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Stephen King is a revulsion legend , yet despite his vital acclaim , he ’s had more than a few duds in his monolithic collection of workplace . His most infamous movie yet was undoubtedlyMaximum Overdrive . Made during the 1980s horror picture manna from heaven , Maximum Overdriveis an adaption of King ’s short storyTrucksdirected by the man himself . It ’s about trucks and other machine coming to life , led by a miniature computer memory truck with the Green Goblin ’s face , who is trying to exterminate humanity . Maximum Overdrivewas a huge bomb , though it ’s found fans in recent years . Here are some behind the scenes notes about how this insanity came to make it .
Stephen King Wanted Bruce Springsteen To Star
Producer Dino De Laurentiis was prepared to give Stephen King whatever he wanted forMaximum Overdrive , but there were some thing he would n’t do . For instance , King was inexorable about casting rock wiz Bruce Springsteen as lead graphic symbol Bill Robinson .
De Laurentiis would n’t stir for one mere and silly reason ; he did n’t have intercourse who Springsteen was . King sample explicate , but De Laurentiis was firm . The role went to Emilio Estevez instead . consort to some , this was when King discontinue caring about the movie .
The Cinematographer Lost His Eye While Shooting
The movie ’s sentient machines killed many multitude on - screen , but they make some hurt offscreen too . During shooting , a radiocommunication - verify lawnmower malfunctioned and hit a piece of wood . A splintered piece struck camera operator Armando Nannuzzi in the correct optic . He ended up turn a loss it .
What ’s worse is that Nannuzzi want the lawnmower ’s blade removed for safety , but King left them on for realism . Nannuzzi litigate King and the production for $ 18 Million over workplace safety negligence , though they settled out of court .
King Convinced AC/DC To Do The Soundtrack
Stephen King is a huge rock n ' roll fan , so he wanted to bring that into his directorial debut . Specifically , he want legendary rock band AC / DC to provide the soundtrack . The stripe were suspicious at first , but King convinced them by singing their song " Ai n’t No Fun Waiting Round To Be A Millionaire " in its entirety for them .
Their next album , Who Made Who , became the film ’s soundtrack . Ironically , it was well received than the movie , with hits like " Hells Bells " and " Shook Me All Night Long " .
It’s The Only Movie Stephen King Has Ever Directed
Many directors have adjust Stephen King ’s work , for just or uncollectible . Famously , he hates Stanley Kubrick ’s version ofThe Shining . Maximum Overdriveis the first and only clip King has adapted himself . He even articulate in the motion picture ’s trailer that , " I just desire someone to do Stephen King right . "
But King was less than proud of with the destruction result . He ’s since calledMaximum Overdrive,“a moron movie " and admit he was " coke out of his mind during the whole production . "
The Simpsons Connection
ThoughThe Simpsonswouldn’t premier until a year subsequently , Maximum Overdrivehas a connection to the watershed animated serial . The vox of Lisa Simpson , Yardley Smith , is one of the motion picture ’s main lead . She ’d already been cast as Lisa during production .
Though Smith is ashamed ofMaximum Overdrivetoday , The Simpsonssaw check to homage it . In the tenth time of year instalment " Maximum Homerdrive " , Homer becomes a trucker and learn that trucks can drive themselves . A subtle reference , but still a nice one .
The Music In The Trailer
The Trailer forMaximum Overdriveis almost as entertaining and silly as the movie itself . Stephen King is front and center of attention , standing in front of the Green Goblin truck , promising to scare the infernal region out of us . But to the avid horror fan , the medicine playing over this view may sound intimate .
It ’s the same medicine fromHalloween III : Season of the Witch . Appropriate , asHalloween IIIis another fourscore horror turkey that ’s been re - evaluated in the years since , though to greater effect thanMaximum Overdrive .
Truckers Thought The Set Was Real
Most of the action inMaximum Overdrivetakes place at the Dixie Boy hand truck stop . Shooting in Wilmington , North Carolina , the production build the Dixie Boy set 10 mi outside of town . But they plain did too good of a job .
teamster kept trying to pull into the set , think it was a real motortruck blockage . Eventually , the producers had to put notice up in the local papers inform people the Dixie Boy was just a motion-picture show exercise set . That ’s some convincing artifice for such a silly moving-picture show .
Maximum Overdrive Shared Studios With Blue Velvet
You probably could n’t get hold two more different picture show thanMaximum Overdriveand David Lynch’sBlue Velvet . But though different , the two films divvy up a weird alliance . The two films , both produce by Dino De Laurentiis , were shooting in Wilmington , North Carolina at the same meter .
They even shared studio apartment place . Because the townsfolk was so modest , the cast and crew of the two movie started hanging out during their off - hr . It would n’t be until years afterward that they realized how rummy it was .
The Exploding Mannequin Head
One of the film ’s more memorable sequences is when a sentient juggernaut attacks a picayune league game . A fiber is squished feet first , but the conniption could have been much sanguinary .
Originally , the bunch set up a blood old bag next to a mannequin head for the steamroller to run over , intending only to leave a smear of parentage behind . But or else , the mannequin forefront exploded into a mess of phony panel . King and troupe loved the gist , but censors force them to cut it from the movie . A few frames still remain though .
George Romero May Have Ghost Directed It
Stephen King himself has admitted that he did n’t fuck what he was doing and was ordinarily high on cocain while directingMaximum Overdrive . This has lead to a long - standing rumor thatNight of the Living Deadcreator George A. Romero ghost - direct much of the film while King essay addiction treatment .
Romero ’s fan have pointed out many of the director ’s signature television camera Angle and editing pick in the finished product . King has never affirm or traverse this , but Romero was often on set . He and King were Friend and King oftentimes asked him for mastermind advice .
NEXT : 10 Weird Stephen King Stories We require To See Get A Movie
