Stephen King thinks the 1990 movie adaptation of Misery is better than his book. Directed by Rob Reiner, the Oscar-winning movie stars Kathy Bates as former nurse Annie Wilkes, who rescued James Caan’s novelist Paul Sheldon after his car crash. Bates was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance, which she won.
In a recent interview with the New York Times about the latest adaptation of his early work, The Long Walk, King admitted that he thought Reiner’s 1990 movie did better than his book. He was particularly fond of Bates and Caan’s casting and “a touch of humor” the movie had that was missing from the book. Read his comment below:
The combination of Kathy Bates and James Caan was magic, and it had a touch of humor in it that was really missing from the book.
The novelist also gave his take on book vs. movie differences, admitting that he didn’t completely understand why directors may want to deviate far from the source material. Check out his comment below:
My idea is, ‘Go ahead, bend it and shape it the way that you want it.’ But if you bought a book to do, you would think that you would want to do that book rather than some other idea.
What This Means For Misery And The Latest Stephen King Adaptation
The King of Horror has been vocal about his dislike toward Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, notably due to the mᴀssive changes the movie version made to his story, which stripped away the original themes about family struggles and addictions. The author’s statement about the movie version of Misery is no doubt a huge compliment. Previously, King also praised another Reiner adaption of his work.
Stand By Me, which is an adaptation of the author’s short story The Boy, brought him to tears after viewing it for the first time because of how Reiner captured the essence of his coming-of-age story. While Misery is a standout adaptation in the horror genre, the novelist also enjoyed Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, which are both faithful adaptations.
The latest movie adaption of one of Stephen King’s novels is The Long Walk. Directed by The Hunger Games director Francis Lawrence, the movie honored the novelist’s one request to be R-rated and as brutal as the book. King also approved the movie’s direction and the changes.
Our Take On Rob Reiner’s Misery And Upcoming Stephen King Adaptations
2025 is a big year for Stephen King enthusiasts, with the releases of three big-screen adaptations of his work. Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck came out on July 15, The Long Walk came to theaters on September 12, while The Running Man is scheduled for November 14.
In the same interview, Flanagan shared what it was like to work with King, admitting that the author is both closely involved in the process of approving the script and the cast, while giving the director plenty of creative freedom to bring their own vision of the story to life.
It seems that Misery‘s success and other King-approved adaptations offered the author the blueprint for later collaborations. With The Long Walk, the novelist supported Lawrence’s decision to age up the characters and modify the ending.
