1. Andy and Red’s opening conversation in the prison yard, in which Red is pitching a baseball, took 9 hours to shoot. Morgan Freeman pitched that baseball for the entire 9 hours without a single of complaint. He showed up for work the next day with his arm in a sling.
2. In the scene with Andy arriving in the library as Brooks’ assistant while Brooks’ crow Jake is squawking, Tim Robbins had to time his line, “Hey, Jake. Where’s Brooks?”, so that the crow wouldn’t squawk over him since the bird cannot be trained to squawk on cue. Robbins adapted to this and timed his line perfectly by learning the bird’s squawking patterns, for which Frank Darabont praised him. Robbins’ improvisation is very noticeable as he watches the bird carefully while approaching it, waiting for it to squawk, and does not begin his line until after it does so.
3. Although an average hit in theaters, it became one of the highest grossing video rentals of all time.
4. The mugshots of Morgan Freeman that are attached to his parole papers are actually pictures of Morgan’s younger son, Alfonso Freeman. Alfonso had a cameo in the movie as a con shouting “Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! We’re reeling ‘em in!”. A year after Shawshank Alfonso appeared as a Fingerprint Technician in another Morgan Freeman movie: Se7en (1995).
5. Although it is never explicitly stated in the film, allegedly Brooks is in prison for murdering his wife and daughter after a losing streak at poker.
6. Stephen King sold the copyrights for his novella “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” for $5,000. He never cashed the cheque. Years after Shawshank came out, the author got the check framed and mailed it back to the director Frank Darabont with a note inscribed: “In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve.”
7. Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen were all considered for the part of Andy Dufresne. Hanks turned it down because he was committed to Forrest Gump (1994). Costner liked the script a lot but was then embroiled in the filming of Waterworld (1995).
8. Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman and Robert Redford were all considered for the part of Red. In the original novella, Red is a middle-aged Irishman with graying red hair. However, Frank Darabont always had Morgan Freeman in mind for the role because of his authoritative presence, demeanor and deep voice. Darabont alluded to the casting choice by having Red jokingly reply to Andy’s inquiry about his nickname with the line, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish.”
9. Rob Reiner loved Frank Darabont’s script so much that he offered $2.5 million for the rights to the script so he could direct it. Darabont seriously considered Reiner’s offer but ultimately decided that it was his “chance to do something really great” by directing the movie himself. Reiner wanted Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise to play Red and Andy respectively.
10. The film’s initial gross of $18 million didn’t even cover the cost of its production. It did another $10 million in the wake of its Oscar nominations but the film was still deemed to be a box office flop.
Jatin Diwakar V
jatindiwakar2000@gmail.com
You will now look at it differently 