The Lawnmower Man

Allied Vision obtained the rights to Stephen King's short story "The Lawnmower Man" in the late 1980s, but could not figure out how to adapt it into a feature-length film. Meanwhile, they acquired Brett Leonard and Gimel Everett's original screenplay "CyberGod". For economical reasons, Allied had Leonard and Everett graft elements of the short story onto "CyberGod", and the film was initially marketed as "Stephen King's The Lawnmower Man." Upon discovering this, a furious King sued Allied and New Line Cinema to have his name removed from the title and all promotional material. After attempting to appeal, the studios settled with King for $2.5 million and removing his name, aside from a "based upon" credit. However, when the film was released on video its packaging mentioned King, prompting him to sue again. This time the courts gave New Line 30 days before they would be fined $10,000 a day until King was struck from the video release, as well as confiscating profits from any copies sold with his name on them. Newer releases of the film omit all mention of King, even the "based on" credit.

Twice in the movie, the scenes at the cafe are identical. Both show the same girl sitting at the counter and the waitress has just finished serving the same couple. That scene is first used earlier in the movie before Jobe and Terry enter the cafe. Later the same scene is used again just before Jobe goes into the cafe with Peter.

At the start of the movie, just after the New Line Cinema logo, the following Virtual Reality 'statement' is given (the director stated that this was rewritten many times): By the turn of the millenium a technology known as VIRTUAL REALITY will be in widespread use. It will allow you to enter computer generated artificial worlds as unlimited as the imagination itself. Its creators foresee millions of positive uses - while others fear it as a new from of mind control...

A director's cut was released with 39 minutes of additional footage which included the following material:

• When Rosco 1138 was shot in the theatrical version he died, but in the directors cut he survived
• A scene when Jobe Smith is attacked by Rosco 1138, but Rosco looks at his pupils and sees he is not a threat
• Dr. Angelo gives some soldiers a briefing on capturing Rosco
• Jobe speaks to Rosco thinking he is a comic book super hero called Cyboman
• Father McKeen finds Rosco with Jobe and calls V.S.I., Dr. Angelo's place of work
• The soldiers go to Jobe's house and Dr. Angelo wants to get Rosco alive, but the soldiers kill Rosco and Jobe starts to cry
• Father McKeen talks to Jobe and tells him how he endangered the church by letting Rosco in his house
• Jobe and Terry McKeen are at the gas station and Jobe tells Terry and Jake about Cyboman and Jake makes fun of him
• Dr. Angelo talks into his audio journal and wonders why Rosco bonded with the retarded man Jobe
• In the theatrical version Dr. Angelo's wife leaves him, but in the director's cut she goes out with her friends. Dr. Angelo follows her to her car and she leaves; then he talks to Peter's mom [Carla Parkett] and they talk about how Peter reminds him of himself at that age
• Terry McKeen and Jobe are in a diner and Jake starts harassing him about Cyboman
• Father McKeen sees Jobe reading and yells at him and Terry defends him and tells Father McKeen to let Jobe be a man. Then Father McKeen leaves and tells Jobe he'll teach him to drive, but he learnt how already with the V.R. treatments he has been getting from Dr. Angelo
• Jobe is with Dr. Angelo on the way to V.S.I. and asks if he is going to do to him what he did with Rosco
• Jobe is scared because he can read minds; he asks Mrs. Angelo where Dr. Angelo is and he reads her mind
• Dr. Angelo asks his wife where Jobe is and she does not respond because she is under Jobe's control
• Dr. Angelo is tied up and his wife asks if he and Jobe need anything, still being under his control
• The agents are going to pick up Jobe and Dr. Angelo when Jobe tells Dr. Angelo "Now you will witness the impossible" and makes Dr. Angelo watch his wife kill an agent and then is killed by the other two while he watches through V.R.