Title: As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride
by Cary Elwes, Joe LaydenPublishing Info: October 14, 2014 by Simon & Schuster
Source: Audible, Gift
Genres: Non-Fiction, Memoir
Find it on the web: Buy from Amazon // GoodreadsDate Completed: August 31, 2016
From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes a first-person account and behind-the-scenes look at the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.
The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Love Stories and by the Writers Guild of America as one of the top 100 screenplays of all time, The Princess Bride will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come.
Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets, backstage stories, and answers to lingering questions about off-screen romances that have plagued fans for years!
With a foreword by Rob Reiner and a limited edition original poster by acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.
Gosh, this was just so wonderful. The Princess Bride has always meant a lot to me, growing up with the movie, then later reading the book as an adult, and eventually sharing it with my husband who had never seen the movie and much like the grandson, ended up really enjoying it despite his initial hesitance.
It was just magical to hear all of these behind-the-scenes moments while the movie was being filmed, all of the delightful anecdotes, more movie trivia, and it was so overwhelming special to hear how treasured this movie and movie-making experience really was to all of the actors. It’s something that has become near and dear to so many fans and it’s so wonderful to hear how much fun they had making the movie and how they really became a movie family.
This book was wonderfully put together, consisting of a start-to-finish tale of how the movie was made, how all of the actors were brought in, and even how it was received. I loved the overall story and all of the anecdotes the book included. I haven’t read many non-fiction books or memoirs or really anything like this so I was pleasantly surprised how easy it was to follow and listen to! (Although I suppose I watch plenty of non-fictional TV shows so it’s not that big of a leap.) Cary Elwes also does a wonderful job of really making this flow as a story to carry readers along with the production experience.
Despite having a print copy (which I would want to own regardless), I listened to the audiobook of AS YOU WISH and it was an amazing listen. Cary Elwes narrated and all of the actors (who are still living) as well as the directors and author William Goldman popped in to narrated their additions to this book as well. (Although a narrator stepped in for a few actors and William Goldman for this audiobook production.) Cary Elwes is an amazing narrator. Obviously he’s a great actor so he has a natural story-telling ability and the wonderful knack for bringing a story to life. He’s also amazing at impressions and was so great doing all of the actors voices and accents when telling his side of their conversations! If he isn’t a narrator for any other audiobooks, he really should be. It was such a delight listening to his narration!
I actually teared up at the end of the audiobook, I must admit. I could just feel the emotion that was such a big part of these actors’ experience with the filming of The Princess Bride and this movie is one of my all-time favorites. I just feel such a connection to it and I got quite emotional as well! AS YOU WISH was just wonderful and I think an important read for any Princess Bride fan! If you’re a huge fan of the movie, you won’t be disappointed with this book.
“The View from Goodreads” is a featured section in my reviews that I decided to incorporate! I tend to update my Goodreads status a LOT when I read — reactions, feelings, notes — so I thought it would be fun to share the sort of “reading process”! All status updates are spoiler-free (no specific plot points will be revealed) but will contain reactions to certain pages and/or characters!
Kept Me Hooked On: Non-fiction. I really read next to zero non-fiction. I’m just such a fan of losing myself in fictional worlds that non-fiction doesn’t really catch my eye. AS YOU WISH may have me rethinking this for certain topics that mean a lot to me because this experience was just so enjoyable and I learned things!
Left Me Wanting More: Time with this story! Everything I ever wanted was in this book. The only thing I wanted was for it not to end!
Addiction Rating
Read it/listen to it ASAP!
I SO recommend the audiobook for this one! Listening to Cary Elwes is just magical.
BOOKS LIKE AS YOU WISH
(Click the cover to see my review!)
1 thought on “As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride – Cary Elwes”
I need to read this one. The Princess Bride is one of my all time favorite movies (loved the book too). So glad you enjoyed this one,