Anjelica Huston and Bette Midler are identified as actors offered Annie Wilkes
Richard Dreyfuss is proposed as a believable writer but possibly insufficiently physical
Robin Williams is proposed for his sympathy, physicality, and caged energy
Robert Duvall and Michael Douglas are proposed as strong alternatives
Donald Sutherland is proposed as another alternative
William Hurt, Kevin Kline, Michael Douglas, Harrison Ford, Dustin Hoffman, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Richard Dreyfuss, Gene Hackman, and Robert Redford are listed as having declined Paul Sheldon
Richard Dreyfuss and Bette Midler are said to have later expressed regret

Lauren Bacall is recast with Faye Dunaway or Jane Fonda

In the discussion (4)

Lauren Bacall’s performance is criticized as too television-like
The production’s intended cosmopolitan contrast with Annie is offered as context
Faye Dunaway is proposed as a replacement
Jane Fonda is proposed and preferred

Production anecdotes cover Caan, the actors’ rehearsal conflict, adaptations, effects, and King’s addiction metaphor

In the discussion (9)

James Caan reportedly had unusable footage after arriving hungover and reimbursed the studio
Some dialogue is suspected of having been looped, though the reason is uncertain
Stephen King is reported to have called Annie Wilkes his favorite character
Caan preferred discovery during filming while Bates preferred rehearsal; Reiner found a middle ground
A 2015 Broadway adaptation starred Bruce Willis and Laurie Metcalf and used a Goldman script
Castle Rock season two also adapted Annie Wilkes material
A DVD feature described Annie as a broad catalog of mental illness
The hobbling prosthetics used gelatin legs, wires, and openings in the bed for Caan’s real legs
King later explained Annie and the hobbling as metaphors for his drug dependence and inability to escape it

The pursuit, scrapbook, housing, legal history, knife plan, and bodily-care logistics draw objections

In the discussion (11)

Annie says she followed Paul, but the wide opening shots show no vehicle behind him
A snowmobile hidden in the woods is offered as one way Annie could have followed Paul unseen
Keeping an incriminating scrapbook openly in the living room is challenged; hiding it is proposed
A defense notes that real serial killers sometimes retain trophies
Paul is so successful that he should own a Colorado home instead of repeatedly using a lodge
Annie’s apparent release after multiple infant deaths seems implausibly lenient
Paul should stay awake with the knife rather than doze off
Paul’s injuries and exhaustion are offered as a defense for falling asleep
The movie largely avoids the practical toilet and bedpan needs of a bedridden captive
The practical burden of staging and shooting bedpan material, only to cut it in editing, is offered as a defense for omitting it
A small toilet in the room is proposed as a simple fix

Questions focus on Annie’s nursing history and which Knicks season Paul missed

In the discussion (2)

Earlier questions about Annie’s nursing history are acknowledged as already covered
Paul may have missed the Knicks season containing their Boston Garden comeback

The King of Comedy ultimately wins over three alternatives

In the discussion (4)

Mentioned in the podcast

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