I have a wonderful memory of this movie as I was fortunate enough to attend its Hollywood premiere. I still have the email I sent that night after the screening to Castle Rock president Martin Shafer, lauding the film. The movie did not do well in theatrical release and many believe it was only due to constant airings on TBS and TNT that it developed the breadth of exposure, combined with good word of mouth, which has led to its rather hallowed position in the history of movies. There is a LOT to discuss about this movie and I hope we will use this week to dig into the story as it is a great example of both a complex, yet simple story. Some of the challenges -- telling a story over a 19 year period, dual Protagonists -- provide excellent learning opportunities through our analysis. But let me make just two points to kick off things: * Grace notes: That's what I call little 'bits of business' which when in evidence in a movie help take the story to a whole other level of creative expression. And Shawshank is FILLED with them. Since I use the movie as a study script and film, I've probably seen a half-dozen times in full and many times more in pieces, yet every time I watch it, I discover yet another grace note. Want an example? Check out this photo of the Bible in which Andy hid his rock hammer. Note what the name of the book of the Bible it's turned to: Exodus. As in escape. Brilliant grace note. * I have an ongoing series called The Theology of Screenwriting. I contend that most movies traffic in religious themes in a metaphorical 'humanist' fashion (obviously there are faith-based movies which use them explicitly with a religious intent). With Shawshank, we see one of THE most universal story archetypes: REDEMPTION. It's not used in a religious way, but metaphorically in reference to Andy's life-journey. By studying movies and how these religious themes are used to tap into the universal human experience of making sense of Life, we can bring that understanding to our OWN writing and our OWN stories, creating a deeper resonance between script and script reader, movie and moviegoer. I look forward to our week's conversation and hope it's a lively one!