Rachel McAdams, Patrick Stewart and Gael Garcia Bernal were among the stars who performed a live read of The Princess Bride at this year’s Toronto film festival.
Director Jason Reitman, who has previously assembled star-studded on-stage recitals of The Big Lebowski and American Beauty, brought out a new set of actors in front of an enthusiastic crowd on Saturday night. “This is going to be a lot of fun,” he said, before describing the 1987 fantasy as one of his “favourite films”.
Before bringing out his cast, Reitman spoke of why the film was so important to him. As the son of Ivan Reitman, he didn’t think he could also be a director but the Reiner family, consisting of Carl and his son Rob, who directed The Princess Bride, inspired him.
He then went onto explain the format of the live read which involves an unrehearsed seated performance of the script with a set of actors and Reitman reading stage directions. A screen behind them all features key locations from the film throughout. “Most of the cast have never met before so we’re going to find it on stage,” he said.
He then brought out his cast, to great excitement. Firstly, however, travel issues meant that Gael Garcia Bernal was stuck on a plane so the role of Inigo Montoya was played by the director’s sister Catherine Reitman.
The on-land cast included Rachel McAdams, Donald Glover, Chris O’Dowd and Patrick Stewart. Director Rob Reiner took on the role of narrator while, to a standing ovation, original lead Cary Elwes reprised the character of Westley.
The performance began, once the audience was calmed down, and allowed for a number of surprises. Firstly, Donald Glover playing the role of Vizzini, originally brought to life by Wallace Shawn, was an unconventional yet entirely successful choice, Chris O’Dowd, with an odd David Walliams voice, stole every scene he was in (and even caused guffaws from Rob Reiner) and mid-way through, Gael Garcia Bernal’s plane landed and he joined the cast onstage.
Reitman has previously staged live readings of The Big Lebowski with Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender and Reservoir Dogs with Laurence Fishburne and Terrence Howard.
