch. According to Collider, the alternate ending is nothing too crazy, life-changing, or different. They reported, “The alternate ending is really an extended ending with Halle and Breslin walking off into the sunset. Nothing juicy here.”
The movie received poor reviews from audiences despite the fact that it grossed over $51 million off of a $13 million budget. According to box office numbers, it did quite well. Is it possible it could’ve done better with audiences if the alternate ending had been used instead?
Is 'The Call' based on a true story?
The Call tells such a devastating story that it would be unfortunate for it to be based on a true story. According to HITC, it’s not based on a true story at all — and that’s good news! The screenplay was written by Richard D’Ovidio, the same man who came up with 13 Ghosts and Exit Wounds.
He collaborated with his wife, Nicole, who was inspired after listening to an interview with a 911 operator on the radio. The story they came up with, and the character Halle played on-screen, are all fictional.
Halle wasn’t able to get character advice from any real-life person who experienced what happened in the script. Instead, she had to do some research of her own. According to Hollywood Chicago, she “listened to actual [911] calls [and] even took a few of them in their training program.”
Halle spent time in a call center paying attention to what things looked like, how people acted, and more. Her observations came in handy because she was able to play a very believable 911 operator.
What is the salary of a typical 911 dispatcher?
The salary of an average 911 dispatcher falls somewhere between $36,400 and $46,700 according to Salary.com. The site mentions that the pay range for this job position can vary based on “education, certifications, additional skills, and the number of years you’ve spent in your profession.”
The site also mentions that many 911 dispatcher jobs come with benefits including Social Security, 401(k), disability, healthcare, pension, and more. Since the job of a 911 dispatcher is considered so emotionally draining, intense, and stressful, one could argue that the salary should be a tad bit higher.
The Call is available for streaming on Netflix now.
