The Shawshank Redemption/Trivia
- Ability Over Appearance: Traditionally, guys called "Red" are redheads. Initial casting calls had that in mind. The role is played by Morgan Freeman, who would not pick up that nickname naturally but owns the role anyway. It's explained in the film (though not in the novella), that Red's nickname comes from his name, Ellis Redding.
- Acclaimed Flop: The film did quite poorly at the box office despite good reviews.
- Hey, It's That Guy!: The mug shot shown on Red's parole paperwork is a photo of Morgan Freeman's son Alfonso. Alfonso also has a cameo at the beginning of the movie, he's the inmate who says "Fresh fish! Fresh fish today! We're reeling 'em in!" as the bus carrying Andy comes in.
- Reality Is Unrealistic: This movie was criticized for portraying prison guards as using beatings to control inmates, but prison guards have been known to do exactly that in real life.
- Throw It In: Tim Robbins ad-libbed Andy Dufresne turning up the volume on the speaker in defiance of Norton telling him to turn it off.
- Vindicated by Cable: Back in 1994, it earned just over $28 million at the US box office; it has since enjoyed a remarkable life on cable television and home video. Ted Turner loved this movie so much, he made sure it was playing on at least one of his cable networks every weekend for about a decade, which helped the film earn back its budget and give it the mainstream recognition it never received while in theaters. You can still find it on TBS or a similar channel, even 15 years later.
- What Could Have Been: Tom Hanks turned down the role of Andy Dufresne.
- As did Kevin Costner, in order to make Waterworld. Needless to say, he regrets it.
- Johnny Depp, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, and Charlie Sheen were all considered to play Andy as well.
- The role of Tommy Williams was intended for Brad Pitt.
- Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford were all considered to play Red.