In a film industry where remakes come along as fast as original films, you have to wonder if we should just let sleeping dogs lie. When I heard last fall that a remake of The Princess Bride is in the works, all I could think was, there’s just no way they can even come close to the magic of the original film, released in 1987.
It’s been 25 years since director Rob Reiner had to leave the set during Billy Crystal’s scenes because he was laughing so hard he felt nauseated. Can anyone do justice to this beloved cult classic? Who knows, but director Jason Reitman is willing to give it a go. The character of Westley, played by Cary Elwes in the original, is set to be played by Paul Rudd. Mindy Kaling, a.k.a. Kelly on The Office, will play the princess, played by Robin Wright Penn in the original. Patton Oswalt and Nick Kroll are onboard, as well.
Not everyone is enthused about a remake. “I hope I’m dead before that happens,” Mandy Patinkin, who played the swashbuckling Spaniard Inigo Montoya, told Entertainment Weekly. Maybe he’ll unleash some Homeland agents on them. No release or production date has been announced.
How do you feel about this remake? Are you a fan of the original movie?
UPDATE, Jan. 23, 2012: I received a note from Connor Adams Sheets, a reporter with the International Business Times, who said that rumors of a Princess Bride remake are totally false!
“I did some research and got to the bottom of this topic and found that there are no plans in the pipeline for such a revisiting of the classic movie,” says Connor. For more info, read Connor’s story here.
Leave a Reply