‘Misery’ Turns 30

I watched this for the first time like a year ago (I was young when it came out) and it’s just as taut and thrilling for me as it must have been in 1990. I can see the ways that this and Silence of the Lambs changed cinema forever.

It's an excellent film and still holds up perfectly.

It’s a cocka-doo-dee good movie!

The film and Bates' performance are both great.

Thank God Bette Midler turned it down.

She should have won the Academy Award again for “Dolores Claiborne” the following year.

[QUOTE] Thank God Bette Midler turned it down.

😳 😂 Bette Middler was offered the role?

She did a [italic]Stella Dallas[/italic] remake instead at Touchstone and it bombed.

Dolores Claiborne is one of the most underrated films of all time. Kathy Bates and Judy Parfitt should've been handed Oscars for their performances.

Yes, r6, she was...

Haha that was hilarious, r9

I'd forgotten that she hadn't been nominated for Dolores. It was by far a more nuanced performance. But I just looked and the only real competition she had for her Misery win was Anjelica.

Wow, you crusty whores must be slipping. Eleven replies in and nobody has torn Misery or Kathy Bates to shred. ‘Tis the season, I guess.

Incidentally, I love both, Misery and Kathy Bates.

And Bette just turned 75 today.

I rewatched it recently. Meh. I would have voted for Anjelica.

Meh? It’s a great movie, R14.

R15, it had the potential to be great in the hands of a different director and a sharper screenplay.

Don’t forget about me!

ONE MILLION PERCENT, R5. Alas, it was released in March. The bastards. I actually prefer her as Claiborne moreso than Wilkes. But I enjoy both tremendously.

The hobbling scene still makes me turn away.

How the fuck did Julia Roberts get nominated for a bland, boring performance in a piece of shit like "Pretty Woman"?

[QUOTE] The hobbling scene still makes me turn away.

I was shocked that they put that in a mainstream movie.

In the novel Annie cut Paul's foot off with a chainsaw and then cauterized the wound with a blowtorch.

[quote] How the fuck did Julia Roberts get nominated for a bland, boring performance in a piece of shit like "Pretty Woman"?

Hollywood thinks women are whores.

r22, didn't she use an ax? That was even on the book cover art.

Bacall gives the film a rich, full, and dist inct flavah!

I always thought it was surprising James Caan got this part. Wasn't he kind of over in the years prior?

I know Jess turned it down. And Midler. I wonder if M or G were offered it.

r24 you are right, I got confused. It was an axe in the novel, just like in the movie. The blowtorch part was not inthe movie.

At the end of the novel, Annie was found with a chainsaw which she was going to use to kill Paul. I got the two mixed up.

r26 James Caan was way down the list. He got it only after a bunch of other "name" actors passed on it.

In the book the hobbling was replaced with an amputation - by blowtorch!

Part of the shock in “Misery” revolves around the theme of the male as victim. At first, he basks in her attention lavished on him. Then, as the reality slowly dawns, he sees how trapped he is, with no escape. This makes the crippling scene so harrowing.

And she is just so matter-of-factly cheerful about it.

When I saw this in its first release, it was so obvious: she was certainly going to be nominated, and probably win, the Oscar. Hands down.

And she totally deserved it.

Then, her sheer craft in “Dolores Claiborne” guaranteed her excellence, that she’d have work the rest of her life.

(Similar to Dustin Hoffman’s career arc. His skill in “Midnight Cowboy “ after “The Graduate” guaranteed he’d continue to be seen.)

But, too bad she didn’t do “‘Night Mother” on screen. I saw her on Broadway, and that was beyond harrowing. (And I wish I’d seen her in “Frankie and Johnny.”)

I saw her in 'night Mother and she was brilliant. Really got the hopelessness and anger of the character. Sissy Spacek was too perky in the movie.

Bates was also riveting in the LA production of The Normal Heart. She made Ellen Barkin and that production look like amateur work.

Has Ryan Murphy signed Sarah Paulson for "Wilkes" yet?

The role of Hannibal Lecter was also turned down by many other actors, because they thought the script was too dark and gruesome. Anthony Hopkins was way down on the casting list. Of course it all turned out for the best, because Hopkins gave a genius performance that is one of the most iconic in film history.

[quote]Has Ryan Murphy signed Sarah Paulson for "Wilkes" yet?

JFC don't give him any ideas!

I disliked the ending. The book focused on Paul's mental state and the film turned it into a "Dressed to Kill" comic shock. Bates was also a shade too sympathetically portrayed - you never saw real evil in her - the book makes it clear that there is a sadistic element to her personality. The cast was very good, however.

What part did Kathy Bates play in The Normal Heart?

who r34

I know Gene Hackman passed.

(it is also a small part, I bet a lot of stars read it and said this isn't the lead role---and it isn't despite Hopkins winning a leading actor Oscar)

I couldn't give a fuck about most celebrities, but I have always loved Kathy Bates.

r37 the doctor

the part Julia Roberts played in the movie

It’s good but a bit to gruesome for me. Prefer Delores Claiborne. Bates is the Tricia in that too

when the sledgehammer met the foot, i remember the entire theater gasping

i don't remember anything seeing anything like that in a main stream movie before

It was a real game changer.

[quote] Dolores Claiborne is one of the most underrated films of all time. Kathy Bates and Judy Parfitt should've been handed Oscars for their performances.

The weak link was Jennifer Jason Leigh, who reminded me of Ally Sheedy in "The Breakfast Club."

Still, loved Dolores Claiborne, Kathy Bates, and Judy Parfitt. Glad to see it discussed here.

You have to be a high-riding bitch to survive!

R44 Agree. Jennifer JL was miscast. Other that, the movie was great and Kathy Bates: perfect.

Loved the reveal on the boat towards the end with her father when you find out the truth.

Man, I need to rewatch Dolores Claiborne. I saw t in the theatre when I was about 13, it don’t remember much except an eclipse, a lady falling down the stairs, and Dolores hanging up some laundry in cold weather.

Lots of leading men turned down the Paul Sheldon part--Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, DeNiro, Hoffman, Pacino, Gene Hackman, Harrison Ford, William Hurt, Ed Harris, etc., but most of them didn't want to do horror or play the passive victim of a domineering female (the character spends most of his time in bed after all). Nicholson didn't want to do another Stephen King adaptation after The Shining.

Jessica Lange, Anjelica Houston, Bette Midler, Mary Tyler Moore(!), and even Roseanne Barr were considered for the Annie Wilkes part.

Mary Tyler Moore might have been interesting. She won an Emmy a few years later for a real villainous role in a TV movie called Stolen Babies.

Thank god Bette Midler didn't take the role, she would've turned it into a campfest. Kathy Bates was pitch perfect.

Here's another article....

[quote] Lots of leading men turned down the Paul Sheldon part--Warren Beatty, Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Richard Dreyfuss, DeNiro, Hoffman, Pacino, Gene Hackman, Harrison Ford, William Hurt, Ed Harris, etc. ...

Thank God Harrison Ford said no. He is so damn dull.

I think Gene Hackman, William Hurt, and Ed Harris would each have worked. Michael Douglas, too.

I love Kathy Bates and I enjoyed Misery for what it was, but the Oscar That year should have done to Huston or Woodward, Bates was more deserving for a Primary Colors or even About Schmidt (or DC for which sh wasn’t even nominated),

No, Bates deserved it for Misery.

"Dolores Claiborne" slipped through the cracks. It was slated for a Fall '94 release, but it tested poorly in preview screenings. Parts were reshot and re-edited, and Columbia Pictures finally dumped it theaters in early Spring '95. By the time Oscar season rolled out, "Dolores" was largely forgotten and Columbia was heavily promoting its prestige film "Sense and Sensibility," which nabbed nominations for its stars Emma Thompson (who also won wrote the screenplay and won) and Kate Winslet, Costume, Score, Cinematography, and Best Picture. "Dolores Claiborne" got nada.

Movie audiences who were expecting a repeat of Stephen King/Kathy Bates "Misery"-type thrills and chills were probably disappointed in the lack of thrills. But it wasn't that kind of movie.

Anjelica Huston was brilliant in ‘The Grifters’ (and ‘The Witches’ that same year) and should have won the Oscar. Her character may have been a little too disturbing—and not in a campy, cartoony way like Bates’s Annie Wilkes—for some voters to stomach. Her final scene was so raw and animalistic, I remember it vividly all these years later.

I never knew Mary Tyler Moore was considered for Misery, but it makes sense, especially with the Reiner connection. She would have been interesting—I enjoyed her take on darker characters.

Streisand as Annie WIlkes might have been interesting if she'd agreed to cut her nails and NOT sing a sappy title song.

Huston had just won an Oscar a few years before The Grifters so that probably hurt her chances.

Bates was perfect.

Bates was great in Misery and Dolores Claiborne is an incredibly entertaining movie, but the accents were inconsistent and distracting. That's probably why she wasn't even nominated.

It was great when mainstream horror started winning oscars.

Fun fact: Sharon Gless did the stage version in London.

and Laurie Metcalf and Bruce Willis did the it on Broadway

[quote]I can see the ways that this and Silence of the Lambs changed cinema forever.

In your opinion, how did these movies change cinema forever R1?

I believe The Silence of the Lambs started the whole forensic science thing that exploded in the 90s and has become an industry in itself, both fictional and true crime.

So the Bette Midler version would have been a comedy?

It would have been a piece of shit.

Bette Midler as Annie Wilkes would have turned Paul gay. He'd have returned to Bacall at the end and, when she served him coffee, asked her, "Is it High Point? The flavah is simply mahvelous."

R68 lol

It’s a perfectly cast movie as well down to the guy who works in the convenience store who sells Annie the typing paper.

Love Bette Midler but she would have been totally unsuitable for this film.

Kathy Bates was perfection. Her Academy Award for best actress was 100% deserved. She had stiff competition that year too.

Mary Tyler Moore would have been terrible. She was only ever good playing herself on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Kathy Batex always brings something special to role. She was excellent in small roles, too, as in About Schmidt and Midnight In Paris. I make it a point to see all of her film roles.

Misery was good but it's the only time I've disliked a James Caan performance. There was something about him that seemed distracted, like he regretted taking the role or something, I don't know what it was.

Richard Farnsworth and Frances Sternhagen were the best, loved them both.

Dolores Claiborne is the superior movie, I've seen it a couple of times since it was released and it's aged very well.

Batex?

Sorry, meant 'Bates'.

[QUOTE] Mary Tyler Moore would have been terrible. She was only ever good playing herself on The Mary Tyler Moore Show.

You’ve obviously never seen Ordinary People.

All Hails Kathy! Love her.

"YOU DIRTY BIRD!" - Anne Wilkes

"There is a justice higher than that of man. I will be judged by him."

R78 I have and Ann-Margaret one of Redford's earlier choices would have been better.

Excellent film with perfect casting and a wonderful script. That said, since these characters are so rich and the novel is much more extreme and complex (with several long sequences from the actual novel Paul is forced to write), I would enjoy seeing a Netflix type limited series that really “goes there” with the violence (cutting off the finger, the ax to the foot, the sheriff run over by the lawnmower, etc.) and delved a bit deeper into the psychology, hewing closer to the boom. The list is endless of all the potentially brilliant cast possibilities...

*book, not boom

Poor Bette Midler rarely chose films correctly. She was also offered Sister Act and turned that down. She could have done the original, the sequel and probably starred in the Broadway version.

I wonder if the role was ever offered to Sissy Spacek? Or was she done with Stephen King material?

How about Sissy Spacek in the Kathy Bates role and John Travolta in the James Caan role?

Kathy Bates was too over the top for me, and I tend to find her film work a little too broad in general. I suspect she’s better onstage.

[quote]Kathy Bates was too over the top for me

She was playing a deranged psychopath, dear. They tend to be a *bit* over the top.

I would argue that she wasn’t even all that over the top. I frequently encounter deranged customers in stores who seem far worse than Annie Wilkes.

You have a point r88. At the time Annie Wilkes was shocking, but today we're so used to seeing Karen freakout videos on Youtube it's not unusual at al.

Was a musical based on "Misery" ever considered as a vehicle for Midler after she turned down the part in the original film?

I'm picturing Bette in a Little Orphan Annie fright wig delivering a campy yet bone-chilling rendition of "Tomorrow". Rob Marshall will direct and all the musical numbers take place in Paul's or Annie's imagination.

Then you didn't read the book R86. Wilkes was toned down compared to how King presented her.

She also cut off Paul's thumb when he bitched about a key on the typewriter and ran over the sheriff who found him with a riding lawnmower instead of shooting him dead with a shotgun in the book. Kathy was disappointed when they changed the sheriff's death in the film.

*finds

The Oh Dear Troll can go suck Davida's clit!

She was also about to nail his genitals to a board in the book as I remember R92. Or did she? She broke both his ankles with a heavy mallet.

[QUOTE] She also cut off Paul's thumb when he bitched about a key on the typewriter and ran over the sheriff who found him with a riding lawnmower instead of shooting him dead with a shotgun in the book. Kathy was disappointed when they changed the sheriff's death in the film.

This would’ve been ridiculously over the top in the movie.

[quote]Kathy was disappointed when they changed the sheriff's death in the film.

Well, Miss Kathy already had her required hours to get union-sponsored health insurance. Some of us needed the extra hours of work.

Meryl didn't even bother showing up at The Oscars that year. The statue had Kathy's name on it.

Wasn't Meryl pregnant during the Oscars that year? Who were her male co-stars in the previous year who might have knocked up M?

[quote]Wasn't Meryl pregnant during the Oscars that year?

I showed up to the Oscars when i was pregnant! That year the logistics were crazy and I had to get out of my car and climb over other cars to get to the red carpet.

How old is Ecstasy?

Bates was brilliant in this role. People always forget how great some performances in the horror genre can be. Some of the finest, most memorable performances I've ever seen have been in horror films. It's really tough to make some of this stuff believable and, when an actor can, they immediately end up on my favorites list. I think horror is usually looked over, because it's thought of as a young person's genre where people are only cast because they're young, attractive, and willing to show a little skin, but that's overlooking all the really great mature horror films out there.

Bates was lucky in that Stephen King usually writes such compelling characters. The same thing happened with Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie in Carrie who were both nominated for their fantastic performances. King's work is so special because he takes the time to develop his characters and makes even his most terrifying creations deeply human.

I used to think Midler was just unlucky in picking certain dramatic projects, but I now realize she's just a horrible dramatic actress. I saw her on Broadway in Hello, Dolly and that show is pretty much a lightweight farce besides one or two moments where Dolly addresses her dead husband. In the hands of other actors, those moments ground the whole show and are very moving. Midler blew right through those and was awful during those. The minute the comedy resumed, she was excellent, but it really showed how limited she can be.

She'd have been terrible as Annie and it really would have turned into a camp comedy classic. Her performance in Gypsy shows this. She nails all the comedy, but her dramatic moments all fall painfully flat. It's not the writing letting her down, it's her own limitations.

[quote] but I now realize she's just a horrible dramatic actress.

Did you miss Beaches? Ye gods, when her best friend dies, she not only chews the scenery in her studio, but in the studios surrounding the one where Beaches was filming.

Bette made a bitchy comment when asked why she returned to Dolly in its closing weeks, taking over from Bernice Peters "I wanted to give it the send off it deserved.."

Burn

Which is funny because Bernadette was a million times better in the role, nailing the comic and emotional beats and singing it way better than Bette. Bette did have that star power, though. It was hard to deny that, but Bernadette definitely turned in a superior performance. It's one of the best things I've ever seen her do.

Bette still feels she deserved Oscar over Sally.

She also feels "this role" won the Oscar

Misery is a great movie, but she should have been nominated for Dolores Claiborne.

And Judy Parfitt. That scene where Dolores is telling her about the abuse, and Judy just brushes her off at first, but when Dolores mentions it happening to her daughter, Judy just flips a switch and becomes a damaged, calculating woman scorned is amazing. It should be taught in acting schools. She really nails something dark that is deep inside of everyone that has been hurt and has had to fight back to survive it.

Parfitt deserved an Oscar for that film. One of the most memorable performances of the last 30 years. I think of it often.

I think maybe people weren't expecting a Stephen King film to essentially be more of a woman's picture drama. I don't remember any gore or major shock moments in that film and maybe people get let down. King has a lot more range than people give him credit for.

Judy Parfitt was just sensational in DC and it’s a crime that she didn’t win let alone receive a nomination.

As far as Kathy Bates, she should have won a second Oscar for this.

As I remember the nominees that year for Best Supporting Actress were pallid and uninspired except for Mare Winningham in Georgia.

I also love Bates in the underrated A Home of Our Own.

Mare Winningham in Georgia. That was a great, understated performance. Never gets talked about enough.

If it came out a few weeks earlier Kathy and Judy could have beaten Wiest and Lange.

Kathy Bates was amazing in this role. If you want to see a bad Annie Wilkes performance, watch the second season of Castle Rock.

R111, As much as I adore Kathy, I would've plotzed if she beat me for a goddamn Taylor Hack!ford movie!

Who would win in a street fight: Annie Wilkes or Margaret White?

Annie Wilkes liked cutting off body parts R114.

She would have chewed up Margaret White and spat her out and then run over her with a ride on lawn mower before pouring grease over the remains and setting them on fire.

Her killing the sheriff in the book was hideous. She stabbed him with a wooden stake before running over his head with the lawnmower!

Inspired by this thread I just watched Misery and Dolores Claiborne again. I hadn't seen either for about 10 years.

Both are fantastic but Bates should have won an Oscar for Dolores Claiborne. The entire cast was excellent - even Jennifer Jason Leigh (except for her fake smoking) who I loathe with a passion.

New Englander here and Kathy Bates really nailed that old Mainer accent. My mom has a friend who sounds exactly like that.

Posters:

Remember this? Kathy returns as Annie Wilkes to sell us DirectTv.

Someone find Kathy another King role before its too late!

Was M offered the Annie Wilkes role?

R122 Probably. She has been first choice for every female role from 1982 onwards......

Now that would be an interesting thread: What roles from 1982 onwards (because she really hit the BIG TIME with Sophie's Choice) was Streeps not considered? Probably a very small list.

r115, Annie Wilkes was fat. She would not last very long in a street fight.

R119 thank God they didn't try to copy the book cover.

[QUOTE] Annie Wilkes was fat. She would not last very long in a street fight.

But she was strong as an ox, R124. There was a lot of muscle under there.

Looking at the posters side by side, does Bates have an extreme case of resting bitch face?

Exactly R126.

Annie Wilkes would have made fucking mincemeat of Margaret White.

Wow! I'd never seen that book cover before. I guess I'm so used to seeing Bates in the role that it took me by surprise a bit. That Annie looks like a re-animated corpse.

R123 Streep wanted "Sweet Dreams" but the Director wouldn't have anyone but Lange to play Patsy.

In the early 90s she also lost out on "The Remains Of The Day" when Mike Nichols was set to direct. She fired her agent over it and felt Mike had betrayed her badly.

There's a huge list of movies Streep turned down or couldn't do though. "The Last Station" went to Mirren, "Saving Mr Banks" went to Thompson.

Streep also turned down "The Postman Always Rings Twice" "Fatal Attraction" and "Thelma & Louise" (because they wouldn't cast her pal Goldie).

Nobody could've been as brilliant in Fatal Attraction as Glenn Close was. Incredible performance.

Bette was fantastic in The Rose, Four the Boys, Stella and Beaches. She was sensational in Gypsy.

The problem is people saw her as a comedian and ridiculed her dramatic attempts. She wanted to do Shakespeare and Greek tragedies but as she said no one would cast her for those kinds of roles.

[QUOTE] Four the Boys

Oh, dear.

She was terrific in Outrageous Fortune and Ruthless People. A great dramatic actress she is not.

R108 and R117: Dolores Claiborne was such an underrated drama/suspense film. I read many Stephen King books prior to that one, but when I read that book, I remember thinking that he really understood the plight of women and the horror of being treated as less than/as an object just for being born female. It wasn’t until later that I read that King’s wife is a feminist—her influence was felt in that book because King tended to focus on men’s experiences and/or men were the protagonists in many of his books.

The movie was very well executed, and Bates and Parfitt did an amazing job. I thought Jennifer Jason Leigh did well too, but had the easiest role—she just had to be mopey, a bit strung out, and resentful the whole time.

Really wish that movie had gotten more attention at the time it was released. Is a dark and sometimes disturbing film but a great one that was quite a departure from King’s usual horror.

Sissy Spacek as Misery would not have worked, because nobody would've believed that she dragged the man out of his car and into her home all on her own. The role required someone as ..., well, robust as Kathy.

I love Bette when she does comedy, but she's a lousy dramatic actress. Her monologue before her final song in Gypsy has me rolling on the floor every time I see it. There's not a truthful moment to be found during that scene. Even from the back of the mezzanine somewhere, it wouldn't work. Some actors are genius at both comedy and drama, but Bette is only really gifted at comedy. And that's no slight on her - comedy is hard. A lot of really brilliant dramatic actors can't do it.

R137, speaking of a robust presence being required for Annie, how about Mo'Nique in an all-Black remake?

Featuring Lee Daniels as Paul Sheldon and Academy Award nominee Oprah Winfrey as the sheriff. Mo'Nique is keen to go all Method with this performance for some unknown reason.

R138 any video of her monologue?

Mo'Nique would be brilliant as Annie. She'd always be a great Margaret White if they decide to remake Carrie for the 80th time. That casting alone would guarantee my money.

R138, check this video out at the 2 hour and 11 minute mark.

R131, Streep didn't turn down "The Postman Always Rings Twice," she wasn't offered it. She was considered for the Cora role and met with Nicholson and Rafelson, but they went with Lange instead.

No R143 in an early 80s interview she says she said she'd do it if the male lead would do the same level of nudity. He balked.

Thanks R142!

R144, Meryl's quote was, "I didn't turn it down. He [Director Bob Rafelson] turned me down."

R142 you are right, that's atrocious! Isn't the character meant to be sad and furious? Ham! I thought she was playing Winnie Sandeson at first with all that mugging!

R145 he turned down her demand!

R139 and R141: Octavia Spencer would be even better.

I liked the “In Living Color” version with Rick James better

[quote] Octavia Spencer would be even better.

Been there, done that.

Ma definitely has a Misery vibe, but more of a comedy. And with twink nudity,

Kathy Bates' career got a big boost when she starred with her good friend Jessica Lange in "American Horror Story: Coven". Bates and Lange both won Emmys that season.

"Bates, who was a huge fan of American Horror Story, met with her friend Jessica Lange for lunch and asked if she could get in contact with Ryan Murphy about any acting opportunities. Soon, he called and invited Bates to play Madame Delphine LaLaurie in American Horror Story: Coven. Her performance as a serial killer in 1830s New Orleans received critical acclaim—and scored her a second Emmy award."

Kathy was unforgettable and J was incandescent, though the latter may throw shade on Coven. Either way, they were both awarded appropriately. Perhaps that would be a good topic: when actresses denounce their awards?

I agree, R148. Spencer somehow seems like better casting for a prim, virginal Annie Wilkes who lives vicariously through a writer's novels. Mo'Nique, whom I suggested, may not be convincing complaining about the use of profanity in the writer's work, for instance. She'd be calling him a muthafucka instead.

I suggested Mo'Nique mostly to wonder how she'd approach some of the famous scenes if Paul and the sheriff were played by her favorite people in the world, Lee Daniels and Oprah Winfrey.

Coven sucked, but Bates was great with what she was given.

[quote] Streep also turned down "The Postman Always Rings Twice" "Fatal Attraction" and "Thelma & Louise" (because they wouldn't cast her pal Goldie).

Streep didn’t turn down “The Postman Always Rings Twice”; Lange was always Rafelson’s first choice.

In the commentary for the film (Blu-ray edition), Bob Rafelson reveals that after visiting her in upstate New York while she was doing summer stock, he was completely taken by Lange. After the meeting, he wrote her name on a slip of paper and placed it in an envelope. He auditioned other actresses - 115 in total - including Streep, because he wanted to be absolutely sure that Lange was right (he was taking a big risk, considering Lange had only done light fare up until that point) and he wanted to provide Nicholson with options.

Initially, after auditioning with Streep, Jack reportedly said, “Well, that settles that,” but he wasn’t aware of Lange yet. Rafelson said to him, “Okay, but there’s one other woman I’d like you to see.”

Rafelson had shot five test tapes of Lange and showed them to Nicholson, who had a jaw-drop moment. Nicholson reportedly exclaimed, “Oh God, what do we do now?” Rafelson responded, “Well, if you have to ask which one should get the part, I think it should be Jessica. She has an innate middle America background. She doesn’t cross her legs and sit for an interview. She sits with both of her feet on the ground. She doesn’t try to be sexy, she is sexy.” Needless to say, Nicholson agreed.

Though it didn’t hurt her in the slightest bit - and in the case of “King Kong”, probably saved her - Streep lost three roles to Lange: Kong, Postman, and Sweet Dreams.

Streep also revered Lange. That’s all.

Oh, and when he finally did officially cast her, Rafelson handed Lange the sealed envelope containing the slip of paper he had written her name on.

Oh, dear. Streep *reveres Lange, especially considering how often she has brought her up without provocation in interviews.

My favorite, of course, is this gem, when Lange’s film career had all but ended, though “Grey Gardens” had been released around the time:

[quote] No [R143] in an early 80s interview she says she said she'd do it if the male lead would do the same level of nudity. He balked.

Funny. There is no nudity in the film.

Also, the video at R9 is excellent! It has me rolling and also thinking Middler might’ve done great, though not as nuanced and perfect as Kathy.

In the all black remake, I nominate Madea for the role of Annie Wilkes.

I still can't believe that Rob "Meathead from All in The Family" Reiner directed this movie

I wonder if Archie liked it?

Rob Reiner had a great streak for in the 1980s: This is Spinal Tap, The Sure Thing, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally & Misery. Then for some reason it was all downhill from there though I enjoyed the film he made with Michael Douglas & Diane Keaton, the name of which escapes me at the moment.

[QUOTE] I still can't believe that Rob "Meathead from All in The Family" Reiner directed this movie

He had a great teacher.

Which roles did Bates and Lange lose to La Streep?

Miriam Margolyes did a fine turn in the BBC radio version.

R165 I believe Lange only lost The Manchurian Candidate to Streep, who was sublime in the role. It’s one of my favorite performances of hers. She’s sexy, villainous, and utterly commanding.

I don’t think Lange went after much of Streep’s roles, though I may be wrong.

R167, she also lost "The Bridges of Madison County" to Streep.

[quote][bold]And another that got away – Bridges of Madison County, one of the best films ever made.[/bold]Well, did you see the article in The Australian recently? It said I'd pulled out of Madison County because I didn’t want to work with Jessica Lange. Not true! Not true! I don’t know where that journalist got that information because it's not something we discussed in the interview and it's not something I’ve ever said! (Bruce Beresford)

Kathy Bates was in the running for the role of Sister Aloysius in "Doubt," after Frances McDormand turned it down. The part went to Streep, who scored her 15th Oscar nomination.

R168 Totally forgot about that one; thanks for the reminder!

Though I would have loved to have seen Lange’s take, this is my favorite performance by Streep and I wouldn’t change anything about the film. I can still remember watching this in a theater alone at the age of 14. As a young closeted teen, I felt I understood Francesca in a way I can’t even articulate now. God, Streep is so good in this and the film itself is perfection. She should have won the Oscar for it.

R170 blame Saggy Susan Sarandon and her tedious Nun for robbing Streep.

R171 lol. Stop being bitter about Sue. Live and let live.