Shawshank RedemptionStar Tim Robbins Thinks 'the Future of Cinema' Is Bleak Because of Streaming Services

Mar. 15, 2025

Tim Robbins.Photo:Gregg DeGuire/Deadline/Getty

Gregg DeGuire/Deadline/Getty

Tim Robbinsis getting candid about his thoughts on the future of the entertainment industry.

TheShawshank Redemptionstar, 66, shared in an interview withThe Guardianthat he thinks streaming platforms’ system of recommending viewers what to watch based on their algorithms will only do more harm than good in the future.

“You go onNetflixright now, you see what films are coming out and you tell me that that’s the future of cinema? We’re in big trouble,” Robbins told the outlet.

Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman sitting outside on the benches playing checkers and talking in a scene from the film ‘The Shawshank Redemption’, 1994.Castle Rock Entertainment/Getty

Castle Rock Entertainment/Getty

“It remains on top of IMDb as the most favoured movie of all time,” he said. “So I know that a quality movie, a quality television show, will last. Whether it’s a hit or not is irrelevant compared to what people are going to think about it in 10, 15, 20 years.”

The film celebrated its 30th anniversary in September. In honor of the milestone, director Frank Darabont revealed toThe Daily Beastthat Robbins — who played Andy Dufresne, a man wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and incarcerated at the titular Shawshank Prison —went to great lengths to embody the role. He said he even went so far as to put himself in “solitary confinement” in an effort to understand what his character was experiencing.

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“Not overnight though,” the director explained. “After an hour or two he said, ‘OK, that’s enough’ and I don’t blame him.”

“… We were out in this horrible little creek that was filled with cow poop,” he recalled. “They had to dam the creek to get the water level up and pour sterilizing stuff in there so Tim wouldn’t get some horrible disease.”

“Actors can be real troopers sometimes because sliding out of that pipe into that muck was so gross,” he added. “To convey that incredible moment while covered in cow urine? It’s amazing.”

He said that the dedication to the film was ultimately worth it as it “really piqued people’s interest,” and proved to be a movie that withstood the test of time.

Darabont noted his classic film “is a movie about hope. It’s about redemption and how we can improve the world around us.”

“I’ve gotten letters from people who have seen the movie and it changed their lives. That’s a profound legacy.”

source: people.com