Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
I get all sorts of Frank Darabont-related mail. Lots of people asking me to give him their scripts or to pass along personal messages or things like that. Also a lot of questions about the arcana of NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 3 or wondering what he wrote in THE FLY II or details about the historical accuracy of his YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES episodes.
By far, though, the most common thing that I am asked about is why he didn’t do commentary on the SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION DVD.
For all of you who love that film, or who have ever asked me that question, read on...
Hey Evil Genius,
Some fun Shawshank news, which you're welcome to post if you'd like. My suggestion to Warners that we do a Ten Year Anniversary theatrical re-release of Shawshank Redemption has met with enthusiasm. Plans are afoot for a Jan or Feb 2004 re-release in either L.A. or N.Y (maybe both, which is what I'm hoping), followed by a roll-out in key cities nationwide if the L.A./N.Y boxoffice results indicate public interest. If not, we'd obviously fold our tents quietly after L.A./N.Y., as there's no point rolling out if people ain't showing up. Hopefully they will, though. I'm very excited about the possibility of folks getting to see this movie on the big screen as was intended (so few did), rather than the dubbed-for-language-and-chopped-up-for-commercials Turner version. Aside from making sure the negative hasn't deteriorated, we'll be doing a re-mastering of our sound to current digital standards (the film was originally mixed in Dolby A, which a tad old-fashioned even then). No, there will be no additional scenes or re-editing, since I was lucky enough to be able to release my director's cut the first time around, thanks to Castle Rock. (Besides, I've always had mixed-to-negative feelings about films being mucked around with years after the fact.)
Beyond that, I'll also be doing a Ten Year Anniversary Special Edition DVD for release later in 2004 (before Christmas). The set will include some fabulous documentaries (one of which was superbly done by a company called Noblesgate for Channel 4 in England), as well as a CD of Tom Newman's score. Very exciting stuff.
And, yes...I'm finally gonna break down and do director's commentary.
The rest of that e-mail was just boring stuff about INDY 4, which I’m sure you guys don’t care about. In the meantime, I’m jazzed about this. No matter how many people now claim SHAWSHANK as a favorite film, they just didn’t go see it in the theater. It underperformed dramatically upon release, and DVD and video and cable have slowly turned this into a beloved movie for many people. The chance to see it again as it should be seen, in a theater, is a great thing, and as soon as there are final details available, I’m sure Frank will pass them on.
In the meantime, have you followed that banner ad above to see the Fox Searchlab where Frank spoke? If you haven’t, and you’re a fan, you should. It’s pretty entertaining stuff.
"Moriarty" out.
