Andy and Red's opening chat in the prison yard, in which Red is throwing a baseball, took nine hours to shoot. Morgan Freeman threw the baseball for the entire nine hours without a word of complaint. He showed up for work the next day with his left arm in a sling.
Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford and Robert Duvall were considered for the part of Red. In the original novel, Red is a middle-aged white Irishman with graying red hair. However, Frank Darabont always had Morgan Freeman in mind for the role, because of his authoritative presence, demeanor, and deep voice. Red's reply, "Maybe it's because I'm Irish," to Andy's inquiry about his nickname was kept in the film as a joke.
Stephen King never cashed his $5,000 check for rights to the film. Several years after the movie came out, King got the check framed, and mailed it back to Frank Darabont with a note inscribed, "In case you ever need bail money. Love, Steve."
To prepare for his role as Andy Dufresne, Tim Robbins actually spent some time in solitary confinement. He asked to be locked in solitary for a while to get a feel for it, although he knew his experience wouldn't be the same because it was voluntary.
Frank Darabont: [old movie clips] The inmates are seen watching Gilda (1946). In the original novella, the prisoners watched The Lost Weekend (1945). Because the rights to the latter were owned by a different studio, Darabont looked to see which old films he could show without incurring costs. He was delighted to see that one that he was able to use was Gilda, one of the greatest hits of Rita Hayworth, whose image plays a pivotal role in the story.
Frank Darabont: [Libby] Darabont always tried to cast Brian Libby in his films, and he appears in this film as Floyd.
Frank Darabont: [Heywood Floyd] Heywood and Floyd are the names of two Shawshank inmates. Heywood Floyd is a NASA administrator in books written by Sir Arthur C. Clarke, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, and 2010: Odyssey Two.