Reiner recorded all of Fezzik's dialogue for him on cassette tape, and the wrestler learned his lines phonetically.ĥ. But his thick French accent made his initial line readings all but incomprehensible. Of course, wrestler André the Giant, at 7'4' and 520 pounds, was more physically suited to play the giant Fezzik than Arnold. He had no idea how many other directors had struggled and failed to bring the story before the cameras.Ĥ. Reiner, a longtime fan of Goldman's novel, got the assignment after the successes of ' The Sure Thing' and ' Stand By Me' allowed him to make the project of his choice for 20th Century Fox. And Sting was to play Prince Humperdinck.ģ. Danny DeVito, and then Richard Dreyfuss, were supposed to play Vizzini. A then-unknown Arnold Schwarzenegger was considered to play Fezzik, A similarly obscure Colin Firth was to play Westley Christopher Reeve was also interested in the part. Over the years that the film was in development, several different directors were attached, including Richard Lester, François Truffaut, Norman Jewison, John Boorman, and Robert Redford (star of the Goldman-scripted ' All the President's Men'). One wanted a story about a princess, and the other wanted a story about a bride, so he combined the two.Ģ.

Screenwriter William Goldman wrote the novel in 1973, inspired by storytelling requests from his two little girls.

Still, even though you've watched 'The Princess Bride' on cable over and over and over, there are still some behind-the-scenes secrets. Rob Reiner's beloved and hilarious fairy tale wasn't a huge hit in theaters, but it did make stars out of Cary Elwes and Robin Wright, become a cult favorite, and generate about a fabillion memes from its endlessly quotable dialogue. Inconceivable! It's inconceivable that it's been 30 years since the release of ' The Princess Bride,' on Sept.

The princess bride 1973