Frank Darabont: A Man of Convictions

Q: Tom Cruise nearly played the role Tim Robbins eventually played. Brad Pitt nearly played the part Gil Bellows did. What went down?

A: Tom flirted with the project for awhile before passing. I don't want to speak for him, but he might have been concerned about my being an unproven director. Certainly no hard feelings. The first day of shooting, in Ohio in the middle of nowhere, Tom sent a gift basket for me with a lovely note wishing me luck on the shoot. It was an incredibly graceful, classy, generous thing to do. Brad Pitt was interested in the project, right at the point in his career when he was breaking pretty largely into starring roles. Ultimately, he couldn't commit the time to do it. Actually, I'm rather pleased it worked out that way because he became such a big star that, in a smallish role like that, it might have thrown off the balance of the movie. Besides, Gil did a great job.

Q: Why such a long lag between The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile?

A: I was offered a lot of stuff subsequent to Shawshank, but my desire was to make a terrific movie, not just take another directing gig. There's a lot of uninspired stuff around. I got one goddamn Die Hard knockoff after another. Then there was the one about the serial killer of children. I'd read them and think, "I don't want to see this movie, let alone spend a year or two making it." I was tempted to call these people and say, "What exactly did you see in Shawshank that you think recommends me for this?"

Q: The Green Mile is, again, Stephen King. Again, a prison setting. Again, a period movie and something of a parable. Did you resist it for any of those reasons?

A: It was the luck of the draw more than anything. It was too extraordinary a story to ignore. It made me laugh, moved me, took me on a journey. Those are criteria for movies that I want to make. Hey, I'm just waiting for Steve to write another prison movie and I may make that one, too. [Laughs] But, having said that, I can't imagine two movies being more different than they are.

Q: You were born in a French relocation camp after the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Maybe I'm reaching, but do you think that experience might have somehow shaped your fascination for prisons?

A: It's not something I'm consciously aware of, but it could have predisposed me to a certain understanding of people, a love for the human spirit.

Q: What was Stephen King's relationship to the project?

A: Steve tends to be very supportive and hands-off with me. When he gives away the rights, he washes his hands of it so that if it turns out really shitty, he's not as emotionally involved. Shawshank turned out very much to his liking, so when I asked him for the rights to The Green Mile, he was very cooperative. In fact, for old time's sake, he gave me the option for one dollar. Once the movie got green-lighted, I'm sure he got more dollars--he's Steve King. And he's kind of Castle Rock family, after Stand By Me, Misery, Dolores Claiborne and Shawshank.

Q: Many people thought the length of Shawshank hurt it. Are you sensitive about that with The Green Mile?

A: I don't mind a movie that's long, if it's taken me on a journey. I lose track of time. I enjoyed every moment of Titanic and I thought every moment of Schindler's List was a masterpiece. Is it too long? Yeah, if your criterion is that you only want to see a two-hour movie. If you're Leonard Maltin, yeah, sure, it's too long. I don't want to be dictated to by the short attention spans of the MTV crowd. Maybe Leonard's right. Let's ban all movies over two hours. Just burn the negatives and never make another movie over two hours. So we'll lose Lawrence of Arabia, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Schindler's List. But at least Leonards ass will not be numb. I won't speculate what The Green Mile will run, but I promise you, it's going to be longer than two hours. People should pee before the houselights dim.

Q: When you cast the new movie, were actors breaking down your door?

A: I got wind of how actors felt about Shawshank over the years. I met Tom Hanks at the Academy Awards nominees luncheon when we were up against Forrest Gump, a movie that kicked the shit out of us. It was really nice to have an extraordinary actor and big-ass movie star like him say, "Gee, I really loved your movie. If you ever want to work with me, give me a call." When I finished writing The Green Mile, mat's exactly what I did. Tom read it and committed to it within 48 hours. So, we fired one torpedo and sank the battleship. This is a guy who doesn't waste words on something he doesn't mean. Steven Spielberg was right when he told me Tom was going to spoil me for all actors.

Q: Did you get the rest of the cast you wanted?

A: I had short lists for all the roles in the movie and I pretty much got every first choice actor. It was like winning the lottery. I knew Bonnie Hunt was going to have great chemistry with Tom, so I offered her the role. It's disheartening to see two fine actors with no chemistry trying to fake it, like Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte in I Love Trouble. You cant mandate it.

Q: Are you intensely aware of the Oscar buzz around The Green Mile?

A: Good buzz is better than bad. Hey, I hope "they"--whoever "they" are--are right. Very few of "they" have seen it. I've shown the early cut to Steve King and Steven Spielberg and I saw 'Spielberg sniffling. Four times I made him cry. [Laughs] I manipulated the great manipulator. I've also seen a number of distribution executives reduced to tears. A good sign, I'd say.

Q: Are your movies a difficult sell?

A: The movies I've made so far can't be termed high-concept. I can't describe Shawshank in 10 words or less and I surely can't describe Green Mile that way. I'm lucky that I don't have to convince anyone at Castle Rock. The town is full of executives who fall in love with good material but their marketing departments tell them, "Sorry. We can't sell that." I suspect some very good movies don't get made for that reason. I don't have to fight any battles with Castle Rock.

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