Alex Carson
Forrest Gump
If you have ever seen Forrest Gump, you know that it is one of the greatest movies ever made. The 1994 film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Tom Hanks. It is the story of a man’s extraordinary life. The movie did great at the box office, and at the 67th Academy Awards, it won a half dozen of the awards that it was nominated for. The movie was great, but not 100% perfect. Most People Missed The Giant Blooper In This Iconic ‘Forrest Gump’ Scene. There are also things that you might not know about the film.
Bubba Gump
In the film, Forrest’s best friend, Bubba, planned to reign over the shrimping business after the Vietnam War. When he died, Forrest kept Bubba’s dream alive by starting Bubba Gump Shrimp. In real life, you can visit Bubba Gump Co. restaurants in the United States, China, Japan, Mexico, and Malaysia.
Almost Real Life
In the film, Forrest receives the Medal of Honor for bravery in the Vietnam War. The footage of Forrest getting the medal was real footage. The footage was from the 1968 ceremony for Sammy L. David who received the medal for his service. They just put Hank’s face on Davis’ body.
Fake Vietnam
The crew didn’t go overseas to Vietnam to film the war scenes. They actually filmed the scenes at a golf course on Fripp Island, off the coast of South Carolina. They used CGI to make it look like they were in the jungle with reedy swamps.
How Did She Die?
In the film, Jenny dies of an unknown virus two years after she and Forrest are married. Most people assumed that it was AIDS because the scene took place at the height of the AIDS crisis in the United States. This isn’t what the author had in mind for her death. He meant for her to have died from hepatitis C due to her drug usage.
Forrest’s Accent
Tom Hanks had to perfect his accent for the film. It needed to sound like he came from Alabama. He did such a great job, and he has his youngest co-start to thank. He modeled his accent after his youngest co-star, Michael Connor Humphreys, who played young Forrest. And he went on to win a Young Artist Award for his role.
Lieutenant Dan
In the movie, Lieutenant Dan loses his legs in the war. To pull this off in the film, they had the actor, Gary Sinise sits in a wheelchair wearing a blue fabric. With the magic of CGI, they helped him lose his legs.
Jenny’s Nude Scene
In the scene where Jenny is singing in a nightclub naked, actress Robin Wright was miserable. She was sick and sniffling through every scene. What was worse was that the scene took all day to get it right.
Prosthetic Lip
Bubba Gump had a big bottom lip that stuck out. The actor, Mykelti Williamson didn’t have a protruding lip, so they put a prosthetic lip on him. It took a while to perfect, but people had no idea that it was fake.
Improving the Most Famous Line
In the film, Forrest often says, “My name if Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump. This line didn’t appear in the script. Tom Hanks improved the line, and it was used throughout the whole movie.
Forrest Options
Tom Hanks wasn’t the only actor considered for the part. John Travolta, Bill Murray, and Chevy Chase were all offered the role, but declined. John Travolta says that to this day, he is still kicking himself for turning down the part.
Kurt Russel
What you may not know is that Kurt Russel was in the movie. His part is uncredited, and he was the voice for the Elvis impersonator.
Forrest Gump: The Lead Role
Haley Joel Osment played Forrest’s son when he was just 4-years-old. When Hanks received the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award, Haley admitted that he thought that he had the lead role in the film and not Hanks.
Run, Forrest! Run!
In the movie, Forrest does an awful lot of running, which meant that Tom Hanks had to run around a lot. His brother, Jim Hanks, was a runner, and the two looked similar. They had Jim do the long-distance running scenes to give Tom a break.
Growing Up
During the film, Forrest grows up onscreen. One thing that remains the same in Forrest at all ages is the distinct blue plaid pattern shirt that he wears.
Forrest’s Speech
When Forrest makes his moving speech in Washington D.C., the microphone cuts out. In the part of the speech that you don’t hear, he says, “Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mamas 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.”
Taking the Kids To Work
In the scene where little Forrest gets on the bus and tries to find a seat, two kids tell him that the seat beside them is taken. Finally, Jenny lets him sit. The two kids that turn Forrest down weren’t child actors. The boy is Alexander, the son of the director of Robert Zemeckis. The girl is Elizabeth, Tom Hanks’ daughter.
Bubba Gump
A few actors were considered to play Bubba Gump including Ice Cube, David Alan Grier, and Dave Chapelle. Ice Cube said he felt uncomfortable playing a disabled character. Dave Chapelle said that he didn’t think that the film would do that well. He sure ate his words after that.
Another Sick Actor
Robin Wright wasn’t the only member of the cast who was sick during filming. When Tom Hanks shot the football scenes when he had to run, he was suffering from the flu.
Real Life Run
Many people don’t know this, but a real-life event actually inspired the part of the movie where Forrest runs across the country after Jenny leaves. In 1982, a 16-year-old boy named Louis Michael Figueroa made headlines when he ran from New Jersey to San Francisco. He was running to raise awareness for the American Cancer Society. They even used his own words. When Forrest said, “When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate. And when I had to go to the bathroom, I went.” These are the same words that Louis said to the press.
