FSU Student Life Cinema

“The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)

In the 1994 film “The Shawshank Redemption”, Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman were not the first actors contacted for the roles of Andy Dufrescne and Red respectively.  For Andy, Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp and Charlie Sheen were all considered.  Though Tom Hanks was actually offered the role, he couldn’t accept the role due to his involvement in another film released in 1994 called “Forest Gump”.  Kevin Costner also was offered the rule but had to turn it down due to his involvement in “Waterworld”.  As for Red, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford were all considered as in the novella, Red was a middle-aged Irishman with graying red hair.  Regardless of this, director Frank Darabont had always envisioned Morgan Freeman in the role because of his “authoritative presence, demeanor and deep voice”.

 “Fight Club” (1999)

In David Ficher’s 1999 film “Fight Club”, there are two scenes that were actually not “acted”.  For example, there is a scene in the movie where Brad Pitt and Edward Norton’s characters are drunk and hitting golf balls at cars.  In reality both Pitt and Norton were drunk during filming but the golf balls were only hitting the side of the film’s catering truck.  Another scene involves Pitt and Norton’s characters fighting for the first time.  Though Norton was only suppose to fake hitting Pitt’s character in the ear, right before the take, Fincher pulled Norton aside and told him to actually punch Pitt in the ear.  When you watch the scene, you can actually see Norton smiling and laughing in the background while Pitt is in real pain.

-Raymond Calderon