Ep817: Page2Screen: MISERY

Ian and Cole bust out the Novril for one of the most head-scratching film adaptations they've seen yet!

Rob Reiner's Misery put Kathy Bates on the map and made "hobbling" a household word--but as the guys recently discovered, its relationship to Stephen King's novel is tenuous at best. When famed author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) crashes his car during a blizzard, his number one fan, Annie Wilkes (Bates) nurses him back to health--while also demanding that he write another installment in a series that ended with the main character's death. Mind games and mayhem ensue in one of King's most personal and insightful stories.

In this spoiler-packed discussion, Ian and Cole examine the puzzling choices Reiner and screenwriter William Goldman made in translating the book into a screenplay, and struggle with the question of whether Bates' stellar career was worth such a disappointingly mediocre movie.

Show Links:

• Watch the Misery trailer.

• Read Cole's review of the novel at The Quill to Live.

• And follow his writing at:

  • Tor

  • Forbes

• Plus: Watch Ian's round table interview with the cast of Home (including Kathy Bates!):

• Subscribe to, like, and comment on the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel!