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Billy Crystal created most of Miracle Max's lines off the cuff.

Comedic actors know how to deliver lines in just the right way with just the right timing to make an audience laugh. But true comedians are often funnier when they’re allowed to go off-script and let their gift for spontaneous humor shine.

Enter Billy Crystal, whose ad-libbed scene in “The Princess Bride” was so funny it took nearly 30 hours of work to get five minutes of usable footage. Cast members of the cult classic film have shared what happened when director Rob Reiner decided to take the reins off of Crystal, telling him, “Forget the lines, just go for it,” according to actor Cary Elwes. That invitation to improvise would prove to be one of the best—and worst—decisions he could have made for the film.

In the scene, Crystal plays “Miracle Max,” a crotchety old apothecary who argues with his wife (played by Carol Kane) and brings the "mostly dead" Westley back to life with his chocolate-covered magic pill. There were lines written for his character, but he didn't need them. He could—and did—ad-lib for hours, but it proved to be a bit of a problem because the cast and crew just couldn't stop laughing.

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The sound department had to start banishing people off of the set because they were ruining takes with their giggles. Reiner himself, who has a big, boisterous laugh, was one of the first people to go because he couldn't keep it together during the filming. Mandy Patinkin, who played Inigo Montoya and wasn't able to leave, shared that he sustained his only injury in the entire making of the film during the shooting of that scene—a bruised rib from holding in laughter.

Elwes said Reiner told him he needed to lie perfectly still and hold his breath in the scene, but Crystal's "medieval Yiddish stand-up" proved too hilarious and Elwes had to be replaced with his rubber dummy for much of the shoot. Patinkin said that Reiner nearly threw up from laughing so hard, and people in the cast and crew had to bite their hands to keep quiet. Production was nearly shut down for the day and the scene became one of the most expensive scenes in the movie because it used so much film, according to InCinematic. And the vast majority of what was filmed never got seen.

"Unfortunately, there's so many spoiled—brilliantly hilarious takes that we all spoiled," said Elwes. He also wrote in his book about the movie that Crystal never said the same thing or delivered the same line twice. Crystal's improv resulted in some of the most memorable lines from the film, such as the classic, "Sonny, true love is the greatest thing in the world—except for a nice MLT–mutton, lettuce and tomato sandwich, where the mutton is nice and lean…"

Even the look of Miracle Max was from Crystal's brain child. He told his makeup artist that he wanted the character to look like a mix between Casey Stengel, former manager for the New York Yankees, and Crystal's grandmother.

Casey StengelCasey Stengel served as inspiration for the Miracle Max character in "The Princess Bride."Public Domain

People loved hearing about Crystal's comedic genius, wishing the footage that couldn't be used would be released.

"You can't plan a movie like The Princess Bride, when you've got the right people sometimes it just happens."

"Nothing greater as an improvising-comedian actor than hearing the words; 'Forget the lines, just go for it.'"

"Three straight days of Billy off the cuff is pure gold. I would've loved to have been on that set lmao."

"When the comedy is so good, you bruise your OWN RIB tryna hold it in."

"Release the tapes, raw and uncut. The people demand it."

We may not have access to the unseen footage of Crystal's improvised hilarity, but we can at least enjoy the scenes that did make it into the film by rewatching "The Princess Bride," which many fans do annually. The film even returned to theaters briefly for its 30th Anniversary in the fall of 2023, much to the delight of people who yearned to see it on the big screen again.

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"A Quiet Place" features a deaf actress in a central role and it's a huge hit.

The horror thriller made over $50 million during its opening weekend, which is especially impressive for a movie that's not part of a franchise or a comic book. First-time director John Krasinski (aka Jim Halpert from NBC's "The Office") has received critical acclaim, particularly for insisting on casting Millicent Simmonds, a 14-year-old deaf actress, to play his character's daughter.

"After we landed on the concept, we had to define how people interacted in that world. How do you survive without sound?" co-writer Bryan Woods said. "The most important part of the film outside of its concept is the family and its issues. In our minds, the issues pre-date the monster event."


Simmonds' role gave the film more depth but also brought greater empathy for the deaf community.

Woods and co-writer Scott Beck said that Simmonds casting changed the on-set dynamic, helping highlight the experiences and challenges a person who is deaf can have outside the larger than life confines of their script.

"We always had a deaf character in the script, but John really pushed for them to hire Millicent," Beck said. "She came to set and taught everyone sign language. It was really amazing and brought an extra depth to the film."

The casting is also an important lesson about inclusion that Hollywood can learn from.

Even in 2018, building bridges of inclusion is a struggle in Hollywood. It would have been easy for Krasinski to cast an actress who wasn't deaf. But in pushing for authenticity, he gave a perfect opportunity to an actress like Simmonds while also opening up his cast to an experience that brought greater depth to their own roles.

Other films have faced backlash for being less inclusive. The forthcoming film "Anything" was criticized for casting a cisgender man in the role of a transgender woman — even though the film's producer is transgender. While those behind the film acknowledged the criticism, it's just another example that Hollywood has a long way to go in pursuing diversity across all facets of production.

It's not about saying "no" to anyone. It's about saying "yes" to a broader spectrum of voices and talents.

Audiences are supporting more diverse films with their hearts and their wallets.

Krasinski did the right thing and should be commended for that. And his screenwriters say it was smart creatively as well. Plus, over $50 million at the box-office is hard to argue with.

If the last few years have shown us anything it's that audiences are hungry for more inclusive forms of storytelling.

After all, "Black Panther" just passed "Titanic" on the all-time box office charts. With his own film, Krasinski showed us how to be more inclusive and he can take all of that goodwill straight to the bank.

After winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, Jordan Peele's press conference got off to an awkward start backstage.

Standing in front of a room of reporters with numbered cards in hand, the "Get Out" writer and director joked that he felt like he was "about to be auctioned off right now." Someone else in the room replied, "You absolutely are. Get used to it."

[rebelmouse-image 19534047 dam="1" original_size="450x253" caption="GIF from "Entertainment Tonight"/YouTube." expand=1]GIF from "Entertainment Tonight"/YouTube.


The room laughed at what was essentially an unintentional callback to a scene from Peele's award-winning film. "This is creepy," he said. The atmosphere was filled with a kind of enjoyable tension — the same feeling one might have when watching "Get Out" for the first time.

What made the whole experience even more surreal was the fact that Peele almost didn't make the movie, let alone win a top honor for it.

[rebelmouse-image 19534048 dam="1" original_size="450x186" caption="GIF from "Get Out."" expand=1]GIF from "Get Out."

The whole press conference was fascinating, but one question about the importance of awards stood out.

"As you continue to move forward telling stories about race and things that have affected us in our society, how important are Oscars and other awards essential to you for validation or to continue to move forward?" asked one reporter. Peele's response touched on his complicated feelings around awards as a sign of validation, discussing how his 12-year-old self helped him understand why they do matter.

"I didn't know how important this was. I always wanted this, but the campaign is grueling, and there are times when I questioned, what is it all about? You're watching your last jump shot for a year, and as an artist, that doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right to be complacent and to feel like I've done anything too special to reward myself."

Once he was nominated, however, Peele says he understood how much awards helped inspire him at a young age.

"When the nominations for this came together — first of all, when the nominations came out, I had this amazing feeling of looking at the 12-year-old that had this burning in my guts for this type of validation, and I instantly realized that an award like this is much bigger than me."

All GIFs via Entertainment Tonight/YouTube.

It was Whoopi Goldberg's 1991 Best Supporting Actress Oscar win that helped fuel Peele's own curiosity and ambitions. He hopes his win can have the same effect on others.

"This is about paying it forward to the young people who might not believe that they could achieve the highest honor in whatever craft they want to push for. You're not a failure if you don't get this. But I almost didn't do it because I didn't believe that there was a place for me. Whoopi Goldberg, in her acceptance speech for best supporting actress for 'Ghost,' was a huge inspiration to me, and when I got nominated, one of the first things I did was reach out and call her and thank her for telling young people who maybe doubted themselves that they could do it. So I hope that this does the same and inspires more people to use their voices."

Peele has every reason to be inspired by Goldberg's speech. It was filled with a beautiful combination of honesty and joy.

"I want to thank everybody who makes movies," she said, beaming. "I come from New York. As a little kid, I lived in the projects, and you're the people I watched. You're the people wanted — made me want to be an actor. I'm so proud to be here. I'm proud to be an actor, and I'm gonna keep on acting. And thank you so much."

Peele tweeted that Goldberg's speech "practically reached through my TV and told young me to follow my dreams."

Maybe his speech could inspire another aspiring filmmaker the way hers inspired him.

You can watch Peele's backstage press conference below.

Kumail Nanjiani is an ambassador we need.

The 40-year-old actor, writer, and proud nerd has been making audiences laugh for years in shows like "Silicon Valley," and he's currently reaching a wider audience with his critically acclaimed film, "The Big Sick."

During a segment of the 90th Academy Awards, Nanjiani also offered a hilariously reassuring message to about why greater representation isn't just the right thing to do — it's good business.


"There's so many movies from different points of view that are making a ton of money," he said. "Don't do it because it's better for society and representation, even though it is. Do it because you'll get rich. You'll get that promotion, right?"

It's not about picking winners and losers. It's about representation and diversity.

There was a serious tone to much of this year's Oscars ceremony — and understandably so.

That's what made Nanjiani's comment so refreshing: He managed to address the need for greater diversity in pop culture by cleverly pointing out that films made by women and people of color — including "Black Panther," "Wonder Woman," and "Get Out" — have been huge hits over the past year.

Audiences, including the "straight white dudes" Nanjiani mentioned, are hungry for diverse stories and characters.

"Some of my favorite movies are by straight white dudes about straight white dudes," he said. "Now, straight white dudes can watch movies starring me and you relate to that. It's not that hard. I've done it my whole life."

There's nothing to fear about greater inclusion.

As with any social movement, there are those who continue to resist progress. Some critics are trying to tie the Oscars' declining audience to an increased focus on social issues, but that decline has been happening for years. In an increasingly fractured media landscape, events like the Oscars just aren't the monolithic symbols of culture they once were, even if they're still a big deal.

As Sarah Silverman said in her own segment of the video, "Some people, really, in their hearts they are threatened, or they are scared. And there's nothing to be scared of. It's just equality."

Nanjiani's not afraid to speak out about the stories and recognition that are sometimes overlooked.

Nanjiani, an immigrant from Pakistan, hasn't only had to grapple with his own identity in Hollywood. While critics lavished attention on him for his work in "The Big Sick", he often found himself forced to bring attention to his wife Emily V. Gordon, who co-wrote the film. During the montage, he jokingly brought up another of his wife's ideas:

"Emily, my wife, had this idea where she wanted to start a website called 'Muslims having fun,' which is just, like, Muslims eating ice cream and riding roller coasters and laughing and having fun. Because she gets to see that, and most of America doesn't."

[rebelmouse-image 19346726 dam="1" original_size="1202x647" caption="Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. Photo by Punk Toad/Flickr." expand=1]Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani. Photo by Punk Toad/Flickr.

Audiences are speaking up with their wallets and it turns out they love diversity.

Moviegoers are backing up what Nanjiani had to say about the monetary gains of greater representation in Hollywood. "Black Panther" has been so successful that it's giving the latest "Star Wars" film a run for its money. "Wonder Woman" was so beloved by fans and critics alike it helped pump life back into a struggling DC Comics film franchise. Meanwhile, "Get Out" turned the thriller genre on its head, making a huge amount of money and winning an Oscar for Jordan Peele's original screenplay.

As Nanjiani so wisely explained, these aren't threats to anyone, including "straight white guys." They are exactly the kind of variety audiences crave when they go to the movies for a compelling plot and characters they connect with.

Sometimes doing the right thing also happens to be very good for business.