Revealing all the facts and information about Allen Greene. An agent and friend of director Frank Darabont. Learn the details about who he was and how he died here.
There is no secret that Shawshank Redemption is considered by many to be the greatest movie of all time. It was released on the 22nd of September back in 1994. Although it was initially considered a flop because it did not do very well at the box office. However, over time, it has gained a cult classic status.
Since it was released, it has quickly become the most beloved movie of all time. Even today, it sits as the highest-rated movie on IMDb with a rating of 9.3/10. This rating is based on more than 2.5 million views. This also makes the Shawshank Redemption the most reviewed movie on the website as well.
Since the movie was released almost 30 years ago, there aren’t many details that are unknown about it. Diehard fans of the movie have gone through every single detail with a fine-toothed comb during this time. Everything from casting choices, potential roles, Easter eggs, and trivia information has been figured out by the fans.
However, there are still some questions that a lot of fans have to which they still don’t know the answer of. And out of these questions, the most popular and unanswered question on a lot of people’s minds is “who is Allen Greene?”.
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Who is Allen Greene?
For those of you who don’t know what we are talking about the name Allen Greene is Synonymous with the movie. It is a name that has puzzled quite a few fans over the years. This name was mentioned on the ending screen of the movie. Just when Red is running towards Andy, the screen zooms out and a message is displayed. This message read “In Memory of Allen Greene”.
Since then many people have asked themselves who this Allen Greene actor was. Some thought he was a part of the cast that died during the shooting of the movie. While others thought he was a part of the background staff who didn’t live to see the end of the movie. Theories were presented for years with fans not being sure who the person mentioned in the end scene was. And even to this day, many fans still don’t know who the aforementioned Allen Greene is.
Luckily for you, we have the answer today in this article. But before we go into detail about who Allen Greene Shawshank Redemption is, let us discuss a few more details about the movie itself;
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is an American movie that was released in September 1994. It was directed by Frank Darabont and was based on Stephen King’s novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption”. This was the 4th time that Frank helmed the director’s chair. Before this, he had directed a TV movie Buried Alive and two others shorts. This was the first major directorial challenge of his career. The movie took almost a year to film and produce. It initially went into pre-production in January of 1993.
Casting Choices Made
The casting for the movie started in early 1992. Stephen King novels were considered to be a hot commodity at this time. Because of this, multiple A-list actors wanted to be a part of this movie. Among all the actors that were initially cast, the first one was Morgan Freeman. Although he wasn’t anything like his character ‘Red’ in the novel, he was still given the role because of his acting prowess.
A lot of actors were considered for the role of Andy Dufrense. Actors like Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks, Gene Jackman, and Johnny Depp were considered for this coveted role. Ultimately, the role went to Tim Robbins because the director was impressed by his earlier acting roles.
Filming the Movie
The film had a budget of $25 million and the major scenes were shot between June and August in 1993. The Ohio State Reformatory served as the fictional Shawshank prison. The shooting of the movie was considered to be a very grueling process. Certain scenes required 18-hour day shoots. The Director of the film reshot a lot of scenes because he wanted everything in the movie to be perfect.
Frank Darabont had drawn major inspiration from movies like Goodfellas and this is why he went with the narration root. This movie was also responsible for making Morgan Freeman a household name when it came to movie narrations.
Post-Production
Post-production is the place where the name Allen Greene was mentioned. The original cut of the movie ran close to three hours. Because of this a lot of slow and story-building scenes were cut from the movie to make it more action-driven. After all the cuts were made the finished movie ended up being 2h and 22mins long.
Other major changes were also made to the movie during this time. The initial ending of the movie was very ambiguous with it ending on Red’s bus ride. However, after screen tests were conducted, a new ending was shot which ended with Red and Andy walking towards each other. The movie received wide praise from the audience present at these screen tests.
Synopsis
The movie is based on the life and prison sentencing of Andy Dufrense. The film is narrated by Ellis Boyd “Red” Redding who is also serving a life sentence for a murder. It focuses on how Andy was blamed for the murder of his wife and her lover. For these murders, Andy is given two life sentences which totaled 50 years. He is then sent to Shawshank to serve out his sentence. This is where we are introduced to the character Red.
The movie closely follows the friendship and bond that is formed between these two convicts over the course of 20 years. It also follows all the problems and flaws in the prison system in America at the time.
Finally, the movie also depicts the corruption that is taking place in the prison. It shows us how the warden uses Andy as a puppet to launder his dirty money because of his experience as an accountant in the outside world. It also shows us how life in prison and an unlawful sentence can push a man to his mental limits. All these factors combined play a major role in Andy breaking out of prison to start his new life. A life he had always dreamt of having.
Commercial Debacle
The movie was released in September of 1994. It was initially considered to be a flop or failure by a lot of people. The reason for this disaster was that the movie was released in the same month as Forest Gump and Pulp Fiction. These two movies are also considered to be the greatest by a lot of people. The movie Forest Gump also ended up winning an Oscar for best picture that year.
Critical and Fan Acclaim
Conversely, the movie received praise from fans and critics alike. Critics all over America heralded The Shawshank Redemption as a cinematic marvel. This notion was shared by fans as well. Fans all over the world loved this movie and the message of hope and friendship that it conveyed. This helped Shawshank Redemption reach iconic status with a lot of people still considering it to be the greatest movie of all time.
Even today, after almost 30 years since its release, this movie is still loved by people all over the world.
“In Memory of Allen Greene”
In the final frame of the movie, a message in memory of Allen Greene. This was a curious thing for a lot of fans as they wanted to find out who this Allen Greene Shawshank was.
Well, to answer those questions, Allen Greene was Shawshank Redemption Director Frank Darabont’s friend and agent. He has been with the director since the start of his career and had helped him achieve the success that he had by that point. Allen also had a key role in putting together the cast and production team that worked on The Shawshank Redemption.
In addition to being his agent, he was also Frank Darabont’s close friend. However, at the time the movie was being shot and produced, Greene was suffering from aids. The illness had taken its toll on the agent and he died in 1993 during the production of the movie. To commemorate his friends’ legacy and immortalize his game, Darabont put his name in the final shot of the movie.
Now, whenever someone watches the movie, they see the name Allen Greene. This was Frank Darabont’s gift for his deceased friend and agent Allen Greene.
FAQ’s
Is Shawshank Redemption a true story?
No, Shawshank redemption is not a true story. It is based on the novella “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” that was written by Stephen King.
Where was the last scene of the movie shot?
The last scene of the movie was shot in Saint Croix in the US Virgin Islands.
Who is the Shawshank Redemption Director?
The Shawshank Redemption was directed by Frank Darabont
Was The Shawshank Redemption Failure?
A lot of people think Shawshank was a major commercial flop but that is not entirely true. The movie ended up making $58.3 million with a budget of $25 million
Who are the Leading Actors in the movie?
The leading roles in the movie were portrayed by Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman who played Andy Dufrense and Ellis “Red” Redding respectively
Are there other movies like Shawshank Redemption?
Although there can’t ever be a movie like Shawshank, other prison movies have been released over the years. These include The Green Mile, Escape from Alcatraz, Animal Factory, Bronson, and The Hurricane.