Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | October 5 - 11, 2019 By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Did Cary Elwes and Mandy Patinkin do their own sword fighting in "The Princess Bride"? It seems really believ- able. A: They'd be pleased to hear you say that, since they worked pretty hard on it. Cary Elwes, who starred in the film as Westley (32-year-old spoiler alert: he was also The Man in Black), wrote a book about the making of the film, and he devotes a fair bit of it to the challenge he and Patinkin faced to get their fencing up to scratch. Their task was to produce what was de- scribed in the original novel as the greatest sword fight in modern times. And what's more, Elwes says in the book ("As You Wish: Incon- ceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride") that neither he nor Patinkin knew how to fence when they signed on. "When it came to sword fight- ing, I have to admit that I simply had no idea of the complexity of the preparation that would be re- quired to perform it adequately," he wrote, adding, "and simply ad- equate was not going to cut it." Director Rob Reiner brought in the best to help with that prepara- tion. Peter Diamond and Bob An- derson were legendary fight co-or- dinators and swordsmen in their own right who had previously trained Errol Flynn and Burt Lan- caster and, more recently, co-ordi- nated all the lightsabre scenes in the Star Wars films. They trained eight hours a day in the weeks leading up to filming, and then during filming, Diamond and Anderson kept grabbing the actors for quick sessions between takes. "Unlike the other actors, we would not have the luxury of any downtime," Elwes wrote. Though Reiner kept stunt dou- bles on hand the whole time in case either actor proved unable to pull it off, in the end they only had to use a double for a couple of brief shots involving acrobatic flips. Q: What was the name of that movie where Bruce Willis was a Coast Guard officer or something? A: He isn't actually a Coast Guardsman in it, but nonetheless I think the movie you're looking for is "Striking Distance." In that 1993 crime drama, Bruce Willis plays a reluctant member of the Pittsburgh Police's River Res- cue unit. He was previously a part of the core Pittsburgh Police De- partment, but was transferred to River Rescue after suggesting the serial killer plaguing the city was a fellow cop. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Hollywood Q&A By Michelle Rose TV Media W ith less than four weeks left until Hal- loween, now is the time when you'll see homes decked out in Halloween decor that ranges from playful to downright chilling — like the gi- ant, glowing inflatable spider that's propped up outside my home improvement store. Terrify- ing. Arachnophobia aside, Hallow- een decorations are a great op- portunity to let your imagination run wild. And one of the more re- cent seasonal trends is about put- ting a spooky spin on a well- known Christmas tradition: a gin- gerbread house. A haunted gin- gerbread house is the perfect Fright Night centerpiece, whether you're hosting a party or just dis- playing it on the front table next to your Halloween handouts. And if you're looking for inspiration, look no further than Food Net- work's "Haunted Gingerbread Showdown," which kicks off a new season this Sunday, Oct. 6. The series premiered last year and the concept proved to be a hit. Now it's back for a second season, with the affable Clinton Kelly taking over hosting duties from Sandra Lee. Nine new gingerbread artists — three per weekly episode — are hoping to wow the judges with their over-the-top, night- mare-inducing gingerbread cre- ations. And it isn't just a ques- tion of slapping together four walls and a roof and then deco- rating it with candy corn (al- though there's art in that, too). We're talking theme parks and haunted forests and — spoiler alert if you plan to watch Sea- son 1 — even a haunted light- house, which was created by Season 1 winner Steve Kono- pelski. Season 2 judges Jamika Pes- soa, Gesine Prado and Jason Smith will determine the winner each week. Those three finalists will advance to the fourth and fi- nal episode, which is a winner- take-all finale in which one per- son will win the $25,000 grand prize and a feature in Food Net- work Magazine. It's always fun to see how far bakers will go to push or blur the boundaries that separate food from art. And that's what "Haunt- ed Gingerbread Showdown" de- livers. But if you're looking to make your own haunted gingerbread house, some stores sell pre- built kits that will take care of the structural details. You just need to assemble it and jump right in with the fun decora- tions. If you have more time and you're more of a do-it-yourself baker, you can find printable tem- plates to bake your own ginger- bread house on foodnetwork. com. You'll also find pumpkin carving tips, pre-trick-or-treating meal ideas (such as Mac-O-Lan- tern and Cheese Bowls) and Hal- loween treats that run the gamut from classic candy corn to spider- shaped … to, well, everything. 'Showdown' proves gingerbread isn't just for Christmas 10 | Cooking this week Crab House 2 x 2" Family Health Clinic 2 x 1.5" White Lilies N Paradise 2 x 1.5" Clinton Kelly hosts "Haunted Gingerbread Showdown"

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