The Shawshank Redemption is one of the most popular films ever made and it occupies the top spot on the Internet Movie Database. It is an enchanting tale based on a Stephen King short story and adapted for the screen by the talented Frank Darabont who also directs. It is about two friends, Andy and Red, trapped in prison for long term sentences. They find solace and redemption by helping others and end up as respected symbols of hope with spirits which cannot be crushed. The film is now a much loved classic but it could have been a very different movie and there were various alternative casting plans. For a start Rob Reiner was desperate to get his hands on the project and offered $2.5 million for it, his plan was to cast Tom Cruise as Andy and Harrison Ford as Red. He also wanted to direct it himself but thankfully Darabont decided he wanted to do the project and rejected the offer. Stephen King actually sold the rights to the film version of the story to Darabont cheaply because of their friendship. He had been impressed with Darabont’s work on one of his previous stories, The Woman in the Room which King had actually sold the rights to for $1 as part of his attempt to help young aspiring film makers. The character of Red was written as a white Irish man and yet Morgan Freeman took on the role. The screenplay actually stayed very close to the source material and they even left in the line “Maybe it’s cause I’m Irish” after he was cast as a joke. Darabont certainly made the right decision casting Freeman but a host of other actors were considered including Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Andy is played by Tim Robbins and he gives one of the best performances of his career but he could have easily missed out on the role. Darabont actually offered the part to Tom Hanks but because of scheduling conflicts with Forrest Gump he couldn’t accept it. When Hanks saw The Shawshank Redemption he apparently phoned Darabont and told him he loved it and would like to work with him which led to him appearing in The Green Mile, another Stephen King adaptation. After Hanks refused the part it was offered to Kevin Costner but he turned it down, something he later admitted regretting. There were rumours that Charlie Sheen and Nicolas Cage were considered but in the end Tim Robbins was selected and it is tough to imagine the film working so well without him. There was one other casting decision which was almost different. The part of Tommy Williams, the young convict who knows Andy is innocent was originally intended for Brad Pitt. In the end it went to Gil Bellows. The film was nominated for several Oscars although it failed to win any of them, it actually didn’t perform that well at the box office but it proved amazingly popular on video and DVD and continues to be a best seller. It did pick up several other awards and it has remained a firm favourite amongst critics and audiences alike.