Phantom of the Megaplex

Phantom of the Megaplex is a 2000 Disney Channel Original Movie, produced by the Disney Channel. With a title and concept very loosely based on The Phantom of the Opera and Scooby-Doo!, the film concerns strange happenings at a monstrous megaplex on the night of a major movie premiere gala, Midnight Mayhem. The central character, played by Taylor Handley, is Pete Riley, the seventeen-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 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 and Jacob Smith play the central character's younger siblings, and Heather and Jennifer Bertram appear as his girlfriend 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 old man known as "Movie Mason" (who loves movies and thinks he works at the megaplex, much to Shawn's chagrin) are working to prepare the theater for the star-studded premiere of the new Hollywood blockbuster "Midnight Mayhem". Wolfgang Nedermeyer, the owner of the megaplex, is to be among the guests, and constantly gets Shawn's last name wrong.
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 mother goes out on a date with her boyfriend George. Pete dumps his siblings in a movie 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 indeed behind these acts of sabotage; while at the same time, Pete has gotten his girlfriend a pass to the special movie screening.
Through online spoilers, Brian and Karen are able to learn the supposedly secret plot of "Midnight Mayhem", and Pete is able to stop the phantom from sabotaging the important premiere. The phantom is revealed to be Shawn, who Nedermeyer immediately fires and threatens to prevent getting a job in another theater. Having been driven to his breaking point, Shawn snaps at Nedermeyer "MacGibbin! For once in your life get it right!! My name is Shawn MACGIBBIN!! I did this, all THIS, just so you would get it right!!"
Nedermeyer offers Pete the job of senior manager at the megaplex, something Pete has always wanted. Though Pete tells Nedermeyer 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. Nedermeyer agrees, giving Pete some money to treat his girlfriend to a nice breakfast after the movie, softly saying thank you for saving his reputation.
George proposes to Julie, and the family then attends the movie premiere. However, right before Bryan enters, Movie Mason tells him that he never believed in a Phantom of the Megaplex, but the Werewolf of the Megaplex is another story. Both enter as one of the employees, who is known for scary stories, looks around and closes the doors as a howl is heard.
==Cast==
*Taylor Handley as Pete Riley, 17-year-old assistant manager of the theater.
*Caitlin Wachs as Karen Riley, Pete's 13-year-old sister.
*Jacob Smith as Brian Riley, Pete's perceptive 10-year-old brother.
*Corinne Bohrer as Julie Riley, Pete's mother.
*John Novak as George, Julie's boyfriend.
*Mickey Rooney as Movie Mason, an 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. He was a possible suspect of being the Phantom.
*Rich Hutchman as Shawn MacGibbon, the theater's senior manager, who is constantly worried about his job. In order to get noticed by Wolfgang Nedermeyer, he disguises himself as The Phantom, causing problems all over the theater until finally being revealed by Pete.
*Colin Fox as Wolfgang Nedermeyer, the owner of the megaplex. He was a possible suspect of being the Phantom.
*Ellen-Ray Hennessy as Tory Hicks
*Carlo Rota as Tyler Jesseman, the director of Midnight Mayhem. He was a possible suspect of being the Phantom.
*Eric Hempsall as Lamonica, Nedermeyer's son-in-law and MacGibbons' replacement
*Ricky Mabe as Ricky Leary, theater worker, has the correct procedure for anything and does everything by the book.
*Julia Chantrey as Terri Tortora, theater worker, loves telling scary stories about the megaplex.
*Joanne Boland as Hilary Horan, theater worker, described as a grandma in a teenage body due to her caring personality.
*J.J. Stocker as Mark Jeffries, theater worker, a bit slow-witted, always asking questions.
*Lisa Ng as Lacy Ling, theater worker, known for being quick in movement and personality.
*Joe Pingue as Merle, the theater's head projectionist, even on a simple question he has a habit of saying too complicated techno answer in return. He was a possible suspect of being the Phantom.
*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 (credited as Daniel De Santo) as Zeke, theatre worker.
==Gallery==
Phantom_of_the_Megaplex_print_ad_NickMag_Nov_2000.jpg|2000 print ad
==Trivia==
* Mason's soliloquy while talking to Brian and Julie contains many references to other movies:
** The mention of Santa's secrets is an homage to one of Mickey Rooney's previous roles, providing the voice of Kris Kringle in the Rankin-Bass special Santa Claus is Comin' To Town.
** "Bicycles that fly" references one of the more iconic scenes from Stephen Spielberg's E.T., where Elliot and E.T. fly over a police barracade in a a bicycle.
** The mention of "There's no place like home" is taken from The Wizard of Oz as the words that Dorothy Gale says to return home to Kansas from Oz, tapping her heels while wearing the Ruby Slippers three times.
*** This is also a reference to Mickey Rooney's own friendship with Judy Garland.
Category:Articles with Wikipedia content
Category:2000 films
Category:Disney Channel Original Movies
Category:Live-action films
Category:Halloween films
Category:Disney films