Chapter 48: Chapter 48 Proportional with Me
Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After April Fool’s Day, after about ten days of preparation, The Shawshank Redemption began filming at Mansfield State Penitentiary in Ohio. Being able to arrange everything in such a short time was not only thanks to the high work efficiency of Laverne and others but primarily because Adrian was well-prepared. He had already decided to shoot the prison scenes at Mansfield State Penitentiary and convinced Tim Robbins to take on the role.
Among the designated actors, Morgan Freeman and later James Whitmore readily agreed, while Bob Gunton, after some consideration, also gave a positive response. Directing and producing two films with both acclaim and box office success within a year, coupled with the title of a genius director, added considerably to Adrian’s weight.
However, Tim Robbins rejected the role upon their first meeting, saying the role didn’t suit him! Adrian, who was drinking water when he heard this, almost spat it out. It was just too ridiculous—of course, only to him—so after being frustrated for a while, he decided to visit in person.
“He helps those people reclaim beauty in their lives. He lets those trapped in the system see a glimmer of hope. He is both suffering, stoic, indefatigable and… perfect. I can’t think of anyone more suited than you, Tim.” In Tim Robbins’s home on Flors Street, sitting on the sofa and savoring tea prepared by his renowned partner, Susan Sarandon, Adrian spoke so passionately.
“There are many actors in Hollywood better than me, aren’t there?” Robbins’s answer seemed unchanged, yet it was evident he was moved but didn’t know why he should refuse.
“Yes, I admit. Initially, I considered inviting Tom Hanks to play this role, but I ultimately concluded you were the best fit. I don’t know why, Tim. I’ve watched almost all your performances, from Howard the Duck to Cadillac Man, and even The Player, which premiered a few days ago. Frankly, not one image fit. But my intuition insists you are that stoic yet never-giving-up Andy.” Adrian continued in an extremely earnest tone, “I trust my intuition greatly, so I haven’t even requested you to audition.”
Turning his head to Susan Sarandon, he said, “Isn’t that so, Susan? There are some birds you can’t cage. Their feathers are just too bright, and when they fly away, you know deep down it’s a sin to have kept them in a cage. Such birds make you feel elevated. Isn’t Tim such a bird?”
Although Adrian didn’t understand why Robbins refused, he knew the principle that if direct persuasion didn’t work, finding a breakthrough from the flank might. Sure enough, after reading the script and some thought, Sarandon began persuading Robbins. The two retreated to one side and argued quietly for a long time, and ultimately, Robbins accepted Adrian’s invitation.
Later, he learned Robbins mainly declined the invitation because he had just finished promoting The Player and wanted to spend some time at home with Sarandon. Since Sarandon suggested accepting the role, there was no reason to delay.
“Everyone, please pay attention. This is the first scene of The Shawshank Redemption. I hope everyone can take this opportunity to cooperate more. Thank you.” Standing on the lift, Adrian shouted through a loudspeaker to the crowd on the ground.
The first scene was the segment where Andy enters prison. Adrian chose this scene not only because it was easier to control, but also, as mentioned earlier, to allow these extras to get acquainted with each other.
Although the external scenes of Mansfield State Penitentiary were well-preserved, having been the location for many films, the interior was in terrible condition. Renovating it would cost much more than building one in a studio, so only exterior shots could be filmed here. However, almost all the exterior scenes, except for a few shots, mainly consisted of large crowd scenes, and there weren’t enough extras. Adrian even contacted the penitentiary to have their staff take part temporarily. With such a massive crowd, even a minor issue could necessitate a reshoot.
“Everyone get ready. We’ll start test shooting in ten minutes.” Adrian communicated with the people below through a walkie-talkie as he stood on the lift, prepared to shoot in person with the camera. As he had previously told Spielberg, he was somewhat lacking in handling large-scale scenes, and if he could shoot this one well, he would be on the path to mastery.
“Action!” With this shout, filming on the set began. It was an overhead wide-angle shot, passing over the front of the penitentiary and circling the exercise yard before stopping at the wire fence gate, posing a significant challenge to the camera operator.
It was Adrian’s first time shooting from such a height. To say he wasn’t nervous or scared would be impossible. However, once he picked up the camera, all negative emotions vanished, leaving only the filming in focus.
Perhaps, deep down, there’s still a touch of idealism in me. After filming and descending from the lift, Adrian thought to himself with a bit of self-mockery.
The shot didn’t encounter any issues—if it had gone wrong even with full preparation and just extras running around, it could only mean the director and producers were incapable—but during the subsequent shooting, problems arose in endless succession.
Because the timeline was set in the forties and fifties, all props had to match the era. Clothes were easier to manage, but transportation was quite troublesome. Vehicles from that era were mostly in museums or privately owned collections, let alone a prison transport van. Thanks to the penitentiary’s assistance, they managed to secure a working one before shooting, but it was so old that it stalled three or four times over a distance of just a few dozen feet.
Besides that, there were endless laughter and script errors, and some people were so excited they even knocked down some of the temporary wire fencing, thankfully without injury.
Though Adrian anticipated such situations before shooting began, he couldn’t help feeling frustrated and had to patiently redo shots repeatedly. What was comforting was that, whether it was Morgan Freeman, Tim Robbins, James Whitmore, or Bob Gunton, they were all excellent actors. Especially Tim and Morgan, who easily captured the essence of their characters, so their scenes were relatively smooth.
“Why the rush?” Nathan White asked, and Adrian responded that he didn’t have much time. “In my plan, if we can complete exterior shots in three weeks and indoor shots in another three weeks, that would be excellent.”
Nathan was a producer sent by Universal, only responsible for reporting the crew’s financial expenditures to the company. Initially, Universal was hesitant about investing. They originally thought Adrian was adapting one of Stephen King’s horror novels, seeing that his previous abilities were definitely worth investing in. But upon finding out that it was an adaptation of the middle-novella series regarded as King’s worst, they found themselves in a difficult position.
As everyone knows, Stephen King is most famous for his horror novels. However, precisely because of this, he was often criticized by mainstream critics. Although King didn’t take it to heart, over time, he got upset and wrote several mid-length stories entirely unrelated to ghosts, demons, or such things—except the last one that involved some mysticism—and published them together. Unfortunately, the collection, which he put so much effort into, received only one comment from the publisher upon release: “Please keep writing horror novels.”
This was an enormous blow, and Stephen King since then rarely mentioned this collection and wrote no similar literary novels. So, Adrian was surprised that Laverne managed to secure the adaptation rights for The Shawshank Redemption in such a short period.
Faced with this situation, Universal was torn. The collection’s sales were abysmal back then, and Adrian was still new. If Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Memento had been produced within two years, Universal would have invested without hesitation. But now, nobody knew what Adrian could produce; reputation matters sometimes. Luckily, a comment from Branet, consulted in the end, gave them confidence.
“Think, gentlemen. What was he doing when we wanted to get the scripts for Scream and American Pie from him?” Branet said.
Indeed, not many directors in Hollywood were like Adrian. Plus, he seemed to plan to collaborate with Spielberg, so Universal ended up investing ten million dollars and, to show trust, only sent Nathan to report the progress to the company.
“Do you plan to finish filming this movie in six weeks? But the schedule anticipates two months.” Nathan appeared surprised. He had merely intended to have a chat when overhearing Adrian’s complaints.
“Plans always prepare for the worst,” Adrian shrugged. “As long as everyone stays in good shape without making silly mistakes, I absolutely can finish shooting all scenes in six weeks.”
“But…” Nathan gestured, unsure of what to say. An investment of over twenty million dollars counts as a mid-to-upper range investment in today’s Hollywood, and in filmmaking, investment, speed, and quality never correlate proportionally. It seemed Adrian was accustomed to filming quickly before and wanted to maintain this pace, but…
“In my hands, speed and quality correlate proportionally.” As if reading his mind, Adrian smiled. “I know you might not believe this right now, Nathan, but I’ll show you. I am someone who excels at creating miracles!”
Saying this, he turned and walked towards the camera without looking back, clapping his hands and shouting, “Alright, folks, break time is over, let’s continue!”
(Tearing up, the collection isn’t on point…)