Forrest Gump (1994)

Curiosities

• The disco scene was filmed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles. The place has a tragic historical weight, as it was in this same hotel where Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1968, just two years after the date in which the scene is set.

• One of the most complex visual effects in the film appears right at the beginning: the white feather. It was filmed using a fan in front of a blue background and then digitally integrated into the scene. The team had to synchronize the movements of pedestrians, animals, and cars with extreme precision so that the feather''s flight seemed natural.

• When Forrest greets President John F. Kennedy at the White House, the music from Camelot (1967) plays in the background. This detail is very symbolic, as the term "Camelot" became the cultural nickname for the era of the Kennedy administration.

• The iconic bench on which Forrest sits waiting for the bus is currently preserved in the Savannah History Museum in Georgia. On the other hand, the building that functions as the Bayou-le-Batre hospital in the film is actually part of the University of South Carolina campus.

• The film includes a historical nod to the Watergate case: when President Nixon hosts Forrest in a new hotel after his visit to China, he calls room service at night because the fuses in the building opposite have probably blown and there are people walking with flashlights trying to turn on the light, suggesting that he was the one who involuntarily tipped off the famous case that overthrew the president.

• The role of Bubba was originally rejected by comedian Dave Chappelle, a decision the actor deeply regretted years later. Other artists, such as rapper Tupac Shakur, were also considered for the role.

• The film was a pioneer in visual effects. It received great recognition for the hospital scene where Gary Sinise''s legs seem to "disappear" under the sheets, a digital effect that was considered one of the best of the 90s.

• Forrest always carries his favorite children''s book, Curious George, in his briefcase. After the film''s release, the impact was such that sales of this title increased by 25% in just three weeks.

• In 2011, the US Library of Congress selected the film to be preserved in the National Film Registry due to its undeniable cultural, historical, and aesthetic importance.

• Forrest''s famous run across the country was inspired by a real event that occurred in 1982. A 16-year-old named Louis Michael Figueroa ran from New Jersey to San Francisco to raise funds for the American Cancer Society, a feat that touched public opinion at the time.

• There is a curious connection with space: in the New Year''s Eve scene, Lieutenant Dan ironically tells Forrest that if he ever becomes a boat captain, he will be an astronaut. Just a year later, both Gary Sinise and Tom Hanks starred in Apollo 13 (1995) playing astronauts. Additionally, at Forrest''s wedding, Dan mentions that his prosthetics are made of a titanium alloy used in space shuttles.

• In Winston Groom''s original novel, the character of Forrest is described as an imposing man 195 cm tall and weighing 110 kg. Tom Hanks, who is 12 cm shorter, did not physically fit that description, so the film adapted the character to his build.

• The scenes recreating the Vietnam war were not filmed in Asia, but on Fripp Island, in South Carolina. The exact place where the combats were filmed is today the Ocean Creek golf course.

• In a risky bet, Tom Hanks gave up his fixed salary for the film in exchange for a percentage of the profits. Thanks to the massive box office success, he ended up earning nearly 40 million dollars.

• At the beginning of the film, in the mockumentary scene, the actor playing the ancestor Nathan Bedford Forrest is Tom Hanks himself, made up for the role.

• To achieve the effect of Lieutenant Dan''s leg amputation, Gary Sinise wore blue leggings, which were later removed through digital effects.

• Tom Hanks was so fascinated by the project that he accepted the role of Forrest just an hour and a half after he started reading the script.

• The small silver St. Christopher medal (patron saint of travelers and protector from danger) worn by Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) was not a common prop; it belonged to Jack Treese, the actor''s brother-in-law, who was a real veteran who fought in the Vietnam war.

• The film''s soundtrack has a strong presence of the band The Doors, including a total of 6 songs by Jim Morrison''s group throughout the film.

• In Chippewa Square in Savannah, where Forrest sits to tell his story, there are no permanent benches. The iconic wooden bench was manufactured and placed there only for the filming days.

• The famous phrase: "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you''re gonna get", was recognized by the American Film Institute as the 40th best quote in film history.

• Forrest''s hometown, Greenbow, Alabama, is a fictional locality created exclusively for the film; it does not exist on the real map of the United States.

• In the scene where a young Elvis Presley learns his famous dance moves from Forrest, the singer is physically played by Peter Dobson. However, the voice was dubbed by Kurt Russell, who had already played the "King of Rock" in the 1979 biographical film.

• In the scene where Forrest remembers the ancestor he was named after, images from the silent film The Birth of a Nation (1915) are used, which historically portrays the founding of the Ku Klux Klan.

• Actor Michael Conner Humphreys, who played young Forrest, was the one who helped Tom Hanks perfect his Southern accent. Hanks decided to imitate the boy''s natural way of speaking to give consistency to the character in both stages of his life.

• Filming for the movie took place between August 8 and December 1, 1993, traveling through the states of California, Montana, North Carolina, Utah, Maine, South Carolina, and Georgia.

• All the shrimp that Forrest catches during the scenes on the boat were dead; real market specimens were used for the filming.

• Screenwriter Eric Roth went so far as to write the script for a sequel that included events such as Forrest dancing with Princess Diana, the O.J. Simpson case, and the Oklahoma City bombing. Interestingly, Roth delivered the script on September 10, 2001; after the attacks the following day (9/11), both he, the director, and Tom Hanks decided the plot was no longer appropriate due to the terrorist theme.

• The name Forrest has a dark historical origin: his mother (Sally Field) named him after Nathan Bedford Forrest, a Civil War general and the first "Grand Wizard" of the Ku Klux Klan. According to her, she chose that name to remind him that "sometimes we all do things that just don''t make sense."

• The iconic Bubba Gump cap used by Tom Hanks during filming reached a value of £10,000 at auction.

• The value of objects from the film has grown enormously at auctions. At Julien''s Auctions, while the dirty Nike t-shirt in which Forrest runs sold for $2,560, other pieces reached much higher prices: the table tennis uniform was auctioned for $5,120 and the complete military uniform from the scene in Washington reached the impressive figure of $51,200.

• Within his service in the United States Army, Forrest reached the military rank of Sergeant.

• When Forrest Gump and Bubba are deployed to Vietnam, it is possible to notice at some points that Bubba has written on his helmet: "I''d Rather be Shrimping".

• Director Robert Zemeckis later recalled the transformation of Winston Groom''s book into the cinematic story: "The process of any adaptation is always similar: whether something is added or taken away, the goal is for the result to work as a script, as a cinematic narrative. I had nothing to do with the adaptation of Forrest Gump; I didn''t like the book. The script was written by Eric Roth, who miraculously found something that interested him. I would say the love story between Forrest and Jenny. He took it as a basis and added twists and turns, most of them taken from that peculiar book, but he gave them a completely different tone."

• The surname "Gump" has an old root in English and is used to describe a simple, naive, or foolish person.

• The film''s timeline is quite broad, situating the events of Forrest''s (Tom Hanks) life between the years 1950 and 1982.

• The house scenes were filmed on a private property in the Yemassee area, approximately 15 km from Beaufort, South Carolina. Forrest''s (Tom Hanks) and Jenny''s (Robin Wright) houses were not real historical buildings. Both houses were built in 1993 especially for the film and demolished after filming finished.

• The character who appears with the United States flag shirt at the rally is based on Abbie Hoffman (1936-1989), a famous political activist and co-founder of the Yippies. Hoffman was known for his eccentric dressing style, often with a US flag t-shirt, and was a central figure in anti-Vietnam war protests and the fight for civil rights.

• During his interview on the Dick Cavett show, Forrest mentions that in China people don''t go to church. Lennon responds: "No religion too? It''s easy if you try, Dick", making a direct reference to the lyrics of his future song Imagine.

• Forrest''s boat, named Jenny in the fiction, was actually the Miss Sherri, owned by fisherman Jim Stanley. The production moved it from South Carolina to the Beaufort area to film the fishing scenes and, after filming, it was acquired by the Planet Hollywood chain.

• Forrest''s army career lasted between 4 and 5 years. During his service, he obtained high-level decorations, including the Medal of Honor, the Purple Heart, and the Vietnam Service Medal.

• When an officer turns off the microphone during the demonstration in Washington, what Forrest actually says is: "Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don''t go home at all. That''s a bad thing. That''s all I have to say about that".

• The iconic sequence of Forrest running across the United States was nearly canceled due to lack of budget. The studio saw no point in financing what it considered such a long and unnecessary part. Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis trusted its importance so much that they decided to finance it out of their own pockets in exchange for a percentage of the film''s profits.

• The book Forrest reads and passes from generation to generation is The Cat in the Hat, written by Dr. Seuss and first published in 1957.

• Although they play mother and son, Sally Field is actually only 10 years older than Tom Hanks.

• Both Forrest and his son are seen watching the children''s show Sesame Street, which originally began broadcasting in 1969.

• The full name of Forrest''s best friend, played by Mykelti Williamson, is Benjamin Buford Blue.

• The film features a brief appearance by renowned ice hockey player Brendan Shanahan.

• In the nightclub scene, Jenny (Robin Wright) uses the stage name "Bobbie Dylan" while performing Bob Dylan''s famous song "Blowin'' In The Wind".

• In the dramatic scene where Forrest (Tom Hanks) carries Bubba (Mykelti Williamson) to save him from napalm, a crane and cables were used to suspend Williamson, as his weight made it difficult for Tom Hanks to run with him naturally.

• Forrest''s school bus is a 1941 Chevrolet Ward. His bullies chase him in a 1951 Ford F-1 pickup. In the army, Forrest demonstrates his skill by assembling an M14 rifle in record time, while in Vietnam he is seen equipped with M16 rifles and an M72 LAW rocket launcher.

• The authentic "Jenny" boat used in the filming and used for shrimping is currently on display at Planet Hollywood in Disney World.

• Due to his young age (4 years old), Haley Joel Osment did not see the full movie until much later. The actor has commented that, given the intensity of some scenes, it was better to wait until he was older to watch it.

• Robert Zemeckis chose little Haley Joel Osment to play Forrest''s son after seeing him in a TV commercial for a pizzeria.

• During the filming of the nightclub scene, actress Robin Wright (Jenny) was quite ill. Even so, she endured a 24-hour recording session in which she sang practically naked, covering herself only with her guitar.

• Years before being Forrest''s mother, Sally Field participated in Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979), where she coincidentally played a rescuer on board a ship named Jenny.

• The American Film Institute (AFI) consolidated the film''s status by including it in its prestigious list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.

• Iconic American musician Bruce Springsteen included several famous lines from the film in the lyrics of his song "My Best Was Never Good Enough".

• The year 1994 was a curious year for the name "Forrest" in cinema; in addition to Zemeckis'' work, Steven Seagal starred in On Deadly Ground, where his character was also named Forrest.

• The "box of chocolates" line had already been used (with slight variations) in the British film The Likely Lads (1976).

• Before Tom Hanks, the director''s first choice was Harry Anderson. However, the actor had to turn down the project due to his contractual commitments with the series Dave''s World.

• It is the most successful film in Robert Zemeckis'' career. It managed to exceed 250 million dollars at the US box office in just 66 days.

• Within the fiction, Forrest Gump served with honor in the 9th Infantry Division of the United States Army.

• If Forrest ran for exactly 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours starting from Alabama on July 5, 1976, his journey officially ended on Wednesday, September 19, 1979 at 8:00 p.m. in Monument Valley, Utah.

• To commemorate its 20th anniversary in September 2014, the film was re-released in IMAX theaters worldwide.

• Winston Groom, author of the original novel, imagined John Goodman as the ideal actor to play Forrest, due to the character''s physical description in the book.

• Director Robert Zemeckis based the aesthetic of Greenbow (the fictional Alabama town) on the work of illustrator Norman Rockwell. The scene of Forrest waiting in the school hallway is a recreation of the painting "Girl with a Black Eye (The Shiner)". Likewise, the moment when Jenny falls to the ground in front of her old house is inspired by "Christina''s World" by painter Andrew Wyeth.

• The shoes that Jenny gives Forrest are the classic 1974 Nike Cortez. Interestingly, Tom Hanks had already worn a very similar model years earlier in the film The Man with One Red Shoe (1985).

• At the end of the film, when Forrest Jr. gets on the bus, he is wearing a blue and white shirt very similar to the one his father wore at the beginning of the story.

• The microphones and sound system used during Forrest''s iconic speech in Washington were provided by Brandywine Electronics, LTD (a company now known as BEL.com).

• In one scene, Forrest appears alongside Governor George Wallace. Interestingly, Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) played said governor years later in the productions George Wallace (1997) and Path to War (2002).

• The film features four actors/actresses who play multiple roles:
  
       - Gary Sinise: Plays Lieutenant Dan and all his military ancestors.
       - Mykelti Williamson: In addition to being "Bubba", he appears as a waiter in the scene where Forrest meets President JFK.
       - Sally Field: Plays Forrest''s mother and has a cameo as a reporter during Forrest''s run across the country.
       - Tom Hanks: In addition to Forrest, he plays the ancestor who gave rise to his name.

• Actress Holly Hunter was so excited to announce the winner of the Oscar for Best Actor that, by mistake, she opened the envelope before presenting the list of nominees.

• The character of Jenny was originally offered to Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, and Demi Moore, but they all turned down the role.

• In a scene reminiscent of the film Platoon (1986), Forrest (Tom Hanks) introduces the soldiers of his unit during a march through the jungle, just as the character Chris (Charlie Sheen) does in Oliver Stone''s film.

• The restaurant chain Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, inspired by the film, is a global reality. It currently operates 42 establishments distributed in the United States, Japan, China, Mexico, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and the United Kingdom.

• The famous magician Ricky Jay designed a special wheelchair for Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan), which allowed his legs to be hidden naturally during filming.

• Although director Robert Zemeckis initially wanted Bill Paxton for the lead role, the studio was looking for someone with a higher commercial profile. Finally, the role went to Tom Hanks, who personified American innocence in an era of great social change.

• Even though the movie grossed 677 million dollars, Paramount's accounting department assured the book's author, Winston Groom, that the film had been a financial 'loss' to avoid paying him the promised 3% of profits. Due to this, Groom refused to sell the rights to the sequel, Gump & Co., ironically stating: 'I cannot, in good conscience, allow the adaptation of a sequel to a failure.'. However, the parties eventually reached an agreement: Paramount paid Groom a seven-figure sum (estimated at around 1 million dollars) for the sequel rights, simply to 'make peace' and avoid a larger lawsuit.

• Several curious scenes were left out of the final cut. Among them, one where Forrest meets John Travolta (in his Saturday Night Fever character). A scene was planned where Forrest invented the famous dance step from the movie while trying to go to the bathroom in a club, but it was never included to avoid over-saturating the film with historical cameos.

• Producer Wendy Finerman tried to sell the project in Hollywood since 1985. After the success of Rain Man (1988), Warner Bros. studio feared the movies were too similar and, in a move that today seems like a historical mistake, traded the rights to Forrest Gump for the action film Executive Decision (1996). Finally, the project moved forward thanks to the personal connection between Finerman, director Zemeckis, and Tom Hanks.

• Although Jenny's (Robin Wright) last name is never mentioned in the movie's dialogue, the letter Forrest receives reveals that her full name is Jenny Curran.

• The red-haired girl sitting on the school bus is, in real life, Elizabeth, the daughter of Tom Hanks.

• During the filming of Forrest's run in the football game, Tom Hanks suffered from a severe flu, but he still met the physical demands of the filming.

• The famous line: 'My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump', was not in the original script; it was an improvisation by Tom Hanks that director Robert Zemeckis found so authentic that he decided to include it in the final cut.

• In the ping-pong match scenes, the actors never hit a real ball. To ensure speed and accuracy, the ball was added later using computer animation.

• Before Tom Hanks accepted the role, the character of Forrest was rejected by actors such as Bill Murray, John Travolta, and Chevy Chase. Years later, Travolta publicly admitted that turning down that role was one of the biggest mistakes of his career. Meanwhile, the role of Bubba was declined by Ice Cube and David Alan Grier.

• Tom Hanks accepted the role under the strict condition that the film respect historical reality. For this reason, passages from the original book that were too fantastical for the tone of the film were removed, such as the scene where Forrest travels to space or when he saves the Chinese leader Mao Zedong from drowning.

• A constant visual detail in the film is that, in every scene where a transition of Forrest's age is shown, the character is always wearing a blue shirt.

• The first child who appears on the school bus and refuses to let little Forrest sit next to him is Alexander Zemeckis, the son of the film's director, Robert Zemeckis.

• As a humorous detail, in each and every one of the photographs of Forrest (Tom Hanks) that appear throughout the film, the character has his eyes closed.

• During the long run sequences across the United States, Tom Hanks was not the one who ran in all the shots. His younger brother, Jim Hanks, acted as his body double in many of those scenes.