A milestone very few films get to achieve, the cast and crew of The Shawshank Redemption reunited to celebrate its 20th Anniversary. Director Frank Darabont joined his leading men, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, in a heartfelt discussion of how their prison movie made it to the big screen.
According to Oscars, the American cinematic classic celebrated its 20th anniversary at the Academy. The cast and crew came together at a special screening hosted by World War Z author Max Brooks. Though decades have passed, the flick still holds up and can be seen repeatedly on television marathons and reruns.
Based on the Stephen King novella, the prison movie marked the directorial debut of Darabont. The Green Mile director conceived the television adaptation of the AMC's popular zombie drama, The Walking Dead. The show is currently in its fifth season, which owes many thanks to The Hunstman filmmaker.
Just like the King tale, Andy Dufresne (Robbins) is convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Framed for the murder of his cheating wife and lover, Dufrense ends up in the same prison with longtime resident Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding (Freeman). Under the watch of a corrupt warden, the two prisoners form an unlikely friendship behind bars.
Moderated by the Extinction Parade scribe, who described the film as "a nonsexual story between two men," the panel discussion revealed some behind-the-scenes trivia bits. Darabont wanted to make his horror flick, The Mist, first but was worried about being stereotyped in Hollywood. Freeman read the script, without even realizing he was already offered a role. The original ending was much closer to King's open cliffhanger.
As transcribed by The Hollywood Reporter, Darabont reveals, "The original script ended with Red on the bus, uncertain but hopeful about the future; that's the way the King story ended. But the studio executives told me, 'After two-plus hours of hell, you might owe them that reunion.'"
Check out a segment of the discussion here:
The cast and crew of The Shawshank Redemption celebrated their film's 20th Anniversary. Readers, what do you think of the prison flick?
