MANSFIELD — It’s difficult to quantify the value of the iconic “Shawshank Redemption” movie to Mansfield and north central Ohio.
The movie, shot primarily at the former Ohio State Reformatory and other nearby locations, likely helped to save the gothic, historic prison, which opened in 1896.
It helped to give a community, reeling in 1994 from the loss of some industrial giants in the city, a bit of its pride back. It put Mansfield on the national map for something other than a major factory closing in a rustbelt community.
For the past 30 years, the old prison has become one of — if not the — leading driver of tourism dollars into Mansfield and Richland County.
As the Ohio State Reformatory Preservation Society joined forces with Destination Mansfield-Richland County on Saturday afternoon at the prison for the last big event marking the 30th anniversary of the film’s release, “Shawshank” director Frank Darabont dropped an economic bombshell.
Near the end of an event at OSR titled, “Return to Shawshank: An Intimate Evening with the Stars,” the three-time Oscar nominee said he had just received a proclamation from Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.
“Talk about unintended consequences,” Darabont said. “I love that this movie has created a tourist industry here.
“We never would have imagined while we were shooting this movie here and filming these scenes, that it would have this effect.
“But I was just presented by the governor’s office this beautiful proclamation that says the ‘Shawshank Redemption’ has brought in $200 million of economic benefit to the State of Ohio,” he told the audience gathered in the Central Guard Room at the prison.
“I never would have imagined that could be the result of the fact you wanted to go out and make a movie and tell a story. It’s marvelous,” Darabont said.
(Photos from “Return to Shawshank: An Intimate Evening with the Stars” at the former Ohio State Reformatory on Saturday evening. It was part of the 30th anniversary of the release of the iconic film, “Shawshank Redemption.” The story continues below the photos.)
Ben Mankiewicz, an American television journalist and host for Turner Classic Movies, again guided the panel discussion at Saturday’s event, just as he did at a similar event Friday at the Renaissance Theatre.
“Movies that shoot on location frequently have a significant impact where they film,” he said.
“I think it’s fair to say there has never been a movie that had a bigger impact on a local community than ‘Shawshank Redemption’ has had on the place we are right now,” Mankiewicz said.
The biggest difference on Saturday’s event versus Friday, other than being inside OSR, was the presence of actor Clancy Brown, an Urbana, Ohio native who played the villain, Capt. Byron Hadley, in the film.
It’s the first time Brown has attended one of the anniversary events. He didn’t participate Friday and was not available to speak with the media on Saturday, as Darabont and other actors had done the previous day.
Mankiewicz asked Brown if he had isolated himself from other cast members during filming in order to play the villainous captain of the prison guards to make the hostility onscreen more real.
He said other actors in similar roles over the years have told him that was part of their process.
Brown, who portrayed “the hardest screw that ever walked a turn at Shawshank State Prison,” said he didn’t handle the part that way.
“I guess I did it wrong,” Brown said with a laugh.
“There was a picture I remember finding … a casting director took pictures of people in a group … for background. There was this one picture of a fellow that looked just so angry and upset.
“He was about to have stomach cancer, which is what my character dies from in the book. I thought, ‘I’m just going to take that picture and put it on my mirror.’ All I had to do was look at that picture and just see how miserable a person Capt. Byron Hadley was every morning,” Brown said.
Brown, who has remained one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, has always said “Shawshank” is the film he is most often asked about by fans.
His movie career includes roles “Highlander,” “Bad Boys (with Sean Penn),” and “Starship Troopers.” Young viewers will recognize him too, as the voice of Mr. Krabs in “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.”
He also has an expansive television career, including turns in “Billions” and “The Crown,” where he portrayed former President Lyndon Johnson.
Other actors taking part in the Saturday event at OSR were Bob Gunton (Warden Norton), William Sadler (Heywood), Gil Bellows (Tommy Williams), and Mark Rolston (Bogs Diamond).
