The Honeycut: ‘Misery’ and the art of pleasing your fans

Misery Business

What is left to say about 1990’s “Misery”? Kathy Bates had her breakout performance as Annie Wilkes. James Caan puts on an equally phenomenal performance as the terrified yet cunning author Paul Sheldon. The supporting cast is also excellent. The movie is a classic for a reason. Article over. 

Just kidding, I have plenty more to ramble about. Maybe some things you haven’t thought too much about. 

Anyway, my co-host, Kevin, chose to cover “Misery” for this week’s episode of the “Midnight Terrors Podcast.” During our discussion, we kind of veered off into the larger question of how creative professionals keep their fans happy while still making what they want. 

I don’t have a good answer. But you’re welcome to read on and hear my thoughts on it. 

The Story

When world-famous author Paul Sheldon wrecks his car in a snowstorm, superfan Annie Wilkes is there to save the day. Or is she? As the movie goes on, Annie discovers Paul has killed off the popular character Misery Chastain, ending the book series Annie loves. So, she goes crazy. Then she reads his new manuscript, full of profanity, and really goes off the deep end. From there, it’s a game of cat and mouse as Paul tries to escape Annie’s captivity. 

Honey’s Cut

As I’ve stated, this movie is great. I want to focus more on the question I posed earlier as to how creatives please their fanbase while remaining true to what they want to make. Now, I’m still a nobody in the grand scheme of things when it comes to authors. However, I am a fan… of a lot of things, so I kind of have a view from both perspectives. 

I remember hearing somewhere that Stephen King wrote “Misery” in response to the backlash he got after releasing his first fantasy novel, after years of being an established horror writer. After King published scary stories like “Carrie,” “’Salem’s Lot,” and “The Shining,” fans were not expecting the epic fantasy book “The Eyes of the Dragon.” 

King had been publishing horror novels for ten years at that point and probably wanted to try something else. Who wants to write the same thing all the time? Fans saw it differently; they wanted to be frightened once more, and this wasn’t doing it for them. 

So, what do you do? Keep writing the same thing you’re now bored with? Or try something new and have your fanbase turn on you? It’s an unenviable position. 

Given that I’m an author, you may be surprised that I don’t really care what authors write. My favorites are probably Ernest Hemingway and J.R.R. Tolkien, and they’re too dead to change their style. 

The best comparison I have is to bands. Maybe the biggest example is when Metallica released the “Black Album” in 1991. They slightly changed their sound from pure thrash metal to a more radio-friendly style and were labeled sellouts for two decades. It was not cool to like Metallica even when I was first discovering metal in the early 2000s. 

Honey’s Final Thought

So, how does one stay true to the art they want to make while not betraying the fans who support them? I think it’s a very tight balancing act. You almost have to evolve your style over the years. Get the people used to it. 

But even then, results may vary. From what I understand, Avenged Sevenfold hadn’t really played metal in a decade. But that didn’t stop people from trashing them when they released their synthpop “STATICA” EP earlier this summer. 

It’s easy to look at our favorite authors, musicians, whatever, and say, “They didn’t make exactly what they have been making/what I wanted them to make – therefore I now don’t like them anymore.” We’ve all been an Annie Wilkes.

But what if we give our favorites some grace? Let them cook, as the kids say. The books and albums you love will always be there. So, what’s the harm in them trying something new? Who knows, they might just create the next thing you fall in love with.