11 Things You Didn’t Know About The Shawshank Redemption
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.
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.
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