Hollywood Reacts To The Death Of Legendary Screenwriter William Goldman

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William Goldman, the writer behind The Princess Bride, All The President’s Men, and Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, died on Friday at the age of 87 from colon cancer and pneumonia. The sheer range of his screenwriting prowess is evident from these three titles alone. He won Oscars for the latter two, a Western buddy film and a suspense-filled masterpiece, and obviously, The Princess Bride (adapted from his own book) continues to inspire goofy strings of consistently repeatable dialogue, so it’s an understatement to say that he will be missed, in the cinematic realm and far beyond.

His talents allowed him to straddle genres in a seemingly effortless manner, from Misery to Chaplin to The Stepford Wives. To that effect, Hollywood figures (including many who worked very closely with Goldman, who did not shy away from the spotlight like some writers are prone to do) are gathering on social media to pay tribute to a legend. Stephen King thanked him for the “beautiful” screenplay (later directed by Rob Reiner) for his novel.

Reiner was quick to chime in as well, speaking to the honor of directing The Princess Bride, as well as his final (and fitting) exchange with Goldman.

Neil Gaiman revealed that Goldman loved it when The Sandman author expressed the greatest affection for The Princess Bride.

Numerous others, including Ron Howard, Edgar Wright, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Vincent D’Onofrio (who called Goldman “the best ever”), honored a legend.

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And of course, The Princess Bride quotes are everywhere — a phenomenon which Goldman would undoubtedly have enjoyed.

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(Via New York Times)