how they could improve on those. André the Giant had undergone major back surgery prior to filming and, despite his great size and strength, could not support the weight of Elwes during their fight scene or Wright for a scene at the end of the film. For the wrestling scene, when Elwes hangs on André's back, he was actually walking on a series of ramps below the camera during close-ups. For the wide shots, a stunt double took the place of André. When he was apparently carrying Wright, she was actually suspended by cables. Billy Crystal and Carol Kane spent time before traveling to England to work out the backstory between Miracle Max and his wife, and develop a rapport for their characters. Once on set, Reiner allowed them to improvise some of their lines. Soundtrack The original soundtrack album was composed by Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and released by Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Vertigo Records internationally in November 1987. The album contains the song "Storybook Love", performed by Willy DeVille and produced by Mark Knopfler. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 60th Academy Awards. In his audio commentary of the film on the special edition DVD, director Rob Reiner said that only Knopfler could create a soundtrack to capture the film's quirky yet romantic nature. Reiner was an admirer of Knopfler's work but did not know him before working on the film. He sent the script to him hoping he would agree to score the film. Knopfler agreed on one condition: that somewhere in the film Reiner would include the baseball cap (which had been modified to say "USS Ooral Sea OV-4B") he wore as Marty DiBergi in This Is Spinal Tap. Reiner was unable to produce the original cap, but did include a similar cap in the grandson's room. Knopfler later said he was joking. Reception The film premiered at the Ryerson Theatre in Toronto as part of the 1987 Toronto International Film Festival. It went into wide-release later that fall in North America. Box office The film was initially a modest success, grossing $30.8 million at the United States and Canada box office, on a $16 million production budget. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 97% approval rating based on 79 reviews and an average rating of 8.50/10. The site's consensus states,