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Mandy Patankin as Inigo
Montoya |
It
was in the Metropolitan Room of the Wang Center that I first set eyes
on Mandy Patinkin. For those who are not in the know about such things,
the Metropolitan Room is the VIP lounge in the lower level of the Wang
Center and the only reason I was admitted was because I was covering the
story for Imagine Newsmagazine on January 7th.
Yes, I've seen Mandy Patinkin on TV, in "Chicago Hope," for which he won an Emmy in 1995, I loved his performance in RAGTIME, besides the many other films that he has made, and have even heard some of his vocalizing. But this time he was in Boston as a special guest. You see, his cult film, THE PRINCESS BRIDE was being featured as part of the Wang Center's 11th annual "Classic Film Series," which was sponsored this time by Monster.com. and the entire first floor of the Wang was turned into a medieval fair of sorts with costumed performers dancing, playing instruments, and generally carousing about. There was also a free buffet lunch served and the place was crowded with all the employees of Monster.com, as well as other Classic Film Series sponsors, such as AK Media, the Boston Phoenix, the Four Seasons Hotel and such. They were all invited, with their families. But, back to Mandy.
Dressed head to toe in black, down to his black suede shoes, the resemblance to James Gandolfini, of The Sopranos, was uncanny. He seemed very relaxed and happily signed headshots and stills from his 1987 film, as people munched on cheese and milled about. Still immensely likeable and intense in a dark, sexy way, he amiably posed for photo ops with assorted luminaries. There was also a lot of rekindling of old friendships such as that of Imagine's David Kleiler and Frank Avruch, host of The Great Entertainment, a classic TV film series that has been on the air on WCVB for the past 18 years.
"We taught at Babson College for over 20 years and we were on the board of the Coolidge Corner theatre together, " explained Kleiler.
The audience was then invited into the amazing theatre with the huge screen. Built in 1925, The Metropolitan Theatre opened as Boston's answer to the demand for a grand movie palace. It was renowned for premiering the most anticipated films of the day and it is only fitting that today, re-christened The Wang Theatre, its roots are honored with the annual Classic Film Series.
Frank Avruch, now also host of the Classic Film Series, took the stage and praised the Wang and Monster.com for sponsoring this popular winter event, which has been expanded and will run year-round. Films will be arranged in clusters by category, such as Classic Leading Men, Classic Leading Ladies, Monster Comedies, Mini-Monster Summer Saturday Movies and so forth. He introduced Josiah A. Spaulding, Jr., Wang Center President and CEO who thanked Monster.com for their support. He mentioned that films on the slate to be featured next include BRAVEHEART, CASABLANCA, SILENCE OF THE LAMBX, SOME LIKE IT HOT and STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE.
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Mandy Patankin, star of The Princess Bride, chats with Josiah Spaulding, President and CEO of The Wang Center for the Performing Arts, during The Wang Center's 2001: A Classic Film Series Kickoff Celebration on January 7th, 2001. |
Frank Avruch, by way of introducing THE PRINCESS BRIDE, related that it was rare for the writer of a book (William Goldman) to also write the screenplay, which he did. The title was determined by his two daughters; one of wanted a book about a bride and the other about a princess. The film was directed by Rob Reiner of THIS IS SPINAL TAP fame and was filmed in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
"It has everything," Avruch stated. "Good guys, villains, scenery, romance, Billy Crystal and an amazing cast. It also has lines that people remember and use years after they've seen the film." And then Mandy appeared on stage, be still my heart, and told us, Bostonians, how lucky we were to have the Wang as a place to see films the way they were meant to be viewed. How lucky we were to have him here in person, thought I.
In the film, Mandy plays Inigo Montoya, a Spaniard who has dedicated his life to finding the six-fingered killer of his father. He has trained himself to become an ambidextrous master swordsman, underplays the role to the hilt with a fine Spanish accent and is clearly one of two scene stealers in this romantic fairly tale adventure. The other one is Billy Crystal, as the sage wizard Max. If you have not yet seen this film, sprint to your local video store and grab it immediately.
After the movie, Mandy and Frank pulled chairs and mikes onto the stage for an informal Q&A about Mandy's experience in making the film and his thoughts about the film industry in general. It was a lovely, informal session in which Mandy recalled how much he wanted to work on this film because it had a magical quality and that he related to the "core idea" of the film, which is: "the most important thing is true love." Seeing the film again reminded him how much he enjoyed working with Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal who insisted on improvising most of his material in the film.
"Rob had to leave the set during Billy's scene because he kept cracking up. Billy loaded in his own jokes about the 13th century and no one knew what was going to happen," said Mandy. "It took him 5 hours to be made up and one time, before his wig was put on, he remarked how much he looked like Dopey, of the 7 dwarfs. He proceeded to improvise a dialogue between himself and Walt Disney. That was the only injury I sustained in the filming I bruised a rib laughing."
He also recounted tales of working with Andre the Giant, who has since died, and about his fencing lessons at Juilliard with a Yale fencing coach, that allowed him to do his own stunt work for most of the film. To Frank's question about a sequel, Mandy reminded him that it took William Goldman 13 years to complete the original book and screenplay so a sequel could be a bit off in the future. He also talked a bit about growing up in the Southside of Chicago and finding his passion for acting in a community youth center. He spoke of the need to get young people together, away from the Internet, into gathering places, like the Wang, where they have an opportunity to interact and learn from each other.
The big finish to the 30 minute Q&A came when, to the sound of thunderous applause, he held up his arm and took the fencing position, while repeating the most famous line from the film: "Hello. My Name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Judy Blotnick is a free-lance writer and former executive director of Women In Film & Video, New England. She is currently enrolled full-time at the Museum School.
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