Read As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride Online
Authors: Cary Elwes,Joe Layden
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride (34 page)
Rob and his partner, Andy Scheinman, cast the picture brilliantly, what with Robin Wright as Buttercup; Mandy Patinkin as Inigo Montoya; Wallace Shawn as Vizzini; Billy Crystal as Miracle Max; André the Giant as Fezzik; Peter Falk as the Grandfather; Chris Sarandon as Prince Humperdinck; Carol Kane as Valerie; Fred Savage as the Grandson; Peter Cook as the Impressive Clergyman; and, of course, Cary Elwes, the only actor I could ever imagine as Westley.
The Princess Bride
has to be one of the most beloved—not a word used often in this context—pieces of cinema extant. Nothing has made me more proud than my relationship to it.
—Norman Lear
Getting fried in the Fire Swamp. The pyro almost gave Bill Goldman a heart attack on the first day of shooting. H Stage, Shepperton. August 18, 1986.
Farming in burlap. Birchover, Derbyshire.
Swashbuckling in suede. H Stage.
Rodent control: Disguised as a R.O.U.S., stuntman and actor, Danny Blackner, attempts to bite my shoulder with rubber teeth during rehearsal.
Explaining that there are no “summer homes” in England to Rob and Robin. First day of the Fire Swamp.
Rob putting his wonderfully positive spin on the virtues of wrestling a foam rubber R.O.U.S. A somewhat skeptical Peter Diamond (far right) looks on with Ken Baker, first AD (second from the right), and my stunt double Andy Bradford (in the background). H Stage.
Experiencing André’s mighty wind with Mandy. Haddon Hall, Derbyshire. September 1.
André at nineteen, already gaining popularity. Paris, France. July 19, 1966.
© Corbis
Chris Sarandon, Rob, and Chris Guest discuss week two of “chapatis.” Haddon Hall.
Marveling at the sheer beauty of Buttercup.
Sharing a laugh with Robin. Cave Dale, Castleton.
In full “serf” gear. Watching Rob and Andy’s new favorite sport—sheepherding! A scene that nearly made it into the film. Bradley Rocks, Birchover.