Kathy Bates disagrees with the one change the 1990Miserymade to Stephen King’s story. Adapted from the 1987 novel of the same name, the horror thriller seesKing’s protagonist, novelist Paul Sheldon (James Caan), being rescued by a former nurse, and his self-professed number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Bates), after a car accident. However, hehas to resort to self-rescue after discovering Annie’s truly sinister nature. Bates won an Oscar the following year for her performance in the movie.
PerIndieWire, during the 16th annual TCM Classic Film Festival, Bates revealed one change the movie made to King’s novel that she wasn’t fully on board with. Speaking to director Rob Reiner, the actor shared that she wished the film had preserved the gore in the novel, andshe was “crushed"to find out that Paul’s foot amputation and the scene where Annie ran someone over with a lawnmower weren’t included. Read her comments below:
I was crushed that you took that out. I didn’t agree with that at all.
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In the same panel, Reiner’s response to why he cut the amputation scene was that he felt Paul shouldn’t lose something after having learned something.Miserychanged the most brutal scenebyhaving Annie break his ankles with a sledgehammer instead of a full amputation of his foot, which was sufficient to demonstrate the clear hostage situation. In addition to the scenes Bates talked about, her character also cut off Paul’s thumb.
While King has never specifically addressed the lack of gore in the 1990 movie, he thought it was a great adaptation. Previously, the novelist had opened up aboutMiserybeing a manifestationof his own struggles with cocaine. In the same panel, Reiner shared that Warren Beatty, who was once attached to the project, made a comment aboutMiserybeing a “prison movie"instead of a horror or thriller, and what made Caan’s casting brilliant was the contrast between his constraint and his athletic physique.
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It Made Misery The Film It Was, But Kathy Bates Also Has A Point
It seems clear thatReiner’s work leaned more toward the psychological horror of Paul’s imprisonmentinMiseryinstead of the gore and violence ofStephen King’s favorite character. Bates' performance as a terrifying antagonist was partially why the director’s plan worked so well. It’s true that the 1990 movie adaptation left out several gory scenes in the book, but it still remains a classic.
Bates also has a point, especially from the perspective of what’s best for her character.Taking out the gory scene made Annie much less extreme, which is something that a modern adaptation is less likely to do. However,Miserywould’ve been a very different film if Annie’s most horrifying scenes were included.
