Maximum Overdrive
Encyclopedia
Maximum Overdrive is a 1986 American action
-horror
-science fiction film
written and directed
by novelist Stephen King
. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story
, Trucks
, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift
.
Maximum Overdrive is Stephen King's first and only directorial effort, though dozens of films have been based on King's novels
. The film contained black humor elements and a generally camp
tone, which contrasts with King's sombre subject matter in books. The neophyte director was nominated for the title of "Worst Director" by the Golden Raspberry Awards in 1987, but lost against Prince
for Under the Cherry Moon
. King himself described the film as a "moron movie" and stated his intention to never direct again soon after.
In a 2002 interview with Tony Magistrale
for the book Hollywood's Stephen King, King stated that he was "coked
out of [his] mind all through its production, and [he] really didn't know what [he] was doing." In spite of this, King stated in the same interview that he "learned a lot from the experience," and would "like to try directing again sometime."
In 1988, Maximum Overdrive was nominated for "Best Film" at The International Fantasy Film Awards.
The film has a mid-1980s rock and roll
/hard rock
soundtrack
composed entirely by the group AC/DC
, Stephen King's favorite band. AC/DC's album, Who Made Who
, was released as the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. It includes the best-selling singles
Who Made Who
, You Shook Me All Night Long
, and Hells Bells
.
, the film's writer and director) tries to withdraw money from an ATM, but it instead calls him an "asshole".
Marauding big rig truck
s trap a small group of people in a roadside truck stop
called "The Dixie Boy" just outside Wilmington, North Carolina
. When the trucks begin demanding more than blood (they order the humans to pump diesel), the Dixie Boy survivors realize they will become enslaved by their own machines, and they must escape to Haven Island just off the coast of North Carolina, on which no vehicles or machines were permitted.
Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez
) rallies the survivors; they use a cache of guns found hidden under the diner. The trucks fight back themselves, at one point human fatalities result from an M274 "Mule"
firing its mounted M60 machine gun into the building.
Eventually the survivors escape to the docks where the featured Green Goblin
semi kills one more trucker. The semi is destroyed and the humans sail off to safety.
A title card explains that the machines are stopped with the destruction of a UFO by a Soviet
"weather satellite" equipped with nuclear missiles and a laser cannon.
characters, brought to life from the comet passing by Earth. A large number of semi-trailer truck
s appear as a gang who invade the truck stop. They are led by a "Happy Toyz Co." White-Western Star 4800 truck which has the face of the Green Goblin
from the Spider-Man
franchise mounted on its front grill. Most of these trucks are destroyed by the end of the film.
Various other vehicles appear in brief or in supporting villainous roles. A military
M274 Mule
armed with an M60 machine gun
, and a Caterpillar D7G
Bulldozer
appear in the truck stop to aide the trucks, the Mule gunning down several of the characters and later acting as a gunman towards the humans. A vending machine
and a 1979 Rex 700 road roller
attack a group of young baseball players, running one over and killing their coach with projectile canned drinks. An arcade game
electrocutes a patron at the truck stop, and even a toy police car
displays its maniacal side as seen when it has embedded itself in a dog's mouth and killed it. An ice cream truck makes several appearances in the film, but is destroyed at the end.
was a full-scale set constructed ten miles west of Wilmington, North Carolina
, on US Highway 74/76. The exact location was just outside of Leland, North Carolina
. It was convincing enough that several semi drivers
tried to stop in and eat there, and some tried to refuel. Eventually the producers had to put up several signs informing the truckers the set was fake and not a real truck stop. The producers also put announcements in local papers saying that the "Dixie Boy" was just a movie set.
After filming wrapped up (and the set had been partially demolished by explosives), some locals bought the set of the "Dixie Boy" and transformed it into a working truck stop. It was fully functional for three or four years, until it went bankrupt and was torn down sometime in the late 1980s. Some signposts for the Dixie Boy still remain, however.
on the film, pulled the cameraman out of the way at the last second.
A second incident, this time leading to serious injury, occurred on July 31, 1985 while filming in a suburb
of Wilmington, North Carolina
. A radio-controlled lawnmower used in a scene went out of control and struck a block of wood used as a camera support, shooting out wood splinters which injured the director of photography, Armando Nannuzzi
. As a result of this incident, Nannuzzi lost an eye
. Nannuzzi sued Stephen King
on February 18, 1987 for $18 million in damages due to unsafe working practices. The suit was settled out of court.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
-science fiction film
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
written and directed
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
by novelist Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, Trucks
Trucks (short story)
"Trucks" is a short story by Stephen King, first published in the June 1973 issue of Cavalier magazine, and later collected in King's 1978 collection Night Shift.-Setting:"Trucks" takes place in a truck-stop in the United States...
, which was included in King's first collection of short stories, Night Shift
Night Shift (book)
Night Shift is the first collection of short stories by Stephen King, first published in 1978. Many of King's most famous short stories were included in this collection.-Stories collected:-Details:...
.
Maximum Overdrive is Stephen King's first and only directorial effort, though dozens of films have been based on King's novels
Stephen King bibliography
This Stephen King bibliography is a complete list of books published by Stephen King. For individual shorter works, see: Short fiction by Stephen King. Note that books related to The Dark Tower series are denoted with +...
. The film contained black humor elements and a generally camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
tone, which contrasts with King's sombre subject matter in books. The neophyte director was nominated for the title of "Worst Director" by the Golden Raspberry Awards in 1987, but lost against Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
for Under the Cherry Moon
Under the Cherry Moon
Under the Cherry Moon is a 1986 film directed by and starring Prince as a gigolo named Christopher Tracy and Time member Jerome Benton as his partner, Tricky. Together, the pair swindle wealthy French women...
. King himself described the film as a "moron movie" and stated his intention to never direct again soon after.
In a 2002 interview with Tony Magistrale
Tony Magistrale
Anthony Samuel Magistrale is a Professor in English at the University of Vermont since 1983. He received a B.A. in 1974 from Allegheny College, and from the University of Pittsburgh an M.A. in 1976 and a Ph.D. in 1981. He has written several books about Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe.-References:...
for the book Hollywood's Stephen King, King stated that he was "coked
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
out of [his] mind all through its production, and [he] really didn't know what [he] was doing." In spite of this, King stated in the same interview that he "learned a lot from the experience," and would "like to try directing again sometime."
In 1988, Maximum Overdrive was nominated for "Best Film" at The International Fantasy Film Awards.
The film has a mid-1980s rock and roll
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
/hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
composed entirely by the group AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
, Stephen King's favorite band. AC/DC's album, Who Made Who
Who Made Who
Who Made Who is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1986 as the soundtrack to the Stephen King movie Maximum Overdrive...
, was released as the Maximum Overdrive soundtrack. It includes the best-selling singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
Who Made Who
Who Made Who (song)
"Who Made Who" is a song and a single by the Australian hard rock band AC/DC, taken from their 1986 album, Who Made Who. The 12-inch single format of the single features an extended mix of the song and can be found in the Deluxe Edition of AC/DC's Backtracks Boxset, on Disc 1, Studio Rarities...
, You Shook Me All Night Long
You Shook Me All Night Long
"You Shook Me All Night Long" is one of AC/DC's signature songs from their most successful album, Back in Black. The song also reappeared on their later album Who Made Who. It is one of the band's top 40 singles, reaching number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart in 1980...
, and Hells Bells
Hells Bells (song)
"Hells Bells" is the first track of Australian hard rock band AC/DC's album Back in Black. It is the first song on their comeback album after the death of vocalist Bon Scott, introducing his successor Brian Johnson....
.
Plot
As the Earth passes through the tail of a comet, previously inanimate objects (ranging from vehicles to lawnmowers to an electric knife) start to show a murderous life of their own. In a pre-title scene, a man (cameoed by Stephen KingStephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, the film's writer and director) tries to withdraw money from an ATM, but it instead calls him an "asshole".
Marauding big rig truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s trap a small group of people in a roadside truck stop
Truck stop
A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
called "The Dixie Boy" just outside Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. When the trucks begin demanding more than blood (they order the humans to pump diesel), the Dixie Boy survivors realize they will become enslaved by their own machines, and they must escape to Haven Island just off the coast of North Carolina, on which no vehicles or machines were permitted.
Bill Robinson (Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez
Emilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
) rallies the survivors; they use a cache of guns found hidden under the diner. The trucks fight back themselves, at one point human fatalities result from an M274 "Mule"
U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4
The U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4 or "Carrier, Light Weapons, Infantry, 1/2 ton, 4x4" aka "Mule," "Military Mule," or "Mechanical Mule" is a 4-wheel drive, gas-powered truck/tractor type vehicle that can carry up to a 1/2 ton off-road. It was introduced in 1956 and used...
firing its mounted M60 machine gun into the building.
Eventually the survivors escape to the docks where the featured Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
semi kills one more trucker. The semi is destroyed and the humans sail off to safety.
A title card explains that the machines are stopped with the destruction of a UFO by a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
"weather satellite" equipped with nuclear missiles and a laser cannon.
Cast
- Emilio EstevezEmilio EstevezEmilio Estevez is an American actor, film director, and writer. He started his career as an actor and is well-known for being a member of the acting Brat Pack of the 1980s, starring in The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire...
as Bill Robinson - Pat HinglePat HingleMartin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
as Bubba Hendershot - Laura HarringtonLaura HarringtonLaura Harrington is an American actress.Harrington is perhaps best known for her role as the main character's sister in the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Her character was aged around 20 though the actress herself was 35 at the time...
as Brett - Yeardley SmithYeardley SmithYeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
as Connie - Ellen McElduff as Wanda June
- Frankie FaisonFrankie FaisonFrankie Russel Faison , often credited as Frankie R. Faison, is an American actor.-Personal life:Faison was born in Newport News, Virginia, the son of Carmena and Edgar Faison. He studied drama at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, Illinois, where he joined Theta Chi Fraternity...
as Handy - Leon RippyLeon RippyLeon Rippy is an American actor.-Life and career:He has worked with Roland Emmerich on seven movies including: Moon 44 , Eye of the Storm , Universal Soldier , Stargate , The Thirteenth Floor , The Patriot , Eight Legged Freaks and also had a role in the 2004...
as Brad - Christopher MurneyChristopher MurneyChristopher Murney is an American actor and vocal artist. He is the father of singer and actress Julia Murney.Murney attended several universities before picking up several undergraduate degrees , and one graduate level degree .Murney has worked on...
as Camp Loman - John Short as Curtis
- J. C. QuinnJ. C. QuinnJ.C. Quinn was an American film and theatre actor. His acting career included stage, television and film television roles.-Career:...
as Duncan Keller - Holter GrahamHolter GrahamHolter Ford Graham is an American actor and labor union leader. He made his feature film debut at the age of 13 in the 1986 comedy-horror film Maximum Overdrive...
as Deke Keller - Barry BellBarry BellBarry Bell is an American Film, Television, Stage and voice actor. Bell is best known for portraying Steve Gayton from Stephen King's film Maximum Overdrive, Barnett Gibons from This World, Then the Fireworks film, Rocco Petrone from HBO's From Earth to the Moon 1998, Saul Hertz from Morning ...
as Steve Gayton - Patrick MillerPatrick MillerPatrick Miller was a Private First Class during the 2003 invasion of Iraq with the US Army's 507th Maintenance Company, serving as a mechanic, becoming a POW. For his actions leading up to his capture, he was awarded the Silver Star for valor...
as Joey - J. Don FergusonJ. Don FergusonJ. Don Ferguson , sometimes credited as "Don Ferguson", was an American film actor, stage actor and television actor....
as Andy
Vehicles
A large array of various vehicles and electronic devices are featured in the film as antagonistAntagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
characters, brought to life from the comet passing by Earth. A large number of semi-trailer truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s appear as a gang who invade the truck stop. They are led by a "Happy Toyz Co." White-Western Star 4800 truck which has the face of the Green Goblin
Green Goblin
The Green Goblin is a fictional character, a supervillain who appears in the comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, and first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #14 ....
from the Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
franchise mounted on its front grill. Most of these trucks are destroyed by the end of the film.
Various other vehicles appear in brief or in supporting villainous roles. A military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
M274 Mule
U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4
The U.S. Military M274 Truck, Platform, Utility 1/2 Ton, 4X4 or "Carrier, Light Weapons, Infantry, 1/2 ton, 4x4" aka "Mule," "Military Mule," or "Mechanical Mule" is a 4-wheel drive, gas-powered truck/tractor type vehicle that can carry up to a 1/2 ton off-road. It was introduced in 1956 and used...
armed with an M60 machine gun
M60 machine gun
The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...
, and a Caterpillar D7G
Caterpillar D7
The Caterpillar D7 is a medium bulldozer manufactured by Caterpillar Inc.. The first D7 appeared in 1938. The D7C came next in 1955. The D7D came in 1959. The 160hp D7E in 1961...
Bulldozer
Bulldozer
A bulldozer is a crawler equipped with a substantial metal plate used to push large quantities of soil, sand, rubble, etc., during construction work and typically equipped at the rear with a claw-like device to loosen densely-compacted materials.Bulldozers can be found on a wide range of sites,...
appear in the truck stop to aide the trucks, the Mule gunning down several of the characters and later acting as a gunman towards the humans. A vending machine
Vending machine
A vending machine is a machine which dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, alcohol, cigarettes, lottery tickets, consumer products and even gold and gems to customers automatically, after the customer inserts currency or credit into the machine....
and a 1979 Rex 700 road roller
Road roller
A road roller is a compactor type engineering vehicle used to compact soil, gravel, concrete, or asphalt in the construction of roads and foundations, similar rollers are used also at landfills or in agriculture.In some parts of the world, road rollers are still known colloquially as steam...
attack a group of young baseball players, running one over and killing their coach with projectile canned drinks. An arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
electrocutes a patron at the truck stop, and even a toy police car
Police car
A police car is a ground vehicle used by police, to assist with their duties in patrolling and responding to incidents. Typical uses of a police car include transportation for officers to reach the scene of an incident quickly, to transport criminal suspects, or to patrol an area, while providing a...
displays its maniacal side as seen when it has embedded itself in a dog's mouth and killed it. An ice cream truck makes several appearances in the film, but is destroyed at the end.
The Dixie Boy truck stop
The "Dixie Boy" truck stopTruck stop
A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
was a full-scale set constructed ten miles west of Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
, on US Highway 74/76. The exact location was just outside of Leland, North Carolina
Leland, North Carolina
Leland is a town in Brunswick County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 1,938 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Wilmington Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. It was convincing enough that several semi drivers
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
tried to stop in and eat there, and some tried to refuel. Eventually the producers had to put up several signs informing the truckers the set was fake and not a real truck stop. The producers also put announcements in local papers saying that the "Dixie Boy" was just a movie set.
After filming wrapped up (and the set had been partially demolished by explosives), some locals bought the set of the "Dixie Boy" and transformed it into a working truck stop. It was fully functional for three or four years, until it went bankrupt and was torn down sometime in the late 1980s. Some signposts for the Dixie Boy still remain, however.
Accidents on set
When filming the scene where the ice cream truck flips over, the stunt did not go according to plan and almost resulted in an accident. A telephone pole-size beam of wood was placed inside so it would flip end over end, but it only flipped once and slid on its roof, right into the camera. Gene Poole, dolly gripDolly grip
In cinematography, the dolly grip dedicated technician trained to operate the camera dolly. The individual places, levels, and moves the dolly track, then pushes and pulls the dolly and usually a camera operator and camera assistant as riders. If the dolly has a moveable vertical axis, such as a...
on the film, pulled the cameraman out of the way at the last second.
A second incident, this time leading to serious injury, occurred on July 31, 1985 while filming in a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
of Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. A radio-controlled lawnmower used in a scene went out of control and struck a block of wood used as a camera support, shooting out wood splinters which injured the director of photography, Armando Nannuzzi
Armando Nannuzzi
Armando Nannuzzi was an Italian cinematographer and camera operator active from the 1940s until the 1990s...
. As a result of this incident, Nannuzzi lost an eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
. Nannuzzi sued Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
on February 18, 1987 for $18 million in damages due to unsafe working practices. The suit was settled out of court.
External links
- Happy Toyz - an extensive fan site, named after the writing on the side of the villainous "Green Goblin truck". Features the script for the film, stills and various trivia.
- Green Goblin Head - Official Home of the Original Maximum Overdrive Green Goblin Head.
- Entry on RetroJunk.Com