Submitted by ParttimeParty99 t3_zzjuer in movies
What happened? This guy, with his first major picture (Shawshank Redemption) created an instant classic that appears on most Top 100 Films Of All Time lists. He created two other great movies with The Green Mile and The Majestic, but after his disheartening involvement with the Walking Dead, he vanished. Is that it? Did The Walking Dead experience turn him off film making?
Wrote the Indiana Jones 4 script, Spielberg liked it, George Lucas canned it for Crystal Skull.
Made one the best first seasons of a TV show ever, was fired for it by AMC.
Then made a noir show for TNT, while good, no one really watched it and it got cancelled after 1 season.
And these are the failed projects we know about. I'm not surprised he quit the industry, his talent and time has been tossed out time and time again. I don't know what it's like to make some of your best work only to be burned for it, but at some point you must think to yourself "fuck this shit" and never look back
Is there a copy of his Indy 4 script floating around somewhere? I’d love to give it a chance.
Here’s a link: https://indiegroundfilms.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/indiana-jones-the-city-of-the-gods-nov-4-03.pdf
It hits many of the same beats (high and low) as Crystal Skull but, imo, does it better. All the writers clearly got the same assignment to incorporate George Lucas’ nukes-and-aliens ideas.
I have a friend who met him and frank said he was developing episode 1 of Star Wars and had a fleshed out vision of the Anakin trilogy but it got canned
Shit, after reading that I want to retire.
Film is fucking grueling. Production takes over your whole life, and there’s zero down time as a director. I don’t blame him for hitting his limit and wanting to make a change for his family.
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I understand he's a script doctor now. Tweaking and improving other peoples work.
Also, when they fired him from TWD, he sued their bollocks off. He now has more money than he knows what to do with.
But you are right. He was such a good director that if he were to release another film I'd be all over it like white on rice and a glass of milk on a paper plate in a snowstorm (credit to Major Payne for that)
Wow, first Major Payne reference I've ever seen. It was a pretty good bad movie.
I find it has a good few chuckles.
Does The Mist really rank that low?
I never understood all the hate for The Mist.
It was never supposed to be some groundbreaking Horror movie masterpiece. It’s just a really solid adaptation of a King story with a gut stab of an ending.
Most of the complaints I’ve heard are that they hate the religious lady so much that they hate the film. But that’s never made sense. She’s an excellent villain to make people react so severely…That’s a plus to the movie! Not a negative!
It’s not my favorite horror movie, but it still sometimes ends up on my list to watch every Halloween season like “The Thing” or “the Shining”, along with whatever other 29 horror movies I watch in October.
It’s so odd to me that people really seem to hate this movie.
It’s also credit to the actress, Marcia Harden
The scene where they kick out the soldier is absolutely nuts
There’s hate for The Mist?
Forreals. News to me. Excellent movie and not just bc of the ending. I’ve only ever heard good things.
It shouldn't haha I heard Stephen King was very impressed with his version of the ending and wished he wrote it. Also gotta check out the black and white version which is what he originally envisioned.
Just using this thread to insert my personal experience with Frank Darabont. I met him through my work and I have to say, the guy was incredibly nice and a pleasure to be around. Him and his wife were super friendly and were chatting with us when most people just keep to themselves.
They were so pleasant and nice that I felt comfortable telling him how much I love the movie The Mist. They were super happy to hear that and began talking about how much they loved that movie and how people don’t bring it up often. He jokes how it’s either Shawshank or his obscure work on the Blob.
Long story short, he stands out as one of my favorite celebrity interactions. Came across as a very friendly and humble guy.
He did get a $200M payout from AMC last year… he certainly enjoying more time with family and friends.
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TWD changed show runners nearly every season for it's first few years. I'm kind of amazed that show stayed in as long as it did.
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Him "stepping down" was announced 3 months before Season 2 started airing, and he has no writing credits for any of that Season's episodes.
He has a writing credit on S2 but he fired. Darabont was not considered the showrunner of S2.
Technically Shawshank was complete bomb at the box office. Literally my favorite movie of all time but yeah it went under the radar at the time.
The walking dead even turned me off watching it eventually. Man those first four seasons or so though. Great.
The B/W version of The Mist is a solid #2 after Shawshank and ahead of Green Mile and Majestic.
As long as we’re listing Darabont stuff I’ll add I love his script for The Blob (1988)
Sounds like you skipped The Mist, don’t skip The Mist. But yeah it’s too bad he doesn’t make anymore movies.
The Mist in black and white is so fucking good.
The walking dead killed him. He sued and got a few bucks. He decided to retire. He mellowed out and got a hot, age appropriate, wife. Miss his stuff though would love if he could make something and not have a heart or stroke getting it made. AMC fucked him hard on walking dd
He got his bag and retired. I’d do the same thing.
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His career started as a successful screen writer.
Didn’t he make a mob tv show and then got the bag from his lawsuit against amc?
I’m sure this is an unpopular opinion here but -
Shawshank is not typically amongst top 100 lists. It does well on audience polls, but isn’t super highly respected in the film world. It’s a fine, simple film with little complexity. It pioneered no new techniques either technically, narratively, or in performance. Had it not run forever on TNT or whatever it would largely be forgotten.
IMHO it’s the most overrated film of all time. Not to say it’s bad, it’s great comfort food. But top 100 of all time? Nah. Not even top 10 in 1994. I’d rank Pulp Fiction, The Crow, Clerks, Leon, The Lion King, Legend of the Drunken Master, Chungking Express, Satantango, Red, White, Shallow Grave, etc above it.
So how's sophomore year of film school going?
Lol, I wish I was still a sophomore in college.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/shawshank_redemption
Yeah, looks like everybody really hates this movie. Definitely not in anybody’s top ten, that’s for sure.
But do go on about snickers Leon…
moist-pouch t1_j2c1sdq wrote
From May 2021 article
The filmmaker was recently a guest on Post Mortem with Mick Garris and Darabont was asked if he has "thrown up his hands" and given up on directing and he revealed that his time is better spent with his family and friends rather than behind the camera:
"To a degree, yeah. I can't tell you how many times I burned out. I was a workaholic machine for thirty years. I just thought, I don't want however much time I have left, I don't want the next 20 years to go by. Nobody ever laid on their death bed and said, 'Gee, I wish I had had some more deadlines."
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https://www.joblo.com/frank-darabont-quitting-directing/