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11 Things You Didn’t Know About The Shawshank Redemption35

By B.Z., Mar 24, 2010 in Pop Culture

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The Shawshank Redemption is a timeless story of hope, friendship, and, of course, imprisonment. Like any cult film, there is a rabid army of Shawshank fans online debating the correct pronunciation of Zihuatanejo and unearthing obscure film facts. A classic model for its prison-film contemporaries, Shawshank no doubt helped pave the way for the gritty realism of our very own prison drama series, “Cell”. In honor of perhaps the most memorable prison film of all time, below is a list of 11 cool things you may not have known about The Shawshank Redemption, no matter how many times you may have seen it on TBS. Check them out, then watch it again like a real Shawshank buff.

CELL – One

1. Animal Cruelty?

The ASPCA closely monitored all scenes between Brooks, the elderly library attendant, and his pet crow. They actually objected to a particular scene in which Brooks fed a live maggot to the crow. Apparently, this was considered “cruel” to the maggot (really?). In order to finish the scene per ASPCA guidelines, the crew used a maggot that already died of “natural causes.” Right.

2. Mini Morgan Cameos

Morgan Freeman’s son, Alfonso Freeman, has two notable cameos in the film. The photographs of a young Morgan Freeman on Red’s parole documents are actually pictures of Alfonso. Also, when the new batch of prisoners enters the prison for the first time, Alfonso is the young man taunting the inmates, “Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! We’re reeling ‘em in!”

3. Why You’ve Seen it 100 Times

This one’s a bit more obvious, but ever wonder why The Shawshank Redemption always seems to be on cable? Once the film’s VHS/DVD rentals and sales took off under Warner distribution, Ted Turner sold the rights to his own network, TNT, for a relatively meager sum. So blame Turner for your watching The Shawshank Redemption 100 times on TV even though you own the DVD.

4. Rob Reiner

Prolific actor and director Rob Reiner, who directed two other Stephen King adaptations, Stand by Me (1986) and Misery (1990), was initially interested in directing The Shawshank Redemption. He intended to cast Tom Cruise as Andy and Harrison Ford as Red.

5. Yoo-Hoo, Not Doo-Doo

The feces Andy crawls through in the sewer scene is actually chocolate syrup. Not that we would expect it to be actual dung or anything. Interestingly, a fan who has visited the Mansfield Reformatory, the former prison-cum-Shawshank set, noted that a section of that tunnel still smells like chocolate.

6. Biblical Allusion

In a subtle touch of cinematic symbolism, when Warden Norton examines the Bible in which Andy hid his rock pick, he opens it to the Book of Exodus, which tells the story of the Jews’ escape from bondage.

7. Set Design

The interior shots of Shawshank State Prison were taken on a set built from scratch. The cell block was created in an old warehouse not far from the Mansfield Reformatory (also known as the Ohio State Reformatory).

8. Inglourious Inmate

Brad Pitt was originally cast to play the role of Tommy Williams, the inmate who could have exonerated Andy. Instead, Gil Bellows got the part.

9. Final Scene

The final scene, in which Red finds Andy on a beach in Zihuatanejo, Mexico, was not intended to be in the film at all. Director Frank Darabont wanted the film to stay as true to Stephen King’s short story as possible, and refused to shoot the scene because it was not in the original story. Associates persuaded him to shoot the scene, but Darabont still wanted to cut it until positive reactions from test audiences convinced him otherwise.

10. Dollar Baby

Darabont became pen pals with King when he adapted his 1986 novel, The Woman In The Room, as part of the author’s “Dollar Baby” program that, for $1, grants student filmmakers permission to adapt his books and screen them at film festivals. They finally met for the first time when Darabont optioned The Shawshank Redemption. Darabont also directed King’s The Green Mile.

11. Identity Crisis

In King’s version, Red is an Irishman (hence the name). In casting Freeman for the role, perhaps Darabont didn’t remain too faithful to the author’s character detail, after all. So when Andy asks Freeman’s character why they call him Red and he replies, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish,” it’s more than just a dry quip.

CELL – Two

Watch more episodes of “Cell”.

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  • Jo Davis

    Wow, that is ruly incredible dude.

    Lou

  • terriok1

    I have another one. That last scene was not shot in Zihuatenejo which is very mountainous.

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  • Moby

    I still can’t believe Forrest Gump beat Shawshank for best picture that year.

  • wowlol

    wow omg this is so lol

  • Aaron

    Dumb & Dumber honestly should have won Best Picture that year.

  • Literate

    Correct me if I’m wrong, since it’s bee 20 years since I’ve read the original Stephen King novella, but…

    In the book, Andy’s guilty–he comes out and says it in the first few paragraphs. In the movie, they make it out to be as if Andy is the only innocent man in prison. In the book, he’s a decent man, who finds his wife cheating on him and loses it–cutting her brake lines. That’s the whole point of the title. In prison, he gains redemption for his sins. In the movie, there is no redemption–just an innocent man set free. The book is the story of a good man, who’s done wrong, and becomes a great man through his pennance and redeems his soul.

    Also, the original title is Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. Rita is retained in the film as the first poster that Andy gets from Red to hide his escape route, but she doesn’t get top billing like in the book.

  • Dre

    Anyone realize that Alfonso has better teeth than his daddy?

    Just sayin’

  • http://www.design-kompany.com DK

    Wow, that’s quite a list! How did you get interested in putting this together? I love this movie, along with 923,568,205 other people of course.

    Cheers,
    DK

  • Srd949

    “the former prison-cum-Shawshank set”
    …you mean ‘come’?
    Also, what does 8 mean? Why was Brad Pitt fired? Do you mean they were interested in casting him and this other guy beat him out, or was he hired then fired?

  • loki

    Basically, whenever a character mentions a prison in a Stephen King novel, it is Shawshank.

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  • frankdawg

    Don’t know if you know this or not but “Red” was Malcolm X’s nickname in prison. I don’t think it was because he was Irish.

  • http://www.stirfamily.com/wordpress josh

    Literate, sorry you are wrong. Andy is innocent in the book as well. Red cuts the brake lines of his wife (like he does in the movie) only she has her sister or something with her, and so he’s guilty of multiple murders and not just the one. Andy didn’t kill his wife, and was indeed convicted wrongly.

  • Dave

    Love that movie! Here’s the proof: In the scene where Tommy gets shot in the back-look and listen closely-you’ll hear 3 gunshots-but Tommy will
    have 4 bullet holes in his back. Was the 4th shot from the grassy knoll?

  • http://iambored RatHead

    Srd949 – no “cum” is right in that context.
    I am finished now.

  • Wes

    @Srd949
    Judging from your question, I assume you have never before read the words “summa cum laude.” The Latin word “cum” means together or with. Not the same as the word that is in the title of all of your top 10 favorite movies.

  • crazydad

    The maggot even had a miniature cast chair with the name “Maggot” on the back, to taunt the wacko ASPCA kook.

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  • Megan

    Some interesting stuff here. I actually haven’t watched shawshank in a while. Need to watch it again soon for sure.

  • Prom Dresses

    One of the greatest films of all time. When he plays the music to the yard, that moment is breathtaking.

  • http://www.selfstoragetameside.co.uk self storage

    Thanks for posting this, lifted my day.

  • Hal0

    Actually frankdawg, Malcolm Little’s nickname his whole life was ‘Jersey Red’ because he had red hair- he was, after all, half white (his mother was raped by a white supremacist, and his father’s church was burned to the ground). El Hajj Malik El Shabazz (his Muslim name) didn’t get the nickname ‘Red’ in prison. Learn your history before posting comments!

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  • Matt K

    At the end of the movie Red finds the box hidden by the tree to find where Andy is and what not. In the movie it says “Buxton, ME”. Funny thing about that is there really is a person named Andy Duphrane from Buxton, ME.

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  • profile blast

    It would have been a completely different movie with Tom Cruise and Harrison Ford playing the lead characters. Glad it turned out the way it did.

  • Geo

    Red admits his guilt in the beginning of the book, not Andy. Andy was innocent in the book & the film.

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  • Volunteer12

    u kidding? why the spite? he was using short-term for COME. ur the one bringing up the porn

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