Stephen King hated the adaptation of his story so much… that he took it to court!

The king of horror, in this case, just couldn't take it and went as far as filing a lawsuit against the production!

In 1992, New Line Cinema decided to develop an adaptation of The Lawnmower Man, a short story by Stephen King published in 1975 and part of the anthology Sometimes They Come Back. The production company, eager to replicate the success of previous film adaptations based on the author's works, saw an opportunity to transform the short story into a successful film. However, the final result turned out to be so distant from the original work that the writer decided to take legal action against the production company.

The plot of the original story is rather simple but decidedly bizarre: the protagonist is a man named Harold Parkette, who hires a landscaping company, Pastoral Greenery and Outdoor Services Inc., to maintain his lawn. However, the gardener sent by the company maintains some rather peculiar behaviors: he undresses, gets on all fours, and starts following the lawnmower, eating the freshly cut grass. Soon, it is discovered that he is actually a satyr devoted to the god Pan. The story culminates with the murder of Harold, brutally killed by the gardener before the police arrive.

However, the film adaptation directed by Brett Leonard takes a completely different path: at its center, is the story of Jobe Smith, a gardener with cognitive disabilities, who is subjected to virtual reality experiments by Dr. Lawrence Angelo, played by Pierce Brosnan. The goal of these tactics is to increase Jobe's cognitive abilities, but the side effects turn him into a threat to anyone who opposes him. Thus, the film deals with themes related to technology and the potential danger of artificial intelligence, completely moving away from the mythological and disturbing atmosphere of the original story.

Stephen King was so disappointed by the film that he filed a lawsuit against New Line Cinema for associating his name with a product that did not respect his vision. The court ruled in his favor, forcing the production company to remove his name from the credits and pay a $2.5 million settlement. Despite this, New Line Cinema did not immediately comply with the ruling and continued to distribute VHS tapes with King's name prominently displayed. The writer, not wanting to leave the matter unresolved, hired private investigators to gather evidence and took the production company to court again, obtaining further compensation and the complete separation of his name from the project.

Source: CBR