The Outcome Of Cujo's Film Adaptation Wasn't What Stephen King Had Hoped For
In Stephen King's magnificent book "On Writing," the best-selling horror novelist makes a surprising confession: "There's one novel, 'Cujo,' that I barely remember writing at all. I don't say that with pride or shame, only with a vague sense of sorrow and loss." Yes, that's right — Stephen King barely remembers writing one of his most famous books. The reason: substance abuse. King has been open about his alcoholism over the years (he also had a pretty bad cocaine habit at one point), and it was his frequent drinking that caused him to forget about penning "Cujo." King also states that he's sad that he can't quite remember the book, as he thinks parts of it are quite good.
Published in 1981, King's "Cujo" follows several different connected characters but focuses primarily on a giant Saint Bernard. The poor pup ends up being bitten by a bat and comes down with a case of rabies that causes the gigantic beast to go crazy. It culminates in a climax in which a mother and her child are trapped in a car on a sweltering day while the dog circles outside like the shark from "Jaws." Like most King novels and stories, "Cujo" was adapted to the screen. The film arrived in 1981 and starred Dee Wallace ("E.T.") as the woman who gets trapped in the car with her kid. The film garnered negative reviews but was a modest box office hit, and according to King, it's a shame more people didn't like it at the time.
Did Cujo deserve an Oscar nomination? Stephen King thinks so!
With the notable exception of Kathy Bates taking home Best Actress for her fantastic work in "Misery," Stephen King movies don't win Oscars. But if King had his way, Dee Wallace would've at least been nominated for her work in "Cujo." While speaking with Netflix, King talked about some of his favorite movies based on his work. "Oh, man... I like 'Stand by Me,' 'Shawshank,' 'The Green Mile,'" he said, continuing: "I like 'Misery' a lot. The one that people don't talk about a lot is 'Cujo.' And I always thought that movie didn't get the attention it deserved. Certainly not for Dee Wallace, who should've got an Oscar nomination."
Wallace definitely gets put through the wringer in "Cujo," so it makes a certain amount of sense why King thinks she should've earned at least a nomination. But the Academy doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to horror ("Silence of the Lambs" sweeping the awards aside), so it's not surprising if they didn't even consider Wallace. After all, "Cujo" wasn't exactly Oscar bait — it was a low-budget horror movie about a giant killer dog. Still, there's some satisfaction to be had in the fact that King likes the movie (even if he can't really remember writing the source material).