Stephen King Admits Rob Reiner Outdid His Book in One Key Way With Misery

Stephen King is famously picky about how his stories get turned into movies, but when Rob Reiner took a swing at King twice, he connected in a big way. One project made King feel seen, another made him bristle for decades. And yes, there is a new, messy wrinkle: a widely circulated report says Reiner has died. Let’s unpack what’s confirmed, what’s contested, and why King’s relationship with his own adaptations is still one of the stranger—and more fascinating—subplots in modern movie history.

The Rob Reiner news everyone is talking about

Rob Reiner was found dead in his Brentwood home on December 14, 2025, alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner. Reiner’s legacy, of course, is enormous: The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, and two Stephen King adaptations that became touchstones in completely different genres.

Reiner nailed King twice: Stand by Me and Misery

First came Stand by Me (1986), adapted from King’s novella The Body. Then Reiner pivoted to pitch-black dread with Misery (1990), turning King’s 1987 novel into a tight, suffocating psychological thriller that put two actors in a room and squeezed. It’s one of the rare King films that works just as well for people who haven’t read the book—and for the guy who wrote it.

What Stephen King actually loved about Misery

"The combination of Kathy Bates and James Caan was magic. And it had a touch of humor in it that was really missing from the book."

That was King reflecting on Rob Reiner’s Misery in an interview, adding that he’s not opposed to filmmakers reshaping his ideas—he just prefers they adapt the book they bought rather than wander off into a different story entirely.

Why Misery works on screen (even when it isn’t a page-by-page match)

Reiner doesn’t follow every grisly detail from King’s text, but he locks us inside Paul Sheldon’s headspace and lets the walls close in. The fear feels tactile, the power shifts are razor precise, and the movie leans into dark comedy just enough to make the horror pop without breaking the spell.

The cast fires on all cylinders: Kathy Bates (Annie Wilkes) and James Caan (Paul Sheldon) are the obvious one-two punch, but the supporting players matter too—Frances Sternhagen as Virginia, Richard Farnsworth as Sheriff Buster, and Lauren Bacall as Marcia Sindell all give the story texture. The bond between Annie and Paul is the unnerving core: it’s coercive, delusional, and weirdly symbiotic, a two-person fantasy world that keeps getting smaller and more dangerous.

King vs. The Shining, and how Doctor Sleep patched things up

On the flip side, King has never been shy about his issues with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. He’s said Wendy, as played by Shelley Duvall, was rendered as weak and shrieking in a way that didn’t match the capable, resilient woman he wrote. Decades later, Mike Flanagan’s Doctor Sleep—King’s 2019 sequel adaptation—won him back. King praised the film for essentially fixing the parts of Kubrick’s movie that had always bothered him. If you haven’t seen it, it follows an adult Danny Torrance, digs into the shine itself, and even uses the idea of a mental lockbox to explore how trauma gets contained and confronted.

Quick watch guide

• The Shining (1980) — Director: Stanley Kubrick; IMDb: 8.4/10; Rotten Tomatoes: 84%; Where to watch: Amazon Video (rent)
• Doctor Sleep (2019) — Director: Mike Flanagan; IMDb: 7.3/10; Rotten Tomatoes: 78%; Where to watch: Netflix
• Misery (1990) — Director: Rob Reiner; IMDb: 7.8/10; Rotten Tomatoes: 91%; Where to watch: Amazon Video (buy)

If you want to revisit a King adaptation that both thrills and gets the author’s nod, Misery is still the sweet spot. And if you’re curious where his long-standing Shining gripes finally thawed, Doctor Sleep is streaming on Netflix.