The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series) [Paperback]

Frank Darabont (Author), Stephen King (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1557042462 | ISBN-13: 978-1557042460 | Publication Date: September 30, 2004 | Edition: 1

Nominated for 7 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, is an extraordinary tale of hope and survival inside a maximum security prison. Based on a Stephen King novella, Frank Darabont's screenplay follows the complex twenty-year relationship between two convicts who have little in common—except friendship.

This book features a facsimile of the shooting script, selected storyboards, over 35 behind-the-scenes photos, an introduction by Stephen King, and notes on the production written exclusively for this edition by the film's writer/director, Frank Darabont.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A miraculous triumph of art over the buck. -- Stephen King, from his introduction

Excellent ...the added value sets this book apart from other published scripts and makes it a worthy read. -- Creative Screenwriting

Frank Darabont, with this one work, declares himself a special talent. -- Gene Siskel, Chicago Tribune

Intriguing...Genuine insights and anecdotes on a film already considered by many to be a true classic. -- Fade In

About the Author

Frank Darabont, a three-time Oscar® nominee, is one of only six filmmakers in history whose first two feature films have received nominations for the Best Picture Academy Award®: 1994's The Shawshank Redemption was nominated for 7 Oscars®, and 1999's The Green Mile was nominated for 4 Oscars®. His most recent feature as director was The Majestic (2001). Currently, Darabont is executive producing the thriller Collateral, starring Tom Cruise. His next film as director will be an adaptation of Ray Bradbury's science fiction classic Fahrenheit 451.

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Newmarket Press; 1 edition (September 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557042462
• ISBN-13: 978-1557042460
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,117 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! Adds depth to an already excellent cinematic experience, July 30, 2000

By 

Jim Carson "http://www.jimcarson.com" (Bellevue, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series) (Paperback)

The shooting script contains forewards (by Stephen King by Frank Darabont), the screenplay, changes from the screenplay to the movie, some final thoughts by Darabont, and the credits.

It's fascinating reading the screenplay after seeing the movie, then reading the changes made in to the screenplay and why. For example, in scene 36, Andy approaches Red to buy a rock hammer and they agree on ten dollars. In the movie, it just happens and we overlook the question on how Andy would have gotten the money in the first place.

In the screen play, we find out in scenes 40 and 41 where he got the money (brought in with him ... internally). However, later, the book explains how the scene read well, but didn't work well on the screen. In retrospect, we don't really *care* that he had money anyway, so the scene is easily dropped without sacrificing clarity.

The book adds some interesting "inside" information. For example, when we first see Red meeting with the parole board, the file has a picture of him when he was younger. This photo is actually a cameo by Morgan Freeman's son, Alfonso, who also provided some of the background voices during the "Fresh Fish" taunting in the early part of the movie.

Overall, the book adds depth to an already excellent cinematic experience.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great buy for any film student or "Shawshank..." lover, August 29, 2001

By 

Edna A. Pierce (Cooper Landing, Ak United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series) (Paperback)

As Frank Darabont says in the introduction of the book, who else would buy the screenplay unless they really want to know more about the film? Sticking to that idea, Darabont has given the film student/buff, and those who simply love the movie, a real treat with this book. Not only does it contain the screenplay, it's the screenplay (I emphasize) AS IT WAS WRITTEN BEFORE FILMING. He's published it exactly as he wrote it when he adapted it from King's novella. I point this out because, as Darabont himself points out in the intro, so many screenplays that are thrown out by merchandise wizards are nothing but the finished movie transcribed. And really, what good is that to someone who wants a deeper knowledge of the film?
Not only does he give us the original screenplay, he gives us a scene-by-scene comparison of the screenplay vs. the finished film, and why things got changed/added/left out. This, in particular, says a lot about Darabont to me. This is a man who wants to use his work not only to be what it is (a GREAT film), but to educate as well. This book inspires. He includes storyboards, as well (including a storyboard for a deleted scene- oh, goody, goody!) and introductions by both himself and Stephen King, and a summarizing bit of advice to budding filmmakers and screenwriters. I devoured this book in short time (one night), lol, and found myself going back to the film to compare and analyze- if you don't do the same after reading it, I'll eat my foot.. okay, maybe not. But something drastic, I warrant you. If you are at all inclined to learn about filmmaking, writing, or even if you just love "The Shawshank Redemption" (which is what lead me to the book in the first place), this is a real must-have. It's worth the price alone just to read what he had to say about filming Freeman's scene walking through the field after discovering Andy's message. Trust me. By the way, fellow "Shawshank..." lovers are welcome to ...discuss it. Enjoy this book, everyone. It's a real find. And I'm SO glad I chose to buy it. The ONLY reason I give it four stars as opposed to five is because, personally, I would have liked to have seen more storyboards.

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I hope... I'm free., September 11, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Shawshank Redemption: The Shooting Script (Newmarket Shooting Script Series) (Paperback)

I really liked the book and the movie itself. Stephen King, for sure, didn't intend when he wrote Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption to emphasize a lot on the character of Andy. I think the basic character is the Morgan Freeman one. Frank Darabont, emphasized on both characters, Andy and Red. I have to ask myself, it's the redemption of who and of what? Is it the redemption of Andy, of Red, of Warren...? I think it's the redemption of all the characters in the book. At the end each one of them took what he deserved. Warren Suicide, Andy Freedom, and Red Hope. The brilliant thing about Shawshank Redemption script and movie is that the reader can't know what will happen and can estimate nothing untill the end of the story, there's no meaning of hope yet. What's hope in that movie? Is it something that we usually loose when we grow older under certain TERRIBLE conditions? Red lost all hope of getting outside Shawshank, at a certain time he wasn't willing to go out, he can never face the outside. Shawshank made him a machine man with machine heart and machine mind. Andy remind him back of his humanity, and hope is what deferenciates humans from other living species. I realized at the end that Hope is Freedom and it's not the opposite. When you have hope you can be free and when you don't you can never be free. The difference between Red and Andy is that Andy always believed in hope and that thing made him free, Red got out of Shawshank after 40 years and he was not free. Red started to feel freedom ("I think it's the excitement only a freemam can feel, a freeman at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain") when he regain hope and broke all rules and went to see his friend Andy. Hope is like dreams, when you lose it you lose your existence and therefore your humanity.