Editing Johnny Mnemonic (film) (section)

==Production==

=== Development ===
In the 1980s, director Robert Longo was known primarily for his artwork, including "Men in the Cities", a series of images meant to be viewed sequentially.  After having been influenced by film, he transitioned to directing music videos and, when he tired of that, became interested in adapting William Gibson's ''Johnny Mnemonic''.<ref name=mckenna1>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-27-ca-971-story.html|title=An Artist Is Now a Director : Longo Hopes ''Crypt'' Opens Film Career|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1992-06-27|accessdate=2023-04-16|archive-date=2023-04-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420072015/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-27-ca-971-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Longo and Gibson first started work on a screenplay in 1989.<ref name=salza>{{cite book|title=Conversations with William Gibson|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=Patrick A.|chapter=William Gibson Interview, Giuseppe Salza / 1994|last=Salza|first=Giuseppe|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-62846-016-2|page=<!-- ebook; no numbered pages -->|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hAAbBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT80|access-date=2023-07-10}}</ref>  Longo's first attempt to finance the film was through [[Warner Bros.]] in 1990.  [[Bob Krasnow]] liked Longo's short film, ''[[Arena Brains]]'', and offered to finance a feature film.  Before pre-production could begin, Warner Bros. merged with [[Time Inc.]], and the film was put on hold.  Recognizing the film was unlikely to be produced, Krasnow let Longo out of his contract.  Longo nearly gave up on getting ''Johnny Mnemonic'' made but continued to make contacts in Hollywood.<ref name=mckenna1/>

Longo and Gibson sought to sell ''Johnny Mnemonic'' as an [[art film]] on a small budget but failed to get financing from the studios.<ref name=remembering/>  Gibson said they wanted to avoid flashy, [[MTV]]-inspired visuals and "plunge the audience into a very strange but consistent universe".<ref name=salza/>  Longo commented that the project "started out as an arty 1½-million-dollar movie, and it became a 30-million-dollar movie because we couldn't get a million and a half."<ref name=remembering/>  Longo's lawyer suggested that their problem was that they were not asking for enough money and that studios would not be interested in such a small project.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/22/business/on-line-with-william-gibson-present-at-the-creation-startled-at-the-reality.html|title=ON LINE WITH William Gibson; Present at the Creation, Startled at the Reality|last=Lewis|first=Peter H.|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 22, 1995|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205225049/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/22/business/on-line-with-william-gibson-present-at-the-creation-startled-at-the-reality.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Studios were also concerned that Longo's artistic background would impact his ability to make a commercially viable film.<ref name=mckenna2>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-21-ca-4082-story.html|title=It's Just Art on a Big Screen : How did a New York artist land $27 million and star Keanu Reeves to make his very first Hollywood movie? Robert Longo says it's just that he always wanted to direct.|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1995-05-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416172135/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-05-21-ca-4082-story.html |accessdate=2023-04-16|archive-date=2023-04-16 }}</ref>

The unbounded spread of the Internet in the early 1990s and the consequent rapid growth of high technology culture had made cyberpunk increasingly relevant, and this was a primary motivation for Sony Pictures's decision to fund the project in the tens of millions.<ref name=harmon/>  [[Val Kilmer]] was originally cast in the title role, and Reeves replaced him when Kilmer dropped out.<ref name=woes>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/06/23/johnny-mnemonic-faced-financial-woes/|title=''Johnny Mnemonic'' faced financial woes|last=Nashawaty|first=Chris|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=June 23, 1995|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 17, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217051604/https://ew.com/article/1995/06/23/johnny-mnemonic-faced-financial-woes/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Gibson approved of this casting and said Reeves understood the character well.<ref name=salza/>  Reeves' Canadian nationality opened up further financial options, such as Canadian tax incentives.<ref name=woes/>  In Canada, Longo discovered he had to maintain Canadian crew quotas.  [[Michael Chapman (cinematographer)|Michael Chapman]] had agreed to shoot the film, but Longo had to hire a Canadian cinematographer instead.<ref name=si>{{cite web|url=https://sova.si.edu/record/AAA.longo09?s=3140&n=10&t=C&q=AT+&i=3140|title=Oral history interview with Robert Longo|last=Olch|first=Judith|work=[[Smithsonian Institution]]|date=January 30, 2009|accessdate=April 15, 2023|archive-date=April 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415054918/https://sova.si.edu/record/AAA.longo09?s=3140&n=10&t=C&q=AT+&i=3140|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Pre-production ===
When Reeves' previous film, ''[[Speed (1994 film)|Speed]]'', turned into a major hit in 1994, expectations were raised for ''Johnny Mnemonic'', and Sony saw the film as a potential blockbuster hit.<ref name=cnet>{{cite web|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/hackers-25-johnny-mnemonic-when-hollywood-got-into-the-internet/|title=Before The Matrix, Johnny Mnemonic and Hackers led the internet movies of the '90s|last=Trenholm|first=Richard|work=[[CNET]]|date=December 22, 2021|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205225050/https://www.cnet.com/news/hackers-25-johnny-mnemonic-when-hollywood-got-into-the-internet/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Gibson said Sony executives began pressing them about whether their film had busses or explosions, critical elements of ''Speed''.<ref name=diggle>{{cite book|title=Conversations with William Gibson|editor-last=Smith|editor-first=Patrick A.|chapter=William Gibson Interview, Andy Diggle / 1997|last=Diggle|first=Andy|publisher=[[University Press of Mississippi]]|year=2014|isbn=978-1-62846-016-2|page=<!-- ebook; no numbered pages -->}}</ref>

Longo's experiences with the financiers were poor, believing that their demands compromised his artistic vision.  Many of the casting decisions, such as Lundgren, were forced upon Longo to increase the film's appeal outside of the United States.  Longo and Gibson, who had no idea what to do with Lundgren, created a new character for him.<ref name=thr>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/director-robert-longo-ruefully-recalls-895471/|title=Director Robert Longo Ruefully Recalls ''Johnny Mnemonic'': 'I Had Post-Traumatic Stress From That Movie'|last=Riefe|first=Jordan|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=May 18, 2016|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=April 14, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230414033718/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/director-robert-longo-ruefully-recalls-895471/|url-status=live}}</ref>  Lundgren had previously starred in several action films that emphasized his physique.  He intended the role of the street preacher to be a showcase for further range as an actor, but his character's monologue was cut during editing.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1995/06/16/dolph-lundgren-wants-show-hes-serious-actor/|title=Dolph Lundgren wants to show he's a serious actor|last=Pinsker|first=Beth|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=June 16, 1995|accessdate=February 5, 2022|archive-date=February 5, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205225052/https://ew.com/article/1995/06/16/dolph-lundgren-wants-show-hes-serious-actor/|url-status=live}}</ref> Gibson said that the monologue, a sermon about [[transhumanism]] that Lundgren delivered naked, was cut due to fears of offending religious groups.<ref name=companion>{{cite book|title=William Gibson: A Literary Companion|last=Henthorne|first=Tom|date=15 June 2011|publisher=[[McFarland & Company]]|isbn=978-0-7864-6151-6|pages=77–78|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/William_Gibson/qDrfRE6PspwC&pg=PA77}}</ref>  Kitano was cast to appeal to the Japanese market.<ref name=woes/>  Rollins, who is uninterested in science fiction, joined the cast because he liked the film's focus on an upcoming disadvantaged underclass.<ref name=mckenna2/>

The film significantly deviates from the short story, such as turning Johnny, not his bodyguard, into the primary action figure. [[Molly Millions]] is replaced with Jane, as the film rights to Molly had already been sold.<ref name=allmovie/>  Gibson did not want Molly in the film, though, and thought it would be best to reserve her for a different franchise.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/5140|title=Alexandra DuPont Interviews William 'Freakin' Gibson!!!!|work=[[Ain't It Cool News]]|date=February 3, 2000|accessdate=April 15, 2023|archive-date=April 18, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230418144836/http://legacy.aintitcool.com/node/5140|url-status=live}}</ref>  Nerve attenuation syndrome (NAS) is a [[fictional disease]] that is not present in the short story. NAS, also called "the black shakes", is caused by an overexposure to electromagnetic radiation from omnipresent technological devices and is presented as a raging [[epidemic]]. In the film, one pharmaceutical corporation has found a cure but chooses to withhold it from the public in favor of a more lucrative treatment program.<ref name=harmon/><ref name="johnny wired">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.wired.com/story/2021-conspiracies-johnny-mnemonic/ | title=2021 and the Conspiracies of Johnny Mnemonic | magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] | date=January 11, 2021 | first=Jason | last=Kehe | access-date=November 20, 2021 | archive-date=September 23, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210923164000/https://www.wired.com/story/2021-conspiracies-johnny-mnemonic/ | url-status=live }}</ref> References to Jones the dolphin's heroin addiction was one of many plot elements cut during editing.<ref name=harmon/>

=== Filming and post-production ===
Shooting took place in [[Toronto]],<ref name=mckenna2/> where Longo temporarily moved his family,<ref name=si/> and Montreal.<ref name=mckenna2/>

The studio continued to challenge Gibson and Longo on the script through [[principal photography]], making some of the shooting both tense and confusing.<ref name=si/>  The script was meant to be a commentary on science fiction films and how they are made,<ref name=vice>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/william-gibson-interview-399/|title=William Gibson Talks Cyberpunk, Cyberspace, and His Experiences in Hollywood|last=Walsh|first=Joseph|work=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|date=December 3, 2014|access-date=April 14, 2023|archive-date=April 15, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230415023634/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bn5k5m/william-gibson-interview-399|url-status=live}}</ref> and the action sequences were meant to be ironic and reminiscent of scenes that Gibson and Longo enjoyed in [[B movie]]s.<ref name=diggle/>  Gibson and Longo had instructed Reeves not to play the character straight.<ref name=vice/>  For his part, Reeves said he played the character "very robotic and rigid", which he found exhausting.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-05-ca-647-story.html|title=Movies : Keanu's Eccentric Adventure : From stoner dude to computer brain, 29-year-old Keanu Reeves has racked up 16 films during his eight hard-working years of acting, and emerged almost untarnished by the corrosive glitter of Hollywood|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=1994-06-05|accessdate=2023-04-16|archive-date=2023-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230417003351/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-05-ca-647-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>  Reeves' suit and tie are a reference to "Men in the Cities".<ref name=mckenna2/>  When Johnny cries out for room service, this was a reflection of Longo's frustration,<ref name=screenslate/> and has also been identified as a reference to "Men in the Cities".<ref>{{cite book|title=Tech-noir Film: A Theory of the Development of Popular Genres|last=Auger|first=Emily E.|publisher=Intellect Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84150-424-7|page=336}}</ref>  The ending, where the Street Preacher appears to revive, was forced on Longo, but he refused to shoot the scene straight, as requested.  The studio approved of his version nonetheless.<ref name=diggle/>  Eight minutes of extra footage starring Kitano was shot for the Japanese release of the film.<ref name=woes/>

Gibson said that the film was "taken away and re-cut by the American distributor" during post-production.  He described the original film as "a very funny, very alternative piece of work", and said it was "very unsuccessfully chopped and cut into something more mainstream".<ref name=peak/>  Gibson compared this to editing ''[[Blue Velvet (film)|Blue Velvet]]'' into a mainstream thriller lacking any irony.<ref name=companion/>  Their editor, [[Ronald Sanders (film editor)|Ronald Sanders]], was replaced by someone that Longo said did not understand the film.<ref name=screenslate>{{cite news|last=Dahl|first=Patrick|title=Johnny Mnemonic in Black-and-White: Robert Longo Interview|url=https://www.screenslate.com/articles/johnny-mnemonic-black-and-white-robert-longo-interview|work=Screenslate|date=10 June 2021|access-date=1 October 2022|archive-date=23 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323125458/https://www.screenslate.com/articles/johnny-mnemonic-black-and-white-robert-longo-interview|url-status=live}}</ref>  Prior to its release, critic [[Amy Harmon]] identified the film as an epochal moment when cyberpunk counterculture would enter the mainstream.  News of the script's compromises spurred pre-release concerns that the film would prove a disappointment to hardcore cyberpunks.<ref name=harmon/>  Gibson said he and Longo were in denial at first and believed the film might still be true to their vision.  Gibson did not blame anyone for the recut, though, reasoning that the film had been financed with their money.<ref name=diggle/>  Despite claims made on the internet, the Japanese cut of the film is no closer to a [[director's cut]], and Longo has said that no director's cut exists.<ref name=screenslate/>

The score was composed by [[Brad Fiedel]].  Before Sony's involvement, [[Black Rain (band)|Black Rain]] composed a soundtrack.  Black Rain had previously provided music for a Gibson audiobook and worked with Longo.  Because no shooting had occurred yet, the band composed songs inspired by the original short story.  Once Sony became involved, the soundtrack was replaced with Sony artists, such as [[Stabbing Westward]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2012/04/lost-johnny-mnemonic-soundtrack-unearthed/|title=''Lost ''Johnny Mnemonic'' Soundtrack Unearthed''!|last=Sherburne|first=Philip|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|date=2012-04-19|accessdate=2023-04-15|archive-date=2023-04-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230419141022/https://www.spin.com/2012/04/lost-johnny-mnemonic-soundtrack-unearthed/|url-status=live}}</ref>