Before I moved to the states, I was vaguely aware of The Princess Bride; I had seen it, thought it to be rather charming, but was entirely unprepared for the love with which it is held by many here. The look on Cary Elwes’s face as he stepped onto the stage this past Monday evening here in Austin, TX, mirrored my own internal feelings upon first encounter with the crazed fandom for this film. Granted, he has become only too aware of this affection, it prompting the writing of his new book after all, but the sight of over 2000 fans waving swords and cheering was truly something to behold.
The 25th Anniversary reunion of The Princess Bride‘s cast back in 2012 sparked something within Elwes, nostalgia and a realization that the fervor for the film offered an opportunity to reveal some information from behind the scenes. His efforts and collaborations with cast and crew have culminated in As You Wish. To celebrate the release of this book, The Alamo Drafthouse, The Action Pack and local production studio Rooster Teeth came together to give us an Inconceivable extravaganza!
The Alamo Drafthouse and its Action Pack programming / events division are excited to announce they’re joining forces with Simon & Schuster in a national celebration of THE PRINCESS BRIDE centered on the release of Cary Elwes’ new memoir, AS YOU WISH: Inconceivable Tales From the Making of The Princess Bride (Touchstone Hardcover; October 14, 2014)
On October 20th, The Action Pack will host a Quote-Along screening of the film in the beautiful Dell Hall theater at the Long Center in Austin, TX. Mr. Elwes will appear live in person to talk about the new book and participate in an extended conversation and Q&A with Action Pack founder Henri Mazza and J.J. Castillo, host of Rooster Teeth’s film and TV podcast Screen Play.
“Mr. Elwes is, of course, a celebrated English actor who starred in Saw, Glory, Days of Thunder, Twister, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, among many other acclaimed performances. He has now written a charming book based on his time spent making one of the most beloved films of our generation, and it’s an incredible honor to be able to share a stage with him and be a part of sharing that story with the world,” says Mazza.
“Writing AS YOU WISH has been such a wonderful journey back-in-time to the making of the Princess Bride. I am incredibly excited to get to share all these stories with fans,” says Cary Elwes.
This one night-only live event will be live streamed to Alamo Drafthouse cinemas across the country where, in addition to participating in their own quote-along screenings of the film, audiences will be treated to the same introduction and Q&A event while its happening live in Austin.
THE EVENTTickets included access to no ordinary screening of this film, no, this was The Action pack after all and they setup proceedings for a “Quote-Along”. Each attendee was greeted with props and instructions on how to deploy them, swords for fight scenes, a bell to ring (the sound of wedding bells) for each kiss and of course obligatory booing for the bad guys and forehead slaps for each utterance of “inconceivable”. The event was live streamed to every Alamo Drafthouse in the US and the Dread Pirate Roberts himself, Mr. Elwes, indulged us with a eloquent introduction to the film as well as engaged in a lengthy Q&A, more on that below.
Of course things didn’t go off entirely without a hitch…
Attendees received a autographed copy of the book as well as a special pint glass featuring a wraparound illustration by Eric Manche. The glass is part of the new line of licensed Action Pack glassware that will include three more Princess Bride releases debuting in 2015 and 2016, as well as glasses celebrating upcoming new release movies such as Universal’s Jurassic World, Minions, and Ted 2. All will be sold exclusively at Alamo Drafthouse theaters in 2015. A throwback to those collectable glasses of the 80s that commemorated epic cinema releases, the pint glass will be available for pre-orders to fans across the country via the Action Pack’s new website, ActionPackEnt.com.
THE Q&AThe Q&A was an utterly delightful affair where Elwes shared some sincere and hilarious memories about the making of the film and notably experiences with the rest of the cast. Highlights included;
- He discovered the popularity of the film about a decade after its release while ordering a burger in New York. The waitresses response… “as you wish”.
- He had no journal to compose the book from but had a few recordings from behind the scenes. Director Rob Reiner furnished him with the set of daily call sheets from the film to help him trigger his memories.
- Andre the Giant released an epic fart during their first scene recording together.
- William Goldman, writer of The Princess Bride (as well as Marathon Man and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) visited the set a number of times. His first visit nearly put him off ever returned when, having missed the pre-filming safety talk, was shocked to see Robin Wright’s dress catch fire during the Fire Swamp sequence. His cries caused filming to be cut and restarted.
- Billy Crystal was only on set for 3 days, spent 8–9 hours in makeup and remained in character as Miracle Max the entire time, even when using the catering services.
- Mandy Patinkin actually bruised a rib holding in laughter during the “mostly dead” scene.
- Wallace Shaw lived in constant fear of being fired because he was told by a producer that he was actually third choice for the role, an inconceivable thought. The first choice was Danny DeVito, followed by Richard Dreyfuss.
- Due to filming across the countryside, Andre had issues with mobility. Knowing he owned a ranch, Reiner asked him how he got around. “I have an ATV, Boss” was the response. They tracked one down for him, which was subsequently abused by Mr Elwes himself leading to a broken toe, something that can be noticed in certain scenes.
So there you have it, a gracious guest, and as usual with the Alamo, a great film enhanced wonderfully by a fun event. The Q&A really did deepen my appreciation for the film, especially how much heart went into it, and I look forward to making my way through As You Wish to learn more.
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride By Cary Elwes with Joe Layden and Foreword by Rob Reiner is available from retailers on October 14, 2014 or checkout http://asyouwishbook.com for more details.
About the ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE
Tim and Karrie League founded Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in 1997 as a single-screen mom and pop repertory theater in Austin. 17 years later, the now 19-location chain has been named “the best theater in America” by Entertainment Weekly and “the best theater in the world” by Wired. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema has built a reputation as a movie lover’s oasis not only by combining food and drink service with the movie-going experience, but also introducing unique programming and high-profile, star studded special events. Alamo Drafthouse Founder & CEO, Tim League, created Fantastic Fest, a world renowned film festival dubbed “The Geek Telluride” by Variety. Fantastic Fest showcases eight days of genre cinema from independents, international filmmakers and major Hollywood studios. The Alamo Drafthouse’s collectible art gallery, Mondo, offers breathtaking, original products featuring designs from world-famous artists based on licenses for popular TV and Movie properties including Star Wars, Star Trek & Universal Monsters. The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is expanding its brand in new and exciting ways, including Drafthouse Films which has garnered two Academy Award nominations in its short three year existence and Badass Digest, an entertainment news blog curated by veteran journalist Devin Faraci.
Formed in 2007 as an event production company promoting unique interactive screenings at the Alamo Drafthouse, and their programming constitutes many of the most popular Signature Programming events held in that cinema chain nationwide. The Action Pack created the Quote-Along™ concept and regularly hosts movie events where audiences are permitted to break the Alamo’s famous No Talking or Texting During Movies rule, and their interactive screenings and cinematic parties feature unique props, live emcees, and several methods of guiding the chaos so fans have a communal experience celebrating their favorite pieces of pop culture with a crowd of like-minded obsessives. In 2012 the Action Pack partnered with IFC to tour the United States with their TRAPPED IN THE CLOSET Sing-Along and sold out theaters across the country to R. Kelly fans everywhere. The Action Pack will be expanding further outside the Alamo Drafthouse circuit in the coming years, and with the launch of their “As You Wish” pint glass in October 2014 they have also begun producing licensed collectibles to be sold in conjunction with their events everywhere.
