The Lawnmower Man (1992)

Director:

Brett Leonard

Writers:

Stephen King (title only) (credit removed following lawsuit)
Brett Leonard (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

6 March 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

God made him simple. Science made him a god.

Plot:

A simple man is turned into a genius through the application of computer science.

Plot Keywords:

Virtual Reality | Scientist | Intelligence | Computer | Christian Cross

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeff Fahey	...	Jobe Smith
Pierce Brosnan	...	Dr. Lawrence Angelo
Jenny Wright	...	Marnie Burke
Mark Bringelson	...	Sebastian Timms
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Terry McKeen
Jeremy Slate	...	Father Francis McKeen
Dean Norris	...	The Director
Colleen Coffey	...	Caroline Angelo
Jim Landis	...	Ed Walts
Troy Evans	...	Lieutenant Goodwin
Rosalee Mayeux	...	Carla Parkette
Austin O'Brien	...	Peter Parkette
Michael Gregory	...	Security Chief
Joe Hart	...	Patrolman Cooley
John Laughlin	...	Jake Simpson
Ray Lykins	...	Harold Parkette
Michael Valverde	...	Day Gate Guard (as Mike Valverde)
Dale Raoul	...	Dolly
Frank Collison	...	Night Gate Guard
John Smart	...	Assistant (as Jonathan Smart)
Stephen Gregory Foster	...	Letchworth (as Steffen Gregory Foster)
Doug Hutchison	...	Security Tech
Denney Pierce	...	Skinhead Guard
Roger Rook	...	Older Guard
Craig Benton	...	White Coat
Randall Fontana	...	Hotel Waiter
Mara Duronslet	...	Young Woman Clerk
Duane Byrne	...	Letchworth Buddy
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Darrell Mapson	...	Guard - Struggle with Dr. Angelo (uncredited)

Directed by
Brett Leonard

Writing credits
Stephen King		(title only) (credit removed following lawsuit)
Brett Leonard		(screenplay) and
Gimel Everett		(screenplay)

Produced by
Gimel Everett	....	producer
Steven A. Lane	....	executive producer
Peter A. McRae	....	associate producer
Robert Pringle	....	executive producer
Edward Simons	....	executive producer
Milton Subotsky	....	co-producer
Masao Takiyama	....	associate producer
Clive Turner	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Dan Wyman

Cinematography by
Russell Carpenter

Film Editing by
Alan Baumgarten
Lisa Bromwell		(director's cut)

Casting by
Sally Dennison
Patrick Rush

Production Design by
Alex McDowell

Art Direction by
Chris Farmer

Set Decoration by
Jacqueline Masson

Costume Design by
Mary Jane Fort

Makeup Department
Heidi Williams	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Lisa Cochran-Neilan	....	unit production manager: second unit
Patricia Whitcher	....	production manager (as Patty Whitcher)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gimel Everett	....	second unit director
Sarah Johnstone	....	second assistant director (as Sarah Nugent Johnstone)
Mara J. Lee	....	second second assistant director
Ian McVey	....	first assistant director
John Scherer	....	first assistant director: second unit

Art Department
Jeff Balsmeyer	....	storyboard artist
Tony Chaney	....	property maker
Wayne Daddio	....	scenic artist
Stewart Dickson	....	props
Andrea Dopaso	....	set designer
Dragon Dronet	....	weapons and props
Michael Grover Forster	....	construction foreman (as Michael 'Grover' Forster)
Riley 'Sean' Jones	....	on-set dresser
Steve La Ponsie	....	scenic artist
Jeffrey A. Leake	....	construction leadman (as Jeff 'Quiet Man' Leake)
Tim Price	....	assistant set decorator
Eric Ramsey	....	storyboard artist
Chris Santini	....	carpenter
R. Vincent Smith	....	assistant property master
Steven Suchman	....	assistant art director
Brook Yeaton	....	property master
Paul Vincent Fusco	....	props (uncredited)

Sound Department
Russell C. Fager	....	sound mixer
Randy Honaker	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennis Patterson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Phillip Raves	....	adr editor
Frank Serafine	....	supervising sound editor
Elmo Weber	....	digital sound effects editor

Special Effects by
Erick Brennan	....	special effects supervisor
Frank Ceglia	....	special effects coordinator
Tom Ceglia	....	special effects
Brian Christensen	....	special effects
Michael Deak	....	special effects assistant
Gabreal Franklin	....	special effects crew
Paul Haines	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Francesco Chiarini	....	visual effects supervisor
Mikel Evins	....	animator: Bay Area Macintosh Development Team
Alex Funke	....	bluescreen director of photography
Michael Kory	....	fire man graphics
Paul Lewis	....	digital effects artist
Matthew Maclaurin	....	animator: Bay Area Macintosh Development Team
Rodd Matsui	....	stop-motion animator
Ken Pearce	....	visual effects: Xaos
Drex Reed	....	visual effects crew
Jimi Simmons	....	visual effects artist
Mark Smith-Arcarese	....	animator: 'Bay Area Macintosh Development Team'
David Stipes	....	visual effects: David Stipes Productions (uncredited)

Stunts
Dan Bradley	....	stunt coordinator
Bobby Burns	....	stunts
Laura Dash	....	stunt double
Ray Lykins	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Kirk Bloom	....	additional second assistant camera
Marty Collins	....	photographer: second unit
Doug Dole	....	grip
Anthony Doublin	....	minature photographer
Wes Houle	....	rigging gaffer
Jeffrey A. Johnson	....	grip
David R. Kohn	....	best boy
Vojislav Mikulic	....	gaffer
Lloyd Moriarity	....	key grip
Donna Willinsky	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Cheryl Faye	....	extras casting
Patricia Troy	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Dorothy Bulac	....	specialty costumes
Leticia Sandoval	....	specialty costumes

Editorial Department
Elizabeth Castro	....	first assistant editor
Lisa Cholodenko	....	assistant editor
Joe Fineman	....	post-production consultant
Cindy Parisotto	....	assistant editor
Kevin D. Ross	....	associate editor

Music Department
Jurgen Brauninger	....	orchestrator
Jurgen Brauninger	....	score realization

Transportation Department
Jody Bingenheimer	....	driver
Bruce Comtois	....	unit driver
Geno Hart	....	transportation coordinator
Mike Painter	....	transportation

Other crew
Bundy Chanock	....	set medic
Katalin Kovacs Rogers	....	script supervisor
Simon McGuire	....	visual consultant
Brian McMillan	....	animal trainer
Dana Ostrow	....	production assistant
Ginny Rankin	....	assistant: Mr. Fahey
Jewels Satterfield	....	production assistant
Brad Stephens	....	publicist

Production Companies

• Allied Vision
• Fuji Eight Company Ltd.
• Lane Pringle Productions

Distributors

• Alliance Communications Corporation (1992) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Eriksson Entertainment (1992) (Finland) (theatrical)
• First Independent Films (1992) (UK) (theatrical)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• New Line Cinema (1992) (USA) (theatrical)
• Scanbox Entertainment (1992) (Denmark) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2006) (Canada) (DVD)
• Alliance Releasing Home Video (1992) (Canada) (video)
• Astro Distribution (1996) (Germany) (video) (laserdisc)
• Columbia TriStar (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Filmayer Vídeo (Spain)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)
• Home Video Hellas (HVH) (1995) (Greece) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1995) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• New Line Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• New Line Home Video (1997) (USA) (DVD)
• Park Entertainment (1992) (worldwide) (all media)
• Scanbox Entertainment (2001) (Finland) (DVD)
• Starlight (1992) (Germany) (VHS)
• Turner Home Video (1995) (USA) (video)
• Universal Pictures (2010) (UK) (DVD) (Director's Cut)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1997) (Finland) (TV)

Special Effects

• Angel Studios Inc.
• David Stipes Productions
• EFX Unlimited
• Homer & Associates
• Mercer Titles & Optical Effects Ltd.
• Reel Effects
• Reel Efx
• Xaos (computer animation)

Other Companies

• Angel Studios Inc.  main title design
• Brian McMillan's Animal Rentals Unlimited  animals
• Magic Film and Video Works  negative cutting
• Mobtown Props  property
• Otto Nemenz International  cameras and lenses
• Paskal Lighting  grip and lighting equipment
• Serafine Studios  post-production sound

Also Known As:

"Virtual Wars" - Japan (English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, sensuality and a scene of violence

Runtime:

107 min | USA:140 min (director's cut)

Country:

UK | USA | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Brandeis-Bardin Institute - 1101 Pepper Tree Lane, Simi Valley, California, USA

Company:

Allied Vision

Trivia:

Jenny Wright did only the close-ups in the VR strobe scene because the strobe light made her sick. Her wide-angle shots were done using a double, and the close-ups to her face were done with a blue screen so that she didn't have to move.

Goofs:

Factual errors: When Timms is upbraiding Angelo for being naive, he says that money has been dirty "...since the Catholic Church got involved in banking 300 years ago." But in fact, the Knights Templar (an arm of the Catholic Church) first began banking in 1129 A.D. Timms was off by 600 years.

Quotes:

Jobe Smith:I saw God! I touched God!

Movie Connections:

Version of The Lawnmower Man (1987)

Soundtrack:

Jobe's Fury

Not an absolute masterpiece, but well worth the rental

I got 'The Lawnmower Man' as part of one of those 'Buy a pizza and get a free movie' deals, and I put off watching it. And put it off more. And more, until finally I had nothing else to do, so I popped it in the VCR and sat back. Two and half hours later (It was the director's cut- don't see the normal version as it is not nearly as good) it instantly became one of my favorite movies, so I rewound it and watched it again.

To date I have seen it four of five times, as it has problems, it's not very fast paced, but is terribly engaging and Fahey is superb in the lead. The writing isn't great, but is passable, and the computer effects, though far from the center of the story, are excellent.

If you haven't seen it yet, or have only seen the normal version, it is well worth the rental, or even purchase.