Misery Trivia Questions

King never intended a sequel connection. Paul Sheldon's Misery series is entirely fictional, though King has joked that Paul is his 'alter ego.'

Films are rarely shot in chronological order. Reiner shot it out of sequence like most movies, but he did have Bates wear her makeup in stages to show Annie's decline.

That line and the sledgehammer scene were scripted by William Goldman. Bates did improvise the 'dirty birdy' comment and other small moments.

Paul survives in the novel; he escapes and Annie dies. The book ends with him struggling to write again, not with his death.

Kathy Bates won Best Actress for playing Annie in 1990, making her the first woman to win an Oscar for portraying a purely villainous lead character.

King's mother was treated by a nurse who seemed kind but had a scary, controlling edge. That contrast inspired Annie's dual personality.

Caan accidentally slammed his foot into the bed frame so hard during the take that he fractured a finger. He kept acting, and the genuine pain added to the realism.

King has said his cocaine addiction made him feel like a prisoner to his own success, directly inspiring the novel's themes of captivity and control.