Misery

Misery is an American feature film of the horror genre. It is based on a novel written by author Stephen King. The movie was directed by Rob Reiner with a script written by William Goldman. It was presented by Castle Rock Entertainment in association with Nelson Entertainment. It premiered theatrically in the United States on November 30th, 1990. The movie stars James Caan as Paul Sheldon - a romance writer who has made a successful career for himself by writing books about a female protagonist named Misery Chastain. One night, Paul is an automobile accident, but is rescued by Annie Wilkes, played by Kathy Bates, who also happens to be Paul's number one fan. Annie brings Paul to her home where he hopes to heal from two broken legs. Sheldon quickly learns to his horror however, that his "number one fan" is not only nursing him, but many dark secrets as well.

Notes & Trivia

 * The novel upon which this film is based was published by Viking Press and released on June 8th, 1987.


 * There are a total of fourteen credited cast members in this film.


 * Production on Misery began on February 20th, 1990. Principal photography concluded on May 31st, 1990.


 * Scenes from this film were shot in Genoa and Reno, Nevada, as well as Los Angeles, California.


 * The title of this film is taken from the first name of the main character in Paul Sheldon's books.


 * At its widest release, Misery was screened in 1,370 movie theaters.


 * Actress Kathy Bates won the Oscar for the category of Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Annie Wilkes at the 1991 Academy Awards Ceremony.


 * Kathy Bates also won the Golden Globe award that same year for the category of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama.


 * The American Film Institute named Annie Wilkes the seventeenth greatest villain in motion picture history in their "100 Years...100 Heroes and Villians" list in 2003.


 * This is one of the few horror movies based on a Stephen King novel that doesn't have some element of the supernatural in it.


 * Actor Thomas Brunelle is credited as Tom Brunelle in this film.


 * Actor Archie Hahn is credited as Archie Hahn, III in this film.


 * The tagline for this film is "Paul Sheldon used to write for a living. Now, he's writing to stay alive".


 * Director Rob Reiner makes a cameo appearance as a helicopter pilot in this film.


 * Misery the pig receives her own on-screen credit in this film.


 * Stephen King has written many novels that focus on writers such as himself, including The Shining and The Dark Half.


 * Actor J.T. Walsh makes an uncredited appearance in the film as state trooper Sherman Douglas. Walsh also appeared in the movie Needful Things, which is also based on a Stephen King novel.


 * Annie Wilkes pronounces Dom Perignon phonetically.


 * This is one of the few Stephen King stories that does not take place in Maine. The setting of Colorado was also used in The Shining, which was also a bout a writer trapped in an isolated environment.

Explicit content
Profanity | Obscene finger gesture | Smoking