Although it was dismissed by moviegoers when it first hit theaters in 1994, Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption has gone on to be widely praised as a classic. IMDb ranks it as the greatest movie ever made, and while that might be a slight exaggeration, it’s definitely a masterpiece.
Darabont’s adaptation of the Stephen King novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” captures the bleak reality of prison life spectacularly, and uses its setting to reflect on the psychology of its characters. Making a movie of this scope is never easy. So, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Shawshank Redemption.
Stephen King Received $1,000 For The Film Rights To His Novella
Although the movie has a much more epic scope, The Shawshank Redemption was adapted from “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” a novella by Stephen King. King was paid a measly $1,000 for the film rights to the story, and he reportedly never cashed the check.
Instead, when the movie became a cult classic, he framed the check and sent it back to director Frank Darabont with an attached note: “In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve.”
This Was Morgan Freeman’s First Ever Voiceover Narration
Since he has a voice that sounds like candy for your ears, Morgan Freeman has been hired to do plenty of voiceover work, but The Shawshank Redemption was actually his first ever time narrating a movie. The narration was recorded before filming began at a studio in Iowa across a 40-minute session, so that it could be played on the set to inform the rhythm of every scene.
However, it had to be re-recorded after shooting was finished, because there was a hiss in the audio that the L.A. engineers couldn’t get rid of. This time, it took three weeks to record.
Frank Darabont Is Embarrassed By The Deleted Scenes
When The Shawshank Redemption was being prepped for its home media release, Frank Darabont refused to include the deleted scenes, because he was embarrassed by them and didn’t want them to be released publicly.
While he was shooting The Shawshank Redemption, Darabont watched Goodfellas every Sunday in order to get into the headspace of a movie with lots of voiceover narration and a wide-spanning timeline.
The Cell Block Was Built On A Large Set
Rather than using movie magic or shooting on a location, the cell block used in The Shawshank Redemption was built on a large set. The windows were covered in opaque plastic sheets, so that lamps could be placed behind them to simulate sunlight.
One day, during a break from filming, Frank Darabont and an extra were heading down to grab some coffee when they noticed that a lamp had been placed too close to one of the plastic sheets, and it caught on fire. The set almost burned down.
The American Humane Society Kept An Eye On All The Scenes Involving Brooks’ Crow
Whenever the crew behind The Shawshank Redemption was filming a scene involving Brooks’ crow, the American Humane Society sent some representatives to ensure that the crow was being treated well.
They were happy with how the crow was treated, but they objected to the scene in which Brooks feeds his crow a maggot. This was deemed to be an act of cruelty towards the maggot, and they demanded that the crew find a maggot that had died of natural causes before shooting the scene.
Red Was Originally Supposed To Be White
Morgan Freeman has said that The Shawshank Redemption is his favorite of all the movies he’s done. In the original novella, his character Red is a white Irishman with red hair, so the producers considered Paul Newman, Harrison Ford, Robert Redford, and Clint Eastwood for the role.
However, writer-director Frank Darabont had always had Freeman in mind for the part, because of his commanding presence and iconic voice. The line in which Red explains his nickname – “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish” – was left in as an ironic joke.
The Novella’s Title Made Producers Think It Was A Rita Hayworth Biopic
The full title of Stephen King’s original novella is “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption,” but Frank Darabont removed Rita Hayworth’s name from the title of the film adaptation, because it made producers think it was a biopic of Hayworth.
In fact, Darabont started receiving calls from actresses and agents offering to read for the part of Hayworth. One of them even said they’d read the script and thought it was the best they’d ever read.
Frank Darabont Wanted The Ending To Be Much More Ambiguous
Originally, Frank Darabont wanted to end The Shawshank Redemption on a more ambiguous and open-ended note. His plan was for the final shot to be Red leaving on a bus to go to the field where Andy buried the money and Red’s invitation to Zihuatanejo.
However, Castle Rock executives insisted that Darabont end the movie with the two characters reunited, which they felt would be more satisfying for audiences. The director compromised by showing the reunion from a very wide angle.
Rob Reiner Wanted To Direct
When Rob Reiner read Frank Darabont’s script for The Shawshank Redemption, he enjoyed it so much that he offered the writer a whopping $2.5 million for the rights, so he could direct it. Reiner planned to cast Harrison Ford as Red and Tom Cruise as Andy.
However, after seriously considering the offer, Darabont decided to keep the script to direct it himself. He even took a pay cut to secure the directing gig.
Tom Hanks Turned Down The Role Of Andy Dufresne
The role of Andy Dufresne was offered to Tom Hanks before it was offered to Tim Robbins, but he turned it down, because he’d already committed to starring in Forrest Gump, a role that would win him his second Oscar in a row.
Kevin Costner was also considered for the part, and he really enjoyed the script, but filming clashed with that of Waterworld. Tom Cruise, Jeff Bridges, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp, Matthew Broderick, and Charlie Sheen were all considered for the role, too.