There’s no doubt that Shawshank Redemption is a total icon in the film industry — loved by film enthusiasts and just general movie-goers alike. But how did it happen? Well this interview, filmed at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater, looks back at the film 20 years later. Moderated by Max Brooks and featuring director Frank Darabont and actors Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins, it gets right down to the big question: What drew you to the film?
The answer is clear — it was all about the script. Morgan Freeman read the script and was ready to commit to any role, without knowing what it was. Tim Robbins was equally enthused by the exquisite story. But Darabont is quick to give credit to the source material by Stephen King. His novel, Rita Hayward and the Shawshank Redemption, was, of course, the source material for the movie. (Although that itself was loosely based off of a Tolstoy story.)
To hear more about how this film, this masterclass of storytelling, came to be, you can watch the whole clip here:
The power of this story is so strong that it’s infectious — you can see it in the way the cast and crew talk about it. They were as enthralled by the story as we are — and it shows in the final product.
