Daily Dialogue — November 10, 2013
Warden Samuel Norton: Well?
Red: Well what?
Warden Samuel Norton: I see you two all the time, you’re thick as thieves, you are. He musta said something.
Red: Honest, Warden, not a word.
Warden Samuel Norton: Lord, it’s a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! Nothing left but some damn rocks on the windowsill. And that cupcake on the wall! Let’s ask her, maybe she knows. [to poster] What say you there, fuzzy-britches? Feel like talking? Aw, guess not. Why should she be any different? [hefting one of Andy’s rocks] This is a conspiracy, that’s what it is. [throwing rocks] One… big… damn conspiracy! And everyone’s in on it, including her!
Throws a rock at the poster, the rock goes right through it and they hear it clattering. Norton puts his arm through the torn poster and rips it away from the wall, revealing Andy’s escape tunnel.
— The Shawshank Redemption (1994), screenplay by Frank Darabont, short story by Stephen King
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is dramatic reveal, suggested by hoernsch.
Trivia: Rob Reiner loved Frank Darabont’s script so much that he offered $2.5 million for the rights to the script so he could direct it. Darabont seriously considered Reiner’s offer but ultimately decided that it was his “chance to do something really great” by directing the movie himself.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Actually this whole sequence — from the moment Andy does not exit his cell at morning call to the point where Norton blows his brains out — is one big dramatic reveal. So many wonderful editorial choices. How about this tiny one: The Guard stalks up to Andy’s cell, ready to “thump” Andy. Then we see his stunned reaction and his utterance, “Oh, my holy God.” Cut to a close-up of Norton removing his shoes and opening up the shoe box to see Andy’s old shoes inside. Tilt up to his face, then the sirens go off: jailbreak. Such a great set of shots that convey something of what’s going on, but leave us with a rising question: “What the hell happened?” Even throughout the next 2+ minutes with Norton interrogating Red, we still don’t know what occurred. It’s only when Norton shoves his arm through the poster we realize the enormity of events. Which is to say Frank Darabont nailed the writing and directing of this movie.