Kathy Bates wanted Misery to be more grotesque than it was. Recently, at the TCM Classic Film Festival, Kathy Bates and director Rob Reiner took the stage to revisit what shooting Misery was like. The film is an adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name and details Bates’ character kidnapping a writer played by James Caan after saving him from a car wreck.
In the original novel, Caan’s character loses his foot, which was taken out of Reiner’s adaptation. Bates was apparently none too pleased with this change. During a discussion with IndieWire, Bates said,
“I was crushed that you took that out, I didn’t agree with that at all.”
As Kathy Bates notoriously won an Oscar for her role in Misery, Reiner apparently did not think she would win the Academy Award. As Reiner was proven wrong, he applauded her at the Academy’s ceremony, although Bates thought her role as Annie in Misery would be the end of her career.
As four time nominated Reiner took on the role as director for Misery, finding an actor to play Caan’s character proved difficult. Al Pacino, Robert de Niro, William Hurt, and Michael Douglas were all in consideration. Warren Beatty was also rumored to play a role in Misery, but he assisted in shaping the writing for the horror classic.
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