This is one of those movies which will go down in infamy because it contains all of the details that we hope to have in such a film. First of all, the harsh life behind the gates of prison is one thing but then to spend decades of your life plotting an escape is one that makes us all wonder how it can even be possible! With this film, all it takes is time, perseverance and a group of people to help this life-sentence dream come true! With all that said, here are some things that you probably never knew about this movie at all:
1. Based on a Stephen King novel.
It was part of a series of 4 books entitled “Different Seasons” and the one that they used for this movie was called “Rita Hayworth And The Shawshank Redemption.” Stephen King wrote these based on his memories of watching prison movies when he was a kid.
2. Red had red hair in the book.
Apparently, they went in a different direction with this character when it came to making the movie but who could go wrong with Morgan Freeman? Even so, they considered other actors like Clint Eastwood and Paul Newman for the role. In the film, they refer to the Irish character in the book when Andy asked why his name was “Red,” and he said, “Maybe it’s because I’m Irish.”
3. Stephen King got a $5,000 check.
The weird part is that he never cashed the check for $5,000 that he got for selling the movie rights. Instead, he framed the check and sent it back to Darabont with a note saying, “In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve.”
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4. The Haven Humane Association had a say in this.
When Brook was feeding maggots to his crow, Jake, the Haven Humane Association insisted that the maggots were dead from natural causes before being fed to the bird.
5. Brad Pitt was supposed to play Tommy Williams.
Instead, the role went to Gill Bellows, and we can all agree that this was a good choice! Even so, it was intended for Brad, and yet, he declined so that he can play the lead in the movie ‘Interview with the Vampire’ instead. Go figure!
6. The number 237.
This number is beginning to become a trademark thing for Stephen King as he used it in this movie when Andy has escaped, and they call out “Open 237!” to question Red about this escape. Stephen also uses this number in ‘The Shining’ as a room number and also in ‘Stand By Me’ as the amount of change ($2.37) the four boys had between them.
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7. Over 151 hours in 2013.
This is how many hours of airtime this movie received in 2013 which equates to over six days of ‘Shawshank.’
8. This movie boosted the economy.
Specifically, it adds 3 million dollars in tourism money in these three towns: Mansfield, Ashland and Upper Sandusky, Ohio. The movie h
3 sites as locations that were located in these three towns, and this is how much money they raked in 2013 alone!
9. Tourism is good for business.
This business even tote some of the names for their foods from this movie. People like reading “Redemption Pie” and “Red” wine.
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10. The water was lethal.
When a chemist tested the muddy water that was Andy’s escape tunnel in the movie and determined that it was “lethal” Tim Robbins refused to do the scene. However, he must have decided that the film would be nothing without it because we all know that he did the scene!
11. Fake tunnel.
While the water was lethal, this dirt tunnel was made of sawdust, chocolate syrup, and water. Yum!
12. Cameo of Freeman’s son.
The mug shots that they used in this movie to represent Red when he was younger was a photo of his real-life son, Alfonso Freeman. Alfonso had another cameo in the movie when she shouted “Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! We’re reeling ‘em in!”
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13. A 9-hour chat.
This first chat scene between Red and Andy took 9 hours to shoot! It pretty much taxed Morgan’s arm because he showed up the next day in an arm sling.
14. Exodus.
This chapter of the bible tells the story of how the Jews escaped from Egypt, and so it became a symbolic reference to hide the rock pick in that chapter.
15. This movie had several titles.
In Finland, they called it ‘Rita Hayworth – The Key To Escape,’ in Israel they called it ‘Walls Of Hope,’ and in Italy, it was called, ‘Le Ali Della Liberta’ which means ‘The Wings of Freedom.’
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16. Andy Dufresne.
There were plenty of actors in mind for this role including, Kevin Costner, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen as well.
17. Only two women with speaking roles.
This was mostly a male cast except for two, small roles by two different women and each had only this to say: “make sure your man double bags” while another one in line asks, “can I help you?”
18. He ditched the name “Rita Hayworth.”
Despite the title of the novel, Darabont didn’t keep it in the title of the movie because he assumed that he’d receive resumes from actors who thought that the film was about her.
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19. Why Brook was behind bars.
This piece of information was left out of the movie, but according to the book, he was in prison for murdering his wife and daughter after a series of losses in poker. That’s horrible! Also, Red was in jail for killing his wife by rigging the brakes on her vehicle which killed not only her but also a neighborhood child as well when her car ran into him, killing them both.
20. Different posters.
In the movie, we saw three posters on Andy’s wall, and those were: Rita Hayworth, Marilyn Monroe, and Raquel Welch but in the book, Andy had four posters, and they were: Jayne Mansfield, Linda Ronstadt, Hazel Court and Rita Hayworth.
Here are some more movie facts from your favourite movies that we’re certain you won’t already know!
Everyone has a favourite movie that they just can’t get enough of, but there are certain movies that are loved by most people. Even if you have seen a few movies several times, the filming and editing has been done so precise that you may not have noticed certain things that go on in the background.
Some of these things might not even be as discrete as you think, they might be shoved right in your face. But when you’re fixated on a film, you can’t help but let some situations slip past your mind.
With some films, watching it once is enough and we end up being annoyed that we have just spent two hours of our lives waiting for the big reveal, only to be left disappointed at the end. But there are a lot of favourites that we have to re-watch over and over again.
Most of the time, it is the storyline, acting and cinematography that captivates audiences, and all of the films include in this did have done just that.
In this list we aim to surprise you with movie details that you probably didn’t notice, that are bound to surprise you when you realise. From Harry Potter’s opening sequences to the news anchors true beauty in Batman, here are 18 surprising things you probably didn’t know about your favourite movies…
1. Evan Almighty
If you take a look at the below picture you might notice something very clever?
Morgan Freeman plays God in Evan Almighty and there is a scene where he is acting as a waiter. If you look at his name tag, you can see that the waiter is called ‘Al Mighty’ closely related to almighty which some people call God.
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2. Up
If you have seen Up, you should remember the emotional montage at the beginning of the film which shows Carl Fredricksen’s relationship with his wife.
What makes this montage even more special, is that you see the couple throughout the years get older. But what you also see is the city in the background become more evolved as years have passed.
3. Back To the Future III
Everyone loves the Back To The Future films and there are a few things you may not have realised about the trilogy…
In Back To The Future III Doc wears a scarf that may look familiar to the hardcore fans. When taking a closer look at his scarf, you can tell that it is made from the patterned shirt that he wore in Back To The Future II.
4. Interstellar
Who remembers the cornfields in the film Interstellar? Well many of us would assume that they were CGI, but that couldn’t be more wrong…
The writer of the film, Christopher Nolan actually planted 500 acres of corn just for the film because he didn’t want to have to use CGI to create the same effect. Once the film was completed, he then went on to sell the corn which generated a great profit for the budget.
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5. The Princess Bride
This one isn’t something that you would have noticed when watching the film, but may be something that might have slipped your mind when buying the DVD.
If you were to rotate the image by 180 degrees, you will notice that the title is read both ways. ‘The Princess Bride’ can be seen on both sides.
6. Django Unchanged
Django Unchained is an action packed film that a lot of people have seen. But what some people don’t know, is that the 2012 version is actually a remake.
In this scene with Jamie Foxx, who plays Django, and Franco Nero, Franco asks Jamie what his name is and how it is spelt. Jamie Foxx says “The ‘D’ is silent” and Franco replies with “I know.”
What a lot of people don’t know, is that Franco Nero played Django in the original film in 1966, so he definitely should know how it is spelt.
7. Cars
In the film ‘Cars’ there are many wide angle shots that show the scenery in which the film is based but do you notice anything different about it?
If you look closely, you can see that the mountains and canyons are all made up of cars and old hood ornaments.
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8. Harry Potter franchise
Harry Potter is one of the worlds most famous franchises. If you haven’t seen at least one of the Harry Potter films then you must know someone that has.
But the opening sequences might relate closely to the storylines that each of the films entail. The films all get darker and scarier as they progress, and that is shown in the opening sequences.
9. Finding Dory
Finding Dory was the sequel to Finding Nemo that we were all waiting for and we weren’t disappointed.
If you pay attention to the after credits, you will realise that Jaques’ bag is the cleanest. If you didn’t already know, Jaques is a cleaner shrimp that has to make sure everything around him is clean. Why else would he make sure his bag is clean?
10. Die Hard
Die Hard has become one of the most well known action films of the century. But there may be something you didn’t know about this scene featuring Alan Rickman…
Alan Rickman’s reaction when falling, was actually more genuine than you would think. Whilst filming, he was told that he would be dropped on the count of three. The directors then decided to let him fall on the count of one so that he was genuinely surprised.
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11. Inside Out
If you have seen this Pixar film a few times you might have already realised what we are about to tell you. However, there are a few minor details you might have missed…
12. Fight Club
At some point in their lives, everyone would have seen the film Fight Club. But the Warning sign in the home DVD version at the beginning of the film may not be as clear as you’d think…
13. Spider-Man 2
We’ve all heard about Spider-Man whether you’ve seen any of the films or not. In Spider-Man 2 a lot of us may not have realised this very clever pun…
But before superhero Peter Parker jumps off a building, he says that he needs a “strong focus.” What a lot of you may not have noticed, is that he actually lands on a Ford Focus which goes undamaged. You can’t get much stronger than that Focus.
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14. Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is one of the most classic films and if you’ve seen it you will understand why it is a lot of peoples favourite films.
In this action packed scene, Robert Ruth describes himself as a “Coffee Shop” and later appears in the credits as a Coffee Shop.
15. Back To The Future
The Back to The Future films are full of hidden gems and here is another one that you might not have realised…
In the scene when Marty goes into the past and runs down one of the two trees, the name of the shopping mall changes. Very clever cinematography.
16. Batman
Batman is another superhero movie that everyone is familiar with. But it is these minor details that we take for granted…
Do you notice anything different about the News Anchor in these images? Well, after the joker poisons all of the beauty products, the news anchor no longer wears makeup to present the news, making him look a bit worse for wear.
17. The Matrix
When filming this scene featuring the doorknob, the camera crew were finding it hard to film the scene without having the camera in the reflection.
What they did was very clever. To hide the camera, they covered it with a coat and hung a half tie over it to match with Morpheus’ so that you couldn’t see the camera.
