just winked, said “you know”
and walked away. He figured
she must have seen the film. But
then more and more people began saying those three words to
him and he soon realized the film
had taken on a life of its own.
Although The Princess Bride
was unsuccessful in its theatrical run, it has gone on to receive
critical acclaim. The American
Film Institute named it one of
the Top 100 Greatest Love Stories and the Writers Guild of
America listed it as one the Top
100 Screenplays Of All Time.
The passage of time and repeated showings on television have
helped it grow in stature.
According to Elwes, one of the
reasons the film went on to a life
of its own can be attributed to
having Rob Reiner as its director. Reiner was the perfect person to direct the movie. He had
not only read the book as a kid,
but always wanted to make it
NewJerseyStage.com
into a film.
“When Rob connected with Bill
Goldman, the two of them hit it
off so well together that Goldman, who had turned down a
ton of directors who wanted to
make the film, decided Rob had
the right sensibility to make the
film,” noted Elwes. “And he did.
He made it with a lot of heart
and a lot of humor and that’s
what it needed.”
Even though Goldman believed Reiner was the right person to direct the film, he was
still nervous about having his
baby come to life. The legendary
screenwriter, who won Academy
Awards for Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid in 1969 and
All the President’s Men in 1976,
wrote the book for his daughter and it was his favorite piece
of work; to him, the project was
very personal.
“Goldman had spent over a decade trying to get it made,” con-
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