In 1994, we laughed, we cried, we saw Forrest Gump! Tom Hanks showed us the emotional depth that we never knew we needed, and the academy agreed! Nominated for thirteen awards, fans and critics alike cheered.
"What’s Normal Anyways?"
Even for the biggest Gumpers, there are a few secrets from the behind-the-scenes to discover!
Let's take a look at some of the filming trivia few people can boast they've ever heard. From casting call misses to surprising filming locations, we've got all the details you missed out during the mysterious pre-internet era.
Let's take a peek, shall we?
Super Fake 'Nam
If you thought that those Los Angeles movie professionals actually camped out in the swamps of Vietnam for months, you would be wrong, Surprise, surprise — the war scenes were actually filmed locally in South Carolina! Where, exactly, you ask?
Hunting Island and Fripp Island were the sets that producers combined with 1994 CGI magic to create realistic explosions in the tropical backdrop. Who knew South Carolina even had a secret jungle? Odds are, you were fooled!
Not Really AIDS
We all remember Jenny met an untimely end in the film when she fell victim to a strange virus. It was beautiful to see them get married for a short amount of time before she tragically died of what audiences across America assumed was AIDS. Given the timeframe in the movie, that could make sense.
But was that the only virus going around in that era?
In the original book, the author wrote that Jenny was infected with hepatitis C! This was also a common outcome for needle-sharing drug users, and certainly very deadly. So sad, Jenny!
Money Matters
The film has now grossed $600 million globally, but things were not looking good at the end of 1994. The film still hadn't turned a profit! How could that have happened, really?
Apparently, Paramount had a lot of costs, like $61.6 million in distribution fees to theaters. Beyond that, $73.5 million went to advertising and printing posters for promotion. The budget of the movie itself was $50 million, and $61.8 million went to the director and Tom Hanks. Then, $159 million went to theaters for sales.
It sounds like a crazy business! In the end, Paramount made $191 million. Phew!
MLK was MIA
Forrest took us through history with a number of interesting historical run-ins. Meetings with Elvis, John Lennon, Lyndon Johnson, JFK, and Richard Nixon peppered the plot of the film. But one figure from this era was cut completely. Who, and why?
Martin Luther King, Jr. was supposed to be attacked by dogs, and Forrest would distract them with a game of fetch. Though it was consistent with the quirky misdirection Forrest brought to all the other historical situations re-imagined in the film, the director decided that this one was in bad taste.
Don't worry: it is still available on the special collector’s edition DVD, for curious fans!
A Bubba Gump Near You
We all remember Bubba and his tragic dreams cut short far too soon. Despite extensive shrimping knowledge, he would never get the chance to implement it on a large scale. Because Bubba died in Vietnam, he never opened a shrimp restaurant, either. Or did he?
Actually, you can visit a real-life Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. location all over the world today! American locations of the delightful movie-themed restaurant have expanded to Japan, China, Mexico, and even Malaysia.
Not many movies can say they actually generated a real, lasting eatery chain. But Forrest Gump is not your typical film, either!
Gumping To The Top
We all know funnyman Chris Pratt at this point from one project or another, but did you know that he was actually discovered while waiting tables at the Bubba Gump restaurant in Hawaii? It's perfectly true!
At 19, Chris was living in a van and working as a waiter. When actress Rae Dawn Chong sat down as a customer, she saw his star power through the uniform and offered him a small role! The rest is history, but few people know the Gump connection in the real backstory of this Jurassic Park star.
1990s High Tech
When Forrest met President Lyndon Johnson for his Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, you might be confused watching the cinematography onscreen. In the '90s what kind of special effect trick was this?
It did look authentic, and that's because it was! A little clip from a 1968 ceremony honoring Sammy L. Davis was used to give the illusion that Forrest really was shaking the hand of President Johnson. They merged the videos together, and it looked pretty convincing!
Assume the Position
Those Vietnam scenes did look pretty realistic, didn't they? Many may wonder how the pampered Hollywood actors in the film really managed to make it look like they knew how to rough it up on the battlefield. As it turns out, they had some professional help!
Actors in the soldier roles were informed they had a real-life boot camp ahead of them if they wanted to be in the film! An extreme workshop was held by Vietnam veteran Dale Dye.
According to producer Steve Starkey, "He had real guns, and he was blowing things up and making them sleep there overnight and trying to scare them and make them understand what it was really like to be there. Some of the actors loved it, and others were terrified.” Very nice, Dale!
Sweet Accent Alabama
One of the most memorable traits of Forrest Gump was the distinct accent Tom Hanks was able to pull off like a person from Alabama. A native Californian, that took a lot of talent! But we all know that Tom has no shortage of that even on a bad day.
The actor actually modeled the accent he after Michael Conner Humphreys, the small boy who played young Forrest in the movie! Conveniently right on set, little Mike was actually from a small town in Mississippi.
Yes, this is just a neighboring state. But clearly, it was close enough to help develop a new speech pattern for Tom!
Dan the Man
Lieutenant Dan is one of the most memorable characters in the film, and we have Gary Sinise to thank for that. While his emotional delivery really made us feel the pain of war injury, he couldn't literally act away his legs on screen.
So what kind of movie magic was employed here to make them disappear before our eyes in the 1990s?
Getting amputation injuries to look real was a matter of technology, and this actually meant covering Gary's legs with blue fabric! The digital tech experts used it just like the green screen weatherman use.
The imagery was projected onto the concealing surface, and it looked incredibly convincing! If you thought they actually removed Gary's legs for the film, you would be terribly wrong!
That Lip Though
Mykelti Williamson is the real name of the actor we know as Bubba. But chances are, he doesn't have to run from the paparazzi in real life very often. Why might that be?
It turns out that his signature lower lip was all Hollywood illusion. The lip was fake! It was merely a prosthetic, but the makeup artists did a great job convincing us otherwise. Mykelti is the one who really made the character memorable, but that lip should almost get a movie credit of its own!
Lines We Love
Forrest Gump is a truly quotable movie, and people still recognize lines from the film decades after its run. But how many of these Gumpisms were really part of the original book or script?
Take this example: "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.” Tom Hanks actually just got into character and came up with this one right on set! The director loved it, and now it's a part of movie history. Pretty Gumpy, wasn't it?
Close Contenders
It's almost impossible to imagine the character without Tom Hanks, but casting staff actually considered a few other big names along the way before he was chosen. Who declined?
Other names that were considered included Chevy Chase and Bill Murray. Even John Travolta was seen as a good fit at one point. Thankfully, they all thought this part wasn't worth their time. The rest is history! And honestly, a Travolta-Gump would have been pretty odd. Hindsight is 20-20, isn't it?
The King Sings
Another famous face you may not have noticed in the film is the actor who briefly appears as Elvis. His name is not even in the credits, so many might assume they saw a low-level Elvis impersonator from the Vegas strip. But this is not so!
Kurt Russell is the man you see, and this is not his first stint playing the rock and roll blues singer. In 1979, he was in a lesser-known made-for-television movie called Elvis. And yes, his real voice was used in both films!
Groovin' On Up
In a movie that covers so many time periods, there are a lot of fashion fads to take into account for the wardrobe department. It must have been a big job to dress up all those extras on set! Au contraire, this never happened.
Apparently, the hippie scenes were shot during a real festival in Maryland where everyone was already in gear. Very clever! The Maryland Renaissance Festival provided a great ready-made backdrop for the 1960's scenes, which was a hidden money-saver for the studio.
That Bench Though
There are very few Hollywood props that people really remember as items with a life of their own. But that bench! Everyone remembers the bench. Where is it today?
Forrest sat on it while waiting for his bus in Savannah, Georgia. Today, Savannah officials decided they wanted to preserve it from graffiti, thieves, and harsh weather. The bench was moved to the Savannah History Museum for your viewing pleasure the next time you're in the area.
Sadly, it's not available for actual sitting and chocolate eating. Obey the velvet ropes!
Vietnam Was Complicated
Why was the microphone actually unplugged during the big speech Forrest tried to give about the Vietnam War? As it turns out, it was due to a writing dispute!
According to screenwriter Eric Roth, the director hated everything he wrote:
"[Zemeckis] never liked the speech I had Forrest Gump give when he was given the microphone at that event...He said, 'We need something that's way funnier and way more important.' Funnier I tried, and I even enlisted some comedians. I asked Billy Crystal to help me, I asked Robin [Williams], [some] other people. And nothing ever resonated. And then I tried to write some big glorious speech about patriotism and Vietnam. It was a really wonderful American speech. And that didn't quite work. So Bob came up with the solution of he starts speaking, and they pull the plug."
A clever film trick solved the problem, we see.
Time Warp
During the running scene, Forrest covers a lot of quirks in American history. While he ran for three years and two months, history buffs may notice that a few things were actually a bit out of order.
Viewers may notice that Forrest started running when President Jimmy Carter collapsed from heat exhaustion. This would mean he started on October 1, 1979. However, by the time he opens the letter from Jenny after the race, a big story is on the news.
President Reagan was subjected to an assassination attempt, but that was actually a year and a half later in reality. The more you know!
Bus Bullies
When little Forrest Gump gets on the school bus for the first time, he encounters a bit of childhood cruelty. The youngster is denied a seat next to his classmates twice, and we all remember sharing his sadness.
But few of us remember — or perhaps ever knew — who played these characters in the film!
As it turns out, the two children who don't want to be Forrest's bus mates are not random extras. The boy is the son of the director, and the girl is actually Tom Hanks’s daughter! Who knew?
More Rejection
John Travolta and Chevy Chase are not alone in their possible regrets turning down the best film of all time. Bubba was also a role that a few famous names thought was not worth the time of day. Who turned down this gift of a job?
Apparently, quite a few! Ice Cube and David Alan Grier said no. And few can picture it now, but Dave Chappelle was even offered the role. Ice Cube said he didn't feel comfortable playing what he viewed as an odd, mentally challenged character. And Dave thought the whole film would do poorly!
Oh, how wrong they were.
Fan Floater
If you have already gone ahead and enjoyed shrimpin' at Bubba Gump's real-life restaurant locations, it may be time to take things a step further in fandom. Where in the world is that boat floating these days?
In Downtown Disney, the real boat from the film can be seen in the moat surrounding the restaurant. And the original paddles from the ping pong tournament are displayed inside, as a bonus. They are autographed by Tom Hanks himself! Totally priceless, we say.
Mother Knows Best
In the film, little Gump had a close relationship with his mom. She always offered her wisdom, and the characters had an obvious age gap for the audience to buy into the dynamic. But the film required Sally Fields to continue growing older as her son did, and a switch to Tom Hanks was made.
Was there still a reasonable age differential to pull that off?
Sally is only around a decade older than Tom, it turns out. Makeup and hair did their best to make that work! Evidently, audiences were okay with the switch.
Flu-Ball
Tom Hanks is known as a top-of-the-line actor for good reason. During the film, he got sick with the flu. Did that stop the movie process for some time?
On the day of the football running scene, he felt horrible. Yet, he managed to make it through the athletic acting, and the results are preserved on camera for everyone to see. It's impossible to tell the health discomfort Tom was feeling, but we can give him a lot of extra credit now!
Very impressive, Tom.
War of Critics
While it might seem obvious that Forrest Gump practically changed our lives, critics were divided at the time of the release. Yes, some actually thought it was mediocre. Insane, right?
While Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and declared it was “a magical movie”, Entertainment Weekly gave it a “C” grade! They further claimed it “reduced the tumult of the last few decades to a virtual-reality theme park: a baby-boomer version of Disney’s America.”
Seems that it still ranks as #12 position on IMDb’s Top 250 movie chart, though. Critics be damned, we say!
Serious Skeptics
Forrest Gump really might be considered one of the top films ever made at this point, but studios were not initially interested in the project. Crazy, isn't it?
In 1985, Wendy Finerman was the film’s producer. She thought the novel had amazing potential for a full-length film. Sadly, big shot after big shot rejected the idea. When Tom Hanks signed on, however, things looked very different.
We actually have Tom himself to thank for putting a name people could believe in on the Gump phenomena!
Alabama Illusions
The white two-story house in the film was never actually in Alabama. Surprise, everyone! In fact, it wasn't even meant to be a permanent house. Constructed just for the movie, it was located on a gorgeous 8,000-acre plantation down in South Carolina. Want to visit the home today?
Too bad, the house wasn’t built to code! It was torn down, and it now exists only on screen. Were the other scenes at least in Alabama. No, many were shot in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia!
A little movie magic certainly had us fooled that we were getting a rare glimpse of Alabama scenery, but hey — it all looked real in the end.
Surprise Switcheroo
“Run, Forrest! Run!” is a line that has cemented itself into the public mind for decades now. Everyone knows what movie that one is from! But the question remains, how did Tom actually train for all that professional running?
As it turns out, Tom Hanks did very little running in his free time or on set. His brother was recruited to fill in for certain scenes instead! Jim Hanks actually loves running, and they look alike! The solution was clear, and the director signed on.
Life Imitates Art
Or does art imitate life? Forrest Gump's famous run was actually inspired by something that has already occurred in the world. At only 16, Louis Michael Figueroa made the news when he ran across the United States from New Jersey to California. He ended in San Francisco, to everyone's amazement.
But did he do this for the same reason as Forrest?
No, indeed he had a different goal in mind. He wanted to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society. And Forrest's line was a direct quote from the teen: “When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. When I had to go to the bathroom, I went.” Nice work, Louis!
Musical Magic
Watching the movie with a blindfold would actually still be enjoyable, considering the smash-hit vintage soundtrack. It's a musical trip timewarp through American history! So who was featured in the melodic journey?
More than 30 songs on the soundtrack are only outdone by the number featured in the film itself, but fans may not have noticed there was a running theme to all of it. According to Joel Sill, the film’s executive music producer:
“All the material in there is American...Bob [Zemeckis] felt strongly about it. He felt Forrest wouldn’t buy anything but American.” That's right, it was all American, all the way!