Almost 30 years after the cinematic release of “The Princess Bride,” actor Cary Elwes’ star has far from faded, evidenced by the hundreds of fans who waited for a chance to meet the man behind their favorite character, Westley.
Every seat was filled in Elkins Auditorium on Saturday, long before the event began for Elwes’ new book, “As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride”.
Fans leaned against walls, found spaces in aisles and sat on the floor for over three hours to watch the film on the big screen (perhaps a first for many in attendance).
When the Rob Reiner-directed film debuted on the silver screen in 1987, audiences and critics didn’t quite catch on to the fairy tale.
In “The Princess Bride,” a young Westley falls in love with Buttercup and in a journey to rescue her from an unwanted marriage with an evil prince, encounters dangerous characters while crossing through the countryside.
“It’s the most oddball mix of things, as you know,” Reiner said to a standing ovation as he introduced the film at the Pepperdine screening. “It’s got romance, it’s got adventure, it’s got satire, there’s sword fighting and then it’s a movie within a movie.”
The movie received minor critical success in the box office, but decades of lingering popularity solidified its legacy as a cult classic that continues to draw fans of all ages.
“The best audiences we ever had for ‘The Princess Bride’ were at colleges,” Reiner said.
In an interview with The Malibu Times, Elwes said he realized the film’s massive impact during a 25th anniversary reunion and screening with the cast in 2012.
“This was the first time I sat through the screening since I saw the picture when it opened, where I witnessed the audience were literally reciting every line in the film. It was new to all the cast actually, and especially our writer, Bill Goldman,” Elwes said. “The film is more popular than it ever could have been, really. It’s crazy.”
After the reunion, Elwes decided to put pen to paper and document the untold memories of what has become a film phenomenon.
Compiling stories from the cast and crew of heavy-hitters was important to Elwes when writing the book, for fans to get the ultimate behind-the-scenes account of the classic love story.
Many directors vied for the role after Century FOX bought the rights to the screenplay of William Goldman’s book in 1973. Years (and many directors and owners) later, Reiner’s love for the book helped him acquire the rights and trust from Goldman to make the film.
On the first day of filming in 1986, Robin Wright’s scene involved her dress catching fire in the “Fire Swap” and writer Goldman was absolutely terrified and could be heard yelling and praying on set.
During the infamous sword fight between Westley and Inigo Montoya (Mandy Patinkin), Elwes was suffering from a broken toe after an accident riding Andre the Giant’s ATV.
“There are certain films that reach a cult status long after they have left the theater where the fans really take the film on and it becomes theirs,” Elwes said. “I always get asked ‘Was it as much fun making the film as it looked?’ and I always tell people it was more fun.”
Billy Crystal was known to have the cast and crew laughing to tears through hours of improv, causing trouble on set.
In an excerpt from the book, Elwes wrote, “The film is indeed magical. It makes you feel many different things upon viewing. Billy Crystal has said it makes you feel good. It makes you miss your childhood.”
Elwes has been promoting his book to sold-out screenings all over the country for the last few months (“A testament to the power of this film,” he said), and spent nearly three hours signing every book, taking photos and listening to countless fans recite “as you wish” throughout the evening.
“I call it the gift that keeps on giving,” he said.
