Thirty years ago today, Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks made history in one of the unlikeliest crowd-pleasers and box office success stories in Hollywood history. Everyone in the civilized world has seen "Forrest Gump", and in a 21st Century social climate increasingly inundated with online distractions, a MOVIE may never generate that level of engagement ever again. That's right, a movie. In 1994, cinema was at the center of pop culture, and it's impossible to discuss "Gump" without bringing up it's equally-celebrated rivals- "Pulp Fiction" and "The Shawshank Redemption". GOD-DAMN! This is never happening again. Baseball was on strike and no one cared. Jeff Bezos was about to start Amazon(without Forrest's help, as far as I know). It was a simpler time, that now feels as bygone as the 1952-1982 boomer paradise that was expertly recreated by the director of the "Back to the Future" trilogy. Join me as I run across America, and relive an absolute all-ages, four-quadrant classic.
Even though he wasn't thanked at the 1995 Oscar ceremony, we have to start with Winston Groom. The Vietnam vet turned writer created a very different version of the Southern simpleton in his 1986 novel. Groom's Gump is a large man(think John Goodman) with a foul mouth and a pet chimp named Sue. He's a math wiz, that gets recruited by NASA. We have Wendy Finerman, an ambitious young producer with ONE credit(1988's woeful "Hot to Trot") to thank for recognizing the cinematic potential of the story's stronger elements. She bought the rights, but found the industry uninterested in a post-"Rain Man" world. Apparently, there was only room for one screen savant in 1989-90(Groom's overly faithful adaptation of his own book didn't help). Eric Roth("Suspect", "Memories of Me") was hired to rewrite the script while the project languished for two years. Roth's revisions were good enough to get "Gump" back on track, at Paramount, in 1992. Near the end of that year, Tom Hanks and Robert Zemeckis were both looking for the next challenge and were keen to work together. The rest, as they say, is history.
John Travolta, Sean Penn, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase(LOL!), and Matthew Broderick were all either offered or considered for Forrest during the film's protracted development. The only actor on the planet capable of pulling it off is the man pictured above. I'm getting goosebumps just thinking about Tom reading this screenplay while wrapping up "Philadelphia" in an emanciated state. Did I mention that he's the greatest actor of the '90s? The risk of failure was high when Hanks planted himself on that park bench and started dispensing down-home wisdom with a heavy Southern accent. He disappears into the role completely. Zemeckis saw what Terry Gilliam and Barry Sonnenfeld didn't- the inherent goodness of this character. But Paramount boss Sherry Lansing was nervous about a $55 million budget for a story she considered a tough sell, and had a studio spy(Michelle Manning) keeping a close eye on the production. Hanks and Zemeckis gave up parts of their salaries in exchange for profit percentages to keep the script intact.
There was some early debate about how thick Forrest's accent should be. I think the argument ended the moment Michael Conner Humphreys walked in to audition. The eight year old was perfect in 1950s Alabama, and actually informed Hanks' performance, but preferred a normal childhood over further fame. In true Gump fashion, the Mississippi-born one-time actor went on to join the Army and served in Iraq.
Sally Field is such an underrated and important piece of this movie. The two-time Best Actress winner, for "Norma Rae" and "Places in the Heart", is only onscreen for about ten minutes total, but brings instant authority and class to Momma Gump. She's just a great actress. Hanks didn't allow their previous semi-romantic roles in 1988's "Punchline"(or a ten year age difference) prevent him from pursuing her for the pivotal part. She's his conscience and guide and unwavering supporter. Her boy Forrest is going to get the same opportunities as everyone else.
People don't talk enough about the darkly funny moments in the ultimate feel-good film.
Kurt Russell, who had a great time with Zemeckis on "Used Cars", briefly voices Elvis Presley(a role he first played in a 1979 TV movie).
Hanna Hall. peas and carrots. Jenny never wants to go home
If you can think of a more memorable movie quote, please let me know.
It turns out that Forrest, without his restrictive leg braces, can run like the wind blows. We jump ahead about ten years to Tom Hanks playing a teenaged Gump, which is no worse than a 46 year old Joe Pesci playing a 26 year old Tommy DeSimone(when an actor fits an Oscar-winning part, age be damned). This scene is reminiscent of Bob Z's OTHER masterpiece released in 1985, and running from bullies has an upside- Forrest gets to go to college.
Bear Bryant was one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and spent 25 years in Alabama. That puts Gump on two of his six National Championship teams(1964,1965). He's played by Sonny Shroyer from TV's "The Dukes of Hazard".
"How does it feel to be an All-American?" "Forrest Gump" is actually one of the best VFX movies of the '90s, even though we don't immediately place it next to "Terminator 2" and "Jurassic Park". Hanks stood in front of a blue screen and was later seamlessly inserted into archival White House footage of President John F. Kennedy by ILM's Ken Ralston. Technical innovation has been a Zemeckis trademark- his work on "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" remains extraordinary.
College was confusing times. Governor George Wallace, desegregation, the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door. Forrest seemingly ejaculates for the first time at Jenny's all-girls college. That brings us to Robin Wright. The perennially underrated actress, then best known as Buttercup in "The Princess Bride", beat out Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman, and Demi Moore for the biggest movie of the year. I think her obvious chemistry in audition footage with Hanks was the deciding factor for Zemeckis.
Hanks improvised one of the film's many immortal lines.
It's hard for a 22 year old college grad to figure out the future. But having a friend like Benjamin Buford Blue sure helps. Mykelti Williamson was an unknown who also nailed his audition with Hanks, and went on to appear in "Heat", "Con Air", "Ali", and "Fences". David Alan Grier, Dave Chappelle, and Tupac Shakur were all considered for Bubba, all intriguing casting what-ifs to say the least. Forrest excels at "Full Metal Jacket" style boot camp. Drill sergeant Afemo Omilami went on to play a similar role in 2000's "Tigerland".
I won't be joining the online chorus that insists Jenny is a bad person. She was abused as a child, and has no "home" to return to. Forrest is the closest thing she has to it. While she's posing for the college-girl issue of Playboy and playing guitar naked for drunks, Gump is getting ready to go to Vietnam. It's a whole other country. I wasn't even alive, and I get mad thinking about LBJ and the 58,000 impoverished young men that got sent there and never came back. Those feelings were still raw in '94.
One of the many great things about "Forrest Gump" was the life-changing effect it had on Gary Sinise. The 38 year old Chicago theatre legend was the best-kept secret in Hollywood, as the co-founder the Steppenwolf Company, with only one major movie under his belt- 1992's underrated "Of Mice and Men", which he also directed, when he got the endorsement from Hanks. The shirtless, sock-obsessed Lt. Dan Taylor is ready to die for his country, and Gary has been deeply devoted to veterans' services and charity work ever since. His Lt. Dan Band has performed over 500 times around the world for troops and their families. The Gary Sinise Foundation has served more than 1,000,000 meals, built homes for the disabled, and raised more than $300 million. The guy is a hero.
minutes take place in Vietnam, and military historians praised the accuracy of
