Editing Johnny Mnemonic (film) (section)

=== 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/>