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dreadpiratekel) wrote2024-01-26 10:32 am
dreadpiratekel) wrote2024-01-26 10:32 am
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CBR 16-05 Having Fun Storming the Castle
As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
Cary Elwes & Joe Layden
I do not think it is inconceivable that a person with the username of dreadpiratekel would end up talking about a book about The Princess Bride film. Ahem. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes & Joe Layden is a book about making a movie that was adapted from a book. The movie is, of course, The Princess Bride, and Cary Elwes is our dashing leading man in the film. Now let me say right up front, this book is charming. I have attended a convention where Mr. Elwes was a guest and heard him speak. I can confirm that he's charming in person when he's sharing filming anecdotes. Is it an act? He is an actor, after all, but I can confirm that, act or not, he and Joey Layden do an excellent job of creating a book that reads very charismatically.
Personally, when I pick up a book that an actor has written or co-written, I am usually interested in their life in general but very intrigued by a few of their projects. I really look forward to reading about the movies/TV shows that I love, and this book is great for me because it is solely about The Princess Bride. There is a brief bit of biographical information at the start, and then the novel focuses on Cary Elwes' journey with the movie, from getting cast to pre-production, filming and then to the film's first screenings. It goes a bit beyond that, touching at the end the impact the movie has had on people over the years. These are Cary Elwes' recollections, but there are asides from the rest of the cast, sharing their perspectives on things or providing insight into parts of the production that Cary Elwes was not present for. It's also fun in the sense that you sometimes get different points of view of the same moment.
This book is not salacious, nor is it gossipy. It is not a flashy tell-all about how the cast hated each other or someone went method and freaked everyone else out. Instead, it's a comforting read about a beloved movie. It's a very complimentary account of all the other actors and people involved in the production. Everyone comes off as a professional, from the costume designers to the individuals who fitted Cary Elwes with a plaster mask of his head to better create the mask Dread Pirate Roberts wears in the film.
While everyone is highly complimented in the book, special kindness is expressed towards Andre The Giant. Andre (along with Peter Falk and Mel Smith) had passed away by the time the book was published, so we don't get his point of view. However, the memories shared by the rest of the cast are nothing but nice and funny things about the production and each other. The drama, such as it is, remains low-key; the weather was sometimes unfavourable, and there were some food issues, but none of the cast members were at each other's throats.
Do I believe that everyone got along all the time? In my experience with co-workers, even the ones I've loved the most, I've had some friction. However, if I were to sit down and write about a great time in my life with them, I can't say that I'd include those little irritations. So, the film set might not have been as friendly as this narrative paints, but man this makes for a good story. It's not just Cary Elwes' narrative after all; there are asides from others involved, describing the lovely atmosphere on set. As the book itself states about filming a movie:
"It can be an intense, almost claustrophobic environment. But with the right group of people and the right director, it can also be the adventure of a lifetime. And so it was with 'The Princess Bride.'
This book is a fine chronicle of that adventure of a lifetime.
As a postscript to the review, I want to share one of my favourite pieces of trivia from the book: Dread Pirate Roberts's mustache was a fake! Cary Elwes grew a mustache for the role, but because scenes were shot out of order, there wasn't time to grow it back after the Farm Boy scenes were shot. So, makeup brought us Dread Pirate Roberts's facial hair.
Cary Elwes & Joe Layden
I do not think it is inconceivable that a person with the username of dreadpiratekel would end up talking about a book about The Princess Bride film. Ahem. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride by Cary Elwes & Joe Layden is a book about making a movie that was adapted from a book. The movie is, of course, The Princess Bride, and Cary Elwes is our dashing leading man in the film. Now let me say right up front, this book is charming. I have attended a convention where Mr. Elwes was a guest and heard him speak. I can confirm that he's charming in person when he's sharing filming anecdotes. Is it an act? He is an actor, after all, but I can confirm that, act or not, he and Joey Layden do an excellent job of creating a book that reads very charismatically.
Personally, when I pick up a book that an actor has written or co-written, I am usually interested in their life in general but very intrigued by a few of their projects. I really look forward to reading about the movies/TV shows that I love, and this book is great for me because it is solely about The Princess Bride. There is a brief bit of biographical information at the start, and then the novel focuses on Cary Elwes' journey with the movie, from getting cast to pre-production, filming and then to the film's first screenings. It goes a bit beyond that, touching at the end the impact the movie has had on people over the years. These are Cary Elwes' recollections, but there are asides from the rest of the cast, sharing their perspectives on things or providing insight into parts of the production that Cary Elwes was not present for. It's also fun in the sense that you sometimes get different points of view of the same moment.
This book is not salacious, nor is it gossipy. It is not a flashy tell-all about how the cast hated each other or someone went method and freaked everyone else out. Instead, it's a comforting read about a beloved movie. It's a very complimentary account of all the other actors and people involved in the production. Everyone comes off as a professional, from the costume designers to the individuals who fitted Cary Elwes with a plaster mask of his head to better create the mask Dread Pirate Roberts wears in the film.
While everyone is highly complimented in the book, special kindness is expressed towards Andre The Giant. Andre (along with Peter Falk and Mel Smith) had passed away by the time the book was published, so we don't get his point of view. However, the memories shared by the rest of the cast are nothing but nice and funny things about the production and each other. The drama, such as it is, remains low-key; the weather was sometimes unfavourable, and there were some food issues, but none of the cast members were at each other's throats.
Do I believe that everyone got along all the time? In my experience with co-workers, even the ones I've loved the most, I've had some friction. However, if I were to sit down and write about a great time in my life with them, I can't say that I'd include those little irritations. So, the film set might not have been as friendly as this narrative paints, but man this makes for a good story. It's not just Cary Elwes' narrative after all; there are asides from others involved, describing the lovely atmosphere on set. As the book itself states about filming a movie:
"It can be an intense, almost claustrophobic environment. But with the right group of people and the right director, it can also be the adventure of a lifetime. And so it was with 'The Princess Bride.'
This book is a fine chronicle of that adventure of a lifetime.
As a postscript to the review, I want to share one of my favourite pieces of trivia from the book: Dread Pirate Roberts's mustache was a fake! Cary Elwes grew a mustache for the role, but because scenes were shot out of order, there wasn't time to grow it back after the Farm Boy scenes were shot. So, makeup brought us Dread Pirate Roberts's facial hair.