The Sledgehammer Scene In 'Misery' Was An Absolute Nightmare To Film

While Misery is a generally faithful adaptation of Stephen King's novel, there are actually some pretty huge differences between the film and the book when it comes to the most iconic scene.

In the movie, Annie uses a sledgehammer to brutally mangle Paul's legs. While that's pretty scarring already, the book takes the horror even further. In that version, Annie actually uses a fire ax to sever both of Paul's legs at the ankle. That's not all - she then grabs a blowtorch and cauterizes the wounds herself. 

The gruesome content in Misery was tough for a lot of people to get behind. This includes the original director of the film, George Roy Hill. Hill had been hired by producer Rob Reiner to direct the movie, but Hill had reservations about the "lopping scene." This was before the script had been changed to include the sledgehammer instead of the fire ax.

Things had been going according to plan when Hill suddenly left the project. The film's screenwriter, William Goldman, claims that Hill simply could not bring himself to say "action" when it came to that particular scene. 

While most people seemed to be rather squeamish about the ax sequence, screenwriter William Goldman found it exciting. In Goldman's book Which Lie Did I Tell? More Adventures in the Screen Trade, he describes how the scene was a total mindblower for him: "I could not f-ing believe it. I mean, I knew she wasn’t going to tickle him with a peacock feather, but I never dreamt such behavior was possible. And I knew I had to write the movie."

He states that this particularly scene is what hooked him on the project and convinced him to adapt the story. 

While Kathy Bates manages to make disfiguring people look easy, not every potential actor had the stomach for the role. Bette Midler was offered a chance at the part, but she turned down the project because of this particular scene. In her own words, Midler said, "And Misery, I turned that down because I didn't want to saw someone's foot off, even though the role won an Oscar. It was stupid to say no to those pictures."

Midler is referring to how the scene originally went in the book, but she has a point either way. It's hard to blame her for not wanting to viciously deform someone. While Midler would have certainly had a unique take on the character of Annie Wilkes, the stony severity of Bates perfectly suits Annie. 

James Caan took a remarkable turn as Paul Sheldon, but he wasn't the first actor in line for the role. Warren Beatty had been offered the part and was interested, except for that one scene where he would be brutally mutilated. According to Goldman, Beatty was open to the idea of filming the scene but was uncomfortable with the implications.

In his mind, the scene was too traumatizing for the character to ever be the same again. His harsh thinking was that Sheldon would be a crippled loser for the rest of his life, which would make it impossible for the movie to have anything even remotely resembling a happy ending. 

It wasn't just Warren Beatty who turned down the chance to play Paul Sheldon. The filmmakers reached out to a number of high-profile actors, the majority of whom turned the film down outright. The list included names like Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, Kevin Kline, Robert Redford, William Hurt, Michael Douglas, and Richard Dreyfuss.

The role ultimately went to James Caan, and it helped revitalize his career. He had gone through an extremely rough period through the 1980s, and many believed his career was beyond salvation. That's likely why he was not as picky as other actors when it came to accepting the role of Paul Sheldon. He still had some choice words about the character, but the role did a lot to rehabilitate his career.