The Princess Bride star and director reflect on prescient line that foreshadowed coronavirus mask-wearing
‘Everyone will be wearing them in the future’
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Your support makes all the difference.The director and star of 1987 fantasy film The Princess Bride have reacted to the film’s unlikely relevance amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In the film, the character of Westley (Cary Elwes) at one point encounters the giant, Fezzik, while wearing a face mask.
Asked about his reason for wearing the protective covering, Westley responds: “It's just that masks are terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.”
Elwes and director Rob Reiner were recently interviewed on US news network CNN, and that line of dialogue was mentioned.
“Boy oh boy,” exclaimed Reiner in surprise, while Elwes said: “[Princess Bride screenwriter] Bill Goldman – way ahead of his time.”
Back in July, Elwes also offered advice about coronavirus safety in a tweet which referenced The Princess Bride’s most famous line (“Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die”).
Advocating the wearing of PPE, the actor wrote: “Hello. My name is Coronavirus. You don’t want to wear a mask? Prepare to die.”
He told CNN: "Every time I tweet a line from Princess Bride it gets a lot of awareness.
“Because Rob [Reiner] gave me the blessing of this role that happened to be a character that wears a mask, I took it upon myself to try and use that celebrity of that character to encourage people to wear a mask.”
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