2023-10-08 18:16:56
With a spatula
October 08 2023, 12:16 pm
James Caan and Kathy Bates in Misery
Based on a novel by Stephen King, without resorting to monsters, supernatural creatures or special effects, the story terrified a generation that is still scared by the phrase “I am your number one fan.”
The day Kathy Bates turned 42, she felt that she was reaching that stage where many people believe that life imposes limitations rather than providing new opportunities. It was 1990 and she knew that, with a prolific career in the theater, she enjoyed a certain prestige, and that word of mouth repeated that if she acted, she was worth paying for her ticket. However, what he had in prestige he lacked in popularity. None of her presentations had been a box office success or significantly improved her accounts. Outside of the select theatrical world she was an illustrious unknown. She didn’t feel disappointed but she didn’t feel fulfilled either.
By Infobae
It was then that the script for Misery came into her chubby little hands. She was invited to put herself in the shoes of Annie Wilkes, a harmless-looking fanatic (spoiler alert) who, under the premise “Am I your number one fan?”, kidnapped her favorite novelist and tortured him into rewriting her next book. she.
Her agent explained to her that director and producer Rob Reiner was very clear that the protagonist of Misery would not be a famous actress. None of them would dare to embody the character of a deranged person with whom they would be identified. She couldn’t be the owner of striking beauty either because she needed to look like an ordinary woman. It is true that without a famous face, perhaps the film would not be a success. But the hook was not its protagonists but its author, Stephen King, and the passion he provoked in his readers.
With his addictive and attractive style and his ability to tell stories that tell intrinsically human fears, King had a legion not only of readers but of fans. To write his 25th novel, he was inspired by the case of Genene Jones, a volunteer nurse who, although she had not kidnapped any writers, was discovered to have injected dangerous drugs into several babies. Her objective was to create a medical emergency and then be recognized for treating them and taking care of those who seemed to be her protection, and in reality were her victims.
Jealous of his work, King imposed the condition that the big screen adaptation of his novel be in charge of Reiner, the only director who had not disappointed him by transferring his text to the screen in Count on Me. Reiner had never filmed a horror film before but was inspired by the great master of the field, Alfred Hitchcock. His work was so good that the author of Carrie claims that Misery is one of the best adaptations among the 71 of his stories that were made into films. Not to mention the stories that he gives to amateur and student projects in exchange for a dollar!
With the idea underway and a budget of $20 million, Rainer and his screenwriter, William Goldman, focused on finding an actress with an unknown face but with recognized talent. Someone of middle age, with a reliable appearance and a good person, with a pleasant face but not one of those that are perceived as being of another level. They needed an actress capable of playing a harmless housewife, more like a passionate admirer and a terrible psychopath. A real three for one.
The first one called was Anjelica Huston, but she rejected it not because she didn’t like the idea but because she had committed to another project. The second option was Bette Midler, who, upon learning the story, refused to participate because some sequences were too violent for her. Over the years she would recognize that that decision was quite “stupid.”
Someone suggested the name Kathy Bates. When the theater actress arrived at the film test with her shy smile and normal beauty, some doubted that she was the one, but she took it upon herself to demonstrate that not always “the first impression is what counts.” As soon as Rainer started recording, Kathy silenced everyone. If the reader saw the film she can attest. The transformation of that inconsequential-looking actress is phenomenal. Bates managed to give her character an adequate dose of pathos, tenderness and madness. Her Annie to this day ranks as one of the baddest bad guys in cinema and yet, instead of hating her, we can’t help but feel sorry for her. More than wanting her to end up in prison, we want her to be admitted to a good psychiatric hospital; yes, away from hammers.
Once the protagonist was chosen, it was necessary to find the protagonist. And here what seemed like an opportunity turned into a problem. Although he was a leading man and in a film that was destined to be successful from the start, many actors rejected the role. Warren Betty, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro refused to play a writer subjugated by a woman, who would spend much of the filming tied to a bed and not exactly in scenes of a seductive gallant or of the much-mentioned high erotic content.
Another who ruled out the invitation was Michael Douglas. He assured that although he had no problems getting under a woman, whether in a movie or in his real life, that story seemed very sadistic to him. Jack Nicholson also refused to become Paul Sheldon. He wasn’t bothered by the character but by the author. He did not want to act in another film based on a Stephen King book, since he had starred in The Shining in 1980.
With the list of candidates increasingly limited, the name of James Caan emerged, who with his irascible Sonny in The Godfather and his violent Rollerball veteran had earned the nickname of the “new cowboy.” According to Caan, his casting “was a private joke from Reiner, who said, ‘Let’s get the most neurotic actor in Hollywood and put him in a bed for 15 weeks.’” He accepted.
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