Description
Misery is a 1990 American psychological thriller film directed by Rob Reiner, based on Stephen King’s 1987 novel of the same name, starring James Caan and Kathy Bates about an obsessive fan who holds an author captive and forces him to write a story.
The film was released in the United States on November 30, 1990, by Columbia Pictures. It received highly positive reviews and was a box office success. Bates’ performance drew widespread praise from critics and won her the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 63rd Academy Awards, making Misery the only film based on a Stephen King novel to win an Oscar. King himself has stated that Misery is one of his top ten favorite film adaptations.
In the original novel, Annie Wilkes severs one of Paul Sheldon’s feet with an axe. Reiner insisted that it be changed so that she only breaks his ankles. The scene was ranked #12 on Bravo’s 2004 program The 100 Scariest Movie Moments.
In 2003, Annie Wilkes was ranked #17 on AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains list.
