Home Movie: The Princess Bride

Home Movie: The Princess Bride is an American comedy miniseries directed by Jason Reitman, a "fan made" recreation of the 1987 film of the same name. Produced while the participating actors were isolating themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, it is filmed in a deliberately DIY fashion, with an ensemble cast recording their scenes on their own smartphones, and multiple actors playing the most prominent roles. It features the final screen performance of Carl Reiner, the father of the original film’s director Rob Reiner. It premiered in short installments in June and July 2020, on Quibi.

Home Movie:
The Princess Bride
GenreFantasy adventure comedy
Directed byJason Reitman
Original language(s)English
No. of episodes10
Production
Executive producer(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jason Blumenfeld
  • Erica Mills
Editor(s)Nathan Orloff
Production company(s)
  • Right of Way Films
  • Gunpowder & Sky
DistributorQuibi
Release
Original releaseJune 29 (2020-06-29) –
July 8, 2020 (2020-07-08)
External links
Website

Cast

Production

Reitman came up with the idea in March 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, of remaking the 1987 film The Princess Bride with actors performing in their own homes. He saw it as a way to raise money for World Central Kitchen to support restaurants that were also struggling under the pandemic, allowing them to operate and provide meals to poor families.[1] Reitman talked to Jeffrey Katzenberg about it, who made a million-dollar donation to the charity, and arranged to stream the final product on the upcoming Quibi streaming service.[1] Reitman created a proof of concept scene with himself and his daughter recreating the initial scene with the grandfather and the boy that leads off the film, and used that to gain approval from Norman Lear, who owned the rights to the film, and the estate of William Goldman, which controlled the rights to the original story. Reitman was also able to get the rights to the film's score from Mark Knopfler.[1]

The series was by the actors at their homes during quarantine.[1] Actors provided their own props and costumes, and swapped roles between scenes. Each actor filmed their own side of a scene in isolation, due to social distancing guidelines, with the exception of cohabitating couples such as Chris Pine and Annabelle Wallis, Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb, Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka, and Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas, who filmed their scenes together. Special effects were created in a humorously homemade manner; for example, an R.O.U.S. ("rodent of unusual size") is represented by Sophie Turner's corgi.[1] Reitman provided minimal direction to the actors outside of answering a few questions.[1]

Rob Reiner, director of the original film, appears in the production, in two roles. He is one of the actors playing the grandfather in the opening bookend scene, reading the film's fairy-tale story to his grandson (played by Josh Gad). He also appears in the sentimental closing bookend scene as the grandson, with his father Carl Reiner playing the loving grandfather. Carl Reiner died three days after recording his scene.[2]

Mark Knopfler's score is performed by Ethan Gruska, Blake Mills, Bad Suns, Mateo Messina, Phoebe Bridgers, Bahamas, Sylvan Esso, Alex Ebert, Beulahbelle, and Perfume Genius.

Release

The film was announced on June 26, 2020.[3][4] The film was released in short segments – the Quibi service's usual format – with the first installment appearing on June 29.

References
  1. Breznican, Anthony (June 26, 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  2. Breznican, Anthony. "Carl Reiner's Final Performance Is a Fairy-Tale Ending". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2020-07-11.
  3. Aquillina, Tyler (June 26, 2020). "Star-studded homemade remake of The Princess Bride to hit Quibi starting Monday". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  4. Starner, Nina (June 26, 2020). "Quibi just announced a Princess Bride remake you never expected to see". Looper.com. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
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