Some unknown facts about Shawshank redemption

It was unexpected how "Shawshank Redemption" became so popular. Although it wasn't the biggest movie of 1994, it was at the time pretty highly received. It was one of the most successful film years in the last three decades, making it difficult for "Shawshank" to stand out totally. Nevertheless, according to IMDb's viewer ratings, it would soon become a cable mainstay and surpass other films to become the most well-liked film. Want to learn more about the movie that quickly became a cultural force? Here are some "Shawshank Redemption" facts.

Based on millions of reviews, it has the highest rating of any movie ever on the movie database IMDB. If you've ever seen the movie, you'll know exactly why. It's a story of epic proportions that lets you experience what all the characters go through! The whole collection of The Shawshank Redemption facts is in this article.

The Shawshank Redemption tops several lists based on the fan votes, such as IMDB's "Top 250," but reviewers frequently laud Citizen Kane or The Godfather as the greatest movie ever made. There are many places online where you may learn intriguing facts about the movie because it is so well-liked. For this list, we dug out a few fascinating yet little-known truths as well as a few debunked myths.Here are some unknown facts about Shawshank Redemption

The movie is based on a novella by Stephen

Over the year, many Stephen King stories have been adapted, practically all of them being horror films. Although "Shawshank Redemption" is based on the King novella "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption," which first appeared in the King book "Different Seasons," you might not anticipate a prison movie without any supernatural aspects to be a King adaptation. Shawshank redemption wasn`t the first time king and director frank Darabont Worked TogetherIn 1983, King first became aware of Darabont. King's short story "The Woman in the Room" was the one he wished to adapt.

King gave him the story's rights in exchange for a single dollar. King frequently did this with short pieces to try and give up-and-coming rookie directors visibility.The director returned to secure the rights for "Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption" several years after the "The Woman in the Room" agreement that first brought King and Darabont together. King decided to sell the rights for $5,000 even though he wasn't sure it could be made into a movie. This occurred in 1987. Darabont did not begin writing the Screenplay until 1992.

Rob Reiner wanted to direct himself

When Darabont finished writing the Screenplay, he sent "The Shawshank Redemption" to Castle Rock, the "Seinfeld" production company. The script was a favorite of Castle Rock co-founder Rob Reiner. He cherished it so much that he desired to serve as its director. He offered Darabont a few million dollars in exchange for the script, but Darabont was certain he wanted to direct. Morgan Freeman`scasting went against the King Story.

Red, the wisecracking prisoner who befriends Andy and offers advice, is portrayed by Freeman. This casting slightly deviated from the novel's depiction of the character. In the book, Red is a white Irishman. Freeman is neither of those things. In the movie, Red jokes about Andy asking why he is called Red, to which Andy responds, "Maybe it's because I'm Irish."Brad Pitt was cast but dropped out of the production.

To play Tommy, a young and unproven Brad Pitt was chosen. Next, "Thelma and Louise" was released. Pitt chose to leave school so that he could pursue other options when he suddenly wasn't so unknown. Instead, Gil Bellows, who was making his first appearance in a movie, accepted the part.

Tim Robbins recommended the cinematographerA significant factor in "Shawshank's" success is its appearance. Roger Deakins, who shot the movie, deserves credit for that. He is regarded as one of the all-time greats in his field and has won two Oscars out of the 15 nominations. Tim Robbins first met the Coen Brothers through Deakins, who had worked with them for a very long period. Robbins gave Deakins to Darabont as a recommendation when he took on the job of Andy.Though the movie is set in Maine, it was not shot there.

Maine is the setting for every King narrative, and this one is no exception. They did not, however, travel to Maine to shoot the movie. The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio, served as the prison in the movie for most of the shooting there. Additionally, they skipped Mexico's Zihuatanejo. St. Croix is where those scenes were filmed. King`s name was largely kept out of the promotion.

King is one of the most well-known and productive writers in history. You'd expect that the promotion would heavily include his name. Some films and TV shows have essentially been promoted based mainly on King's participation. However, "Shawshank" was unique. When marketing the film's release, King received very little attention. The studio thought a "more prestigious" audience would be drawn to "Cujo" and "Pet Sematary," two of King's works.

The movie was a box-office flop

The movie "The Shawshank Redemption" is now a classic. But at first, that wasn't the case. The truth is that "Shawshank" only made $16 million during its first run before being canceled. That was a failure, considering the film's $25 million production budget. The movie would eventually receive a re-release and an international release, raising its lifetime box office to $58.3. But even so, that isn't good for a movie this well-liked.

It might have been a commercial flop, but the oscar gave it some love. That reissue? It happened after the announcement of the Academy Award nominees. The Academy enjoyed the movie more than the first audiences. Seven Oscar nominations were given to "Shawshank," including one for best picture. Unfortunately, it didn't take home even one of those honors. A business deal played a big role in the rise of the movie's popularity.

Ted Turner purchased Castle Rock in the year 1993. It followed that "Shawshank" and other Castle Rock films belonged to Turner Broadcasting System. Turner began repeating the movie on TNT. Turner paid nothing to air it, so it was a simple way to fill time. Oh, and how they occupied time. One of the classic "cable flicks" is "Shawshank." By 2013, it had received as much airtime as any movie and had broadcast on 15 different basic cable networks.

The tree from the movie no longer stand

In the movie, Red receives a message from Andy under an oak tree directing her to their reunion in Mexico. It earned the moniker "The Shawshank Tree" and started to draw some visitors. Then, in 2011, lightning struck the tree. The Shawshank Tree was harmed while still standing, and in 2016 powerful winds completed the task of bringing it down. They felled the tree in 2017 and used wood to create "Shawshank" souvenirs. Darabont directed two more king adaptations after ‘Shawshank.’

Darabont likes King's work. He directed two other films based on King's stories. "The Green Mile," one of them, was a tremendous success and received Oscar nominations. Although it has its supporters, the other, "The Mist," wasn't quite as well-liked. Morgan Freeman`s son has a cameo. Alfonso Freeman, Freeman's son, appears in the film. Alfonso is the man you see in mug photographs of a young Red, not his father. The likeness to the family is obvious.Freeman had never narrated a film before ‘Shawshank.

The narrator of "The Shawshank Redemption" is Freeman. Today, we're accustomed to hearing Freeman's rich voice narrate a film or television program. At this point, it almost counts as a trope. He narrates documentaries like "March of the Penguins." Despite their appearance, Freeman hasn't always been the voice of movies. He had never narrated a movie until "Shawshank."

Tom Cruise attended table reads for Andy but turned the movie down

There are casting intentions that never materialize, just like with any movie. Tom Cruise was one of those for this movie. Cruise even tried to show up for table reads for Andy, the movie's main character. However, with Darabont's inexperience, Cruise was hesitant to collaborate with a director. The door was now open for Robbins to enter.It was the most rented movie of 1995.

Another explanation for "Shawshank's" transformation from a box office dud to a movie millions of people love? In addition to receiving several Oscar nominations and eventually airing on TV, "Shawshank" was a tremendous rental success. Warner Home Media distributed 320,000 VHS copies for rental across the US despite the film's failure at the box office. The Shawshank Redemption was the most rented movie of 1995. Therefore the gamble was successful. Rita Hayworth was dropped from the title to avoid confusion.

Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption is the title of the King tale on which the film is based, as we already stated. Why the alteration? In addition to being a shorter title, Darabont was worried that the original title would lead viewers to believe the film was a biopic of Hayworth. That had some validity. Agents for actresses who wanted to play Hayworth contacted Darabont, and some people even showed up at the studio to try out for the vacant position. Stephen King never crashed Darabont`s check.

The $5k payment Darabont gave King in exchange for the rights to his novella? King didn't bother trying to cash it. By 1994, he did not need the money, but King went above and beyond. King had the check framed and returned it to Darabont. If you ever need money for bail, I've included a message. Regards, Steve.