Have you ever been flipping through the channels on a random Saturday afternoon, stumbled upon Shawshank Redemption on basic cable and spent the next two hours watching the harrowing story of Andy Dufresne? Well, you are not alone. A report from the Wall Street Journal found that last year alone, the film accounted for 151 hours of basic cable airtime. Despite being totally overshadowed at the box office, the movie has proved to be a massive success for cable networks. The actor who played the warden in the film still gets “a very substantial income” just from residuals from repeat TV showings and told WSJ, “I suspect my daughter, years from now, will still be getting checks.” Author Stephen King famously sold the movie rights for the short story the film is based on for just $5,000 to filmmaker Frank Darabont. Ironically, despite all of the actors, producers and studios that the movie is still making tons of money for, King never cashed the check …
