Wynand Mullins told a New Zealand travel magazine that he was asked to take off his T-shirt because other airline passengers found it intimidating.
His t-shirt read: “Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
Can you imagine anyone not getting that reference to The Princess Bride? Instead of asking Mullins to take off his shirt they should have made the person who complained put on a shirt that says, “I am Feckless Twit. Prepare to fly.”
Of course, sf fans have been tweaking that reference to humorous effect since the day the movie came out.
ConDiego, the 1990 NASFiC, became a byword for haphazard convention-running after fans were handed a typo-riddled Program Book which misspelled the hotel’s name, the guests of honors’ names and even the con’s own name – that in headline type, as ConDigeo. Most fans responded with a crotchety sense of humor. Someone coined a Princess Bride wordplay: “My name is ConDigeo Montoya. You killed my weekend. Prepare to die!”
As for Inigo Montoya/Mandy Patinkin who said the original line – he eventually left the Dread Pirate Roberts business to work for the CIA (i.e., Homeland).
[Thanks to David Klaus and Steven H Silver for the story.]
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I’m also fond of “Hello. My name is Batman. You killed my father. Prepare to die.”
Heh. There was also “Hello. My name is Darth Vader. I am your father. Prepare to die.”
Actually, I can easily imagine people not remembering that line, even if they saw the movie … 26 YEARS AGO! Fans my “time-bind” but most people just get on with their lives. Unless it was Kirby McCauley, of course. They’ll remember that lovable (ugh) little rascal forever…
I ran the Press Room for ConDiego. We had a very good crew and a great press kit. Fortunately, we were mostly ignored by the local mainstream media. It did teach me to leave the con-running to the amateurs.
Taral, The Princess Bride was on the TVLand channel (U. S. basic cable) yesterday, so people still have plenty of opportunity to see it currently.
“My name is Inigo Montoya. I’m wearing a T-shirt. Prepare to panic.”
Who knew? Besides David Klaus of course. I don’t have cable, access to digital signals, or a TV guide, so there was no way I would know the movie was on yesterday. Still … 24 hours is a long time to expect the average viewer to remember anything.
I have the t shirt as well, found it in a thrift store. My son wears it a lot, sensing if someone knows the line, they know movies. And they can be conversed with.
I think the world is full of people who don’t get that reference. I hear teachers complaining that their students not only don’t get book references, they don’t get references to *last year’s* TV.
Those students understand thumbwork.
I’m pleased if kids don’t get *any* TV references. I don’t understand why teachers would complain about this.
They watch TV instead of correcting papers?
Pleased if kids watch no TV? Wouldn’t want to corrupt their impressionable little minds with “Rome,” Ken Burn’s “Jazz,” classic movies or “Sesame Street,” would we?
Or Da Joisey Shure?