News of the 20th anniversary of “The Shawshank Redemption” is drawing international attention. On Wednesday, two journalists with “The Sun” newspaper based in London, England visited the Ohio State Reformatory and Malabar Farm to gather information for a feature story they hope to publish about “The Shawshank Redemption” and its upcoming anniversary.
“There’s a lot of interest in England on the film, so the newspaper we work for sent us here to do a feature,” explained freelance writer Paul Thompson. Thompson was joined by freelance photographer Chris Bott on his one-day visit to Mansfield.
Although neither Thompson nor Bott had visited Mansfield before, the two were familiar with “The Shawshank Redemption.” “I think it’s great,” Thompson said of the movie. “It’s a story of redemption and hope.”
The two had the opportunity to tour the historic Ohio State Reformatory and hear from Lee Tasseff, president of Mansfield/Richland County Convention and Visitors Bureau, about the beloved film’s upcoming anniversary celebration, which will be held Aug. 29-31.
Tasseff discussed the “Shawshank Trail,” which is a self-guided driving tour of the 14 area filming sites from “The Shawshank Redemption.”
Tasseff said that those who have toured the trail were most commonly interested in seeing the Reformatory and the iconic tree at Malabar Farm where Andy (Tim Robbins) buries his letter to fellow prisoner Red (Morgan Freeman).
Thompson said that he and Bott planned on visiting Malabar Farm after their tour at the Reformatory.
Of their experience at the historic prison, Thompson said, “It was really interesting. I think anyone who’s seen the film would really enjoy walking around because it’s as though you’re stepping into a film set.”
Thompson was also impressed by the building’s architecture. “Architecturally [the building] is lovely with the local stone…Most prisons nowadays are just aircraft hangers, but this has got a bit of architecture,” Thompson said.
He added, “There are a lot of buildings like this in London.” He compared the Reformatory to a London prison called Wormwood Scrubs in Hammersmith.
Bott said he enjoyed seeing the prison cells at the Reformatory.
Both Thompson and Bott are originally from London and currently live in Florida.
Thompson said their jobs take them all over the globe, including such places as Cuba, Bermuda and Barbados.
“We were in Gary, Indiana a couple of weeks ago doing a piece on urban decay—about how the city’s blighted,” said Thompson.
Thompson said “The Sun” is the biggest selling newspaper in England, selling on average just under two million copies a day. “The Sun” is a daily newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch.
“Normally we cover different things—news and various features—so to come here and recognize the props and building from the film was interesting,” Thompson said.
Thompson mentioned that he intends to interview Mark Rolston, who played Bogs Diamond in the movie and was also trained as an actor in London, for the story.
Tasseff said that Thompson and Bott’s visit was atypical. “We get requests from the media routinely, but not like that—that’s a new one,” Tasseff said.
He pointed to “The Shawshank Redemption” as the driving force of the widespread attraction to the prison and surrounding filming sites. “[Their visit] shows the pulling power of the movie,” said Tasseff.
Thus, he said, “Our job is to channel as much of that [appeal] out into the rest of the world as possible because you never know what comes from it.”
