Forrest Gump Movie Stuff

FORREST GUMPSpecial Effects

Costumes
To Dress that cast and thousands of extras, costume designer Joanna Johnston and her costume supervisor, Pam Wise, worked with a staff of 60 in three wardrobe departments across three states.

A very straightforward basic look was used for Forrest. Although Hanks had 80 costume changes his look did not change because

COSTUMES:Mamma would have said to Forrest this was the right way to dress, so why would he have done anything differently?

-Johnston

Blue Screen
Blue screen is a special effect that allows elements that would normally appear on screen to be eliminated in the post-production process. The blue screen technique was used in Forrest Gump for the actor playing Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise). Because he needed to be an amputee but was not.

Blue screen stockings were worn by the actor, on the portion of his legs that would later be eliminated in post-production. Above the stocking, his pant leggs were cut and knotted to help aid in the illusion that there were no legs below the knee.

Photography
Lighting variations were used to make more of a contrast in the situations of the movie. A heavy filtration was used for forrest's childhood to create a softer, more innocent world. Crisper film stocks and hard lighting were used as the story progressed into the Vietnam era and Jenny's harsh adult life experiences.

Locations
The Beaufort vicinity was also used for filming the scenes set in Vietnam. Fripp Island, a resort community located 30 miles from Beaufort contained 50 acres of undeveloped land that was used as the jungles of Southeast Asia and hosted a Vietnamese Village complete with a five acre soybean field and swamp areas. In search of the the perfect settings, the production crew traveled throughout the U.S. and combed every southern state before the filming of Forrest Gump.

When production began on August 8, 1993, Beaufort, South Carolina had been declared home. The project brought cast and crew to many additional locations including Savannah, Georgia, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles, California. The aptly named "Crusade Unit" filmed Forrest's run across America in North Carolina, Vermont, Maine, Montana, Arizona, and Utah's Monument Valley.

The plantation also contained pre-existing rice fields, which provided a suitable stand in for the paddies of Southeastern Asia. Production designer Rick Carter was particularly enamored with the South Carolina setting.

LOCATIONS: This was a real opportunity to illustrate the South as a romantic place - majestic. But at the same time an intimate setting for Forrest. This is Forrest's home, a place that never really changes while the rest of the world does. A safe place to return home after his many adventures.

-Rick Carter

While in Los Angeles, the University of Southern California became the location for Forrest and Jenny's college campuses, and the Ambassador Hotel served for many of the film sets, including the Nashville bar where Jenny parties with her friends to the pulsating beat of the times.

Set Design
A set is considered to be each location that a scene will be filmed. Every set is designed and dressed with props that are rented, purchased, or manufactured for the film. Once filming has been completed on a set, it is photographed and the pictures labeled so that the set and props may be replicated exactly in case a reshoot is required later on.

Vast amounts of archival material on film and tape were viewed in search of footage that reflected the essence of various eras. The archival footage and photographs were invaluable, not only in shaping the look and feel of the film but also in providing all departments with research for set design, costumes, hair, and make-up.

Among the most challenging work was developing the technology to seamlessly match the production's footage of Forrest Gump with the existing archival footage. One of these opportunities comes when Forrest meets President Johnson. Zemeckis shot these scenes on the same type of film stock in very much the same way to make it look as documentary-like as possible.

Gump House
In Yemassee, South Carolina, an 8,000 acre bluff plantation served for the setting of the Gump Boarding House in Greenbow, Alabama, Forrest's lifelong home. Tucked away at the end of a quarter mile long alley of oaks lining the Combanee River, the production crew built a 3,500 square foot house that looked as if it had been constructed before the civil war.

Forrest Gump Trivia

• When Forrest gets up to talk at the Vietnam rally in Washington, the microphone plug is pulled and you cannot hear him. According to Tom Hanks he said, "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."
• When Forrest first learns to play ping-pong in the infirmary, he is told the trick is to "keep his eye on the ball at all times" by another soldier. After that moment, whenever he is shown playing ping-pong, he never blinks.
• With every transition of Forrest's age, one thing remains the same. In the first scene of each transition, he wears a blue plaid shirt.
• The line, "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump," was ad libbed by Tom Hanks while filming the scene, and director Robert Zemeckis liked it so much that he decided to keep it in.
• During the ping-pong matches, there was no ball; it was entirely CGI, animated to meet the actors' paddles.
• During the ambush in Vietnam the enemy is never actually seen. This led many combat veterans, especially Vietnam veterans, to rate this as one of the most accurate combat scenes in movie history. It was very sudden, the enemy isn't seen, and it happens very quickly.
• Attention to detail: When Gump calls to report the Watergate burglary, the security guard answering the phone says, "Security, Frank Wills." He was the actual guard on duty during that night, and he was the person who discovered the break-in, on Saturday, June 17th, 1972.
• The necklace worn by Lieutenant Dan is a rosary with a Saint Christopher medal, inscribed "Protect Us In Combat." It was worn in Vietnam by Gary Sinise's brother-in-law, Jack Treese, in 1967-68.
• The park bench that Tom Hanks sat on for much of the movie was located in historic Savannah, Georgia, at Chippewa Square. The fiberglass bench he sat on, since then, has been removed and placed into a museum to avoid being destroyed by bad weather, or possibly stolen. The church where the feather first falls was about 100 yards just down the street from the bench. To this day, the bench is held in the Savannah History Museum, Savannah, Georgia.
• An uncredited Kurt Russell, who previously worked with Robert Zemeckis on Used Cars (1980), provided the voice of Elvis Presley. Russell played Presley in Elvis (1979), and made his film debut at age 12 in It Happened at the World's Fair (1963), in a scene where he kicked Presley in the shin. The young Russell originally didn't want to kick Presley, because he was a fan, so Presley paid him $5 to do it.
• Greenbow, Alabama (Forrest's hometown) is fictional. Bayou LaBatre, Alabama (Bubba's hometown), however, is real.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/trivia/

20 fact you might not know about Forrest Gump

1. 'Forrest Gump' is based on a novel
   Forrest Gump began life as a 1986 novel by Winston Groom.
   [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671526065/]
2. Not everything in the book made its way into the movie
   For example, he goes into space and becomes a professional wrestler.
3. John Travolta was the original choice to play Forrest
   Although Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were also considered, Hanks got the role.
4. Tom Hanks wasn't sure about the Southern accent
   In the book, Forrest is from rural Alabama and thus has a thick Southern accent.
5. Haley Joel Osment made his debut in 'Forrest Gump'
   Osment would break into stardom as a child in The Sixth Sense.
6. Dıck Cavett played himself
   A lot of famous people from the past show up in Forrest Gump, thanks to archival footage and CGI. One person appears as themselves, though: Dıck Cavett. Cavett merely used makeup to look like he did back in the day.
7. Robert Zemeckis wasn't the first choice to direct
   Terry Gilliam turned down a chance to direct the film, which makes sense. The man behind movies like Brazil and 12 Monkeys would have been an odd choice. Barry Sonnenfeld was also considered, but he chose to do Addams Family Values instead.
8. Sally Field had previously played Tom Hanks' love interest in a film
   Field is only 10 years older than Hanks. The two played contemporaries and love interests in the '80s comedy Punchline.
9. Zemeckis embraced his love of special effects and CGI
   While he didn't go all out for Forrest Gump, he used a lot of CGI, especially for 1994. With the help of ILM, Zemeckis used CGI to have Hanks interact with folks like John F. Kennedy and to create the illusion that Gary Sinise's Lieutenant Dan had actually lost his legs.
10. It's Zemeckis' highest-grossing movie (and that's saying something)
11. Hanks won his second Best Actor Oscar in a row
12. Beyond Hanks, 'Forrest Gump' was a (controversial) Oscars success
13. You may be quoting one of the iconic lines incorrectly
    One line from Forrest Gump ended up on AFI's list of iconic movie quotes. You know the line: "Mama says life is like a box of chocolates." Ah, but that's not the actual quote. In the movie, Forrest says, "Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." So yeah, maybe you were slightly off. In the book, the line Forrest says, "Being an idiot is no box of chocolates."
14. A sequel novel was written in the wake of the movie's success
    Gump & Co came out in 1995, right in the wake of Zemeckis' film. The book picks up in the '80s and gets a little meta. Gump even meets Tom Hanks!
    [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K8ZDP3U/]
15. Plans for a sequel movie were quashed in a grim way
    9/11 happened. All the key figures decided that rendered the script irrelevant, and the project was nixed.
16. There is a Bollywood remake
    Laal Singh Chaddha
17. Hanks doesn't blink whenever Forrest plays table tennis
    
18. Gary Sinise has a band inspired by his role in the film
    He is the frontman of the Lt. Dan Band, a cover band that has played at USO shows and has done extensive work to raise money for veterans.
19. Hanks and Sinise have success when they work together
    Hanks and Sinise have been in three films together: Forrest Gump, Apollo 13, and The Green Mile.
20. You have to pay attention to learn Jenny's last name
    Her last name is never spoken in the movie. The only way to know is to look at some of the mail that is delivered to her. Jenny's last name? Curran.

https://www.yardbarker.com/entertainment/articles/20_fact_you_might_not_know_about_forrest_gump/s1__35216153

Forrest Gump

Rotten TomatoesForrest Gump
Slow-witted Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) has never thought of himself as disadvantaged, and thanks to his supportive mother (Sally Field), he leads anything but a restricted life. Whether dominating on the gridiron as a college football star, fighting in Vietnam or captaining a shrimp boat, Forrest inspires people with his childlike optimism. But one person Forrest cares about most may be the most difficult to save -- his childhood love, the sweet but troubled Jenny (Robin Wright).

Tom Hanks' rigorously earnest performance keeps Forrest Gump sincere even when it gets glib with American history, making for a whimsical odyssey of debatable wisdom but undeniable heart.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/forrest_gump

Forrest Gump Goofs

• When Forrest and Jenny are "walking" along past a candlelit vigil in front of the White House, it is noticeable that they pass the same five or six people several times (as well as a couple of the guards at the gate).
• During the Protest Rally at the Washington Monument, the tree leaves are not consistent. Behind Forrest on the podium, the trees in the background have no leaves as if it were late autumn or winter. The trees surrounding the reflection pool in front of Forrest are all Green as if it were summer, and in a later scene as Forrest watches Jenny board the bus back to Berkeley, the leaves on all the trees are different colors as if it were the heart of autumn.
• Forrest is standing in Jenny's foyer upon entry to her apartment. While they are talking it's possible to see in the background there is an ironing board with the iron laying flat, as if it had been knocked over. While screen shot quickly focuses on the son watching television then quickly back to Forrest and Jenny, the iron has been stood up correctly. Forrest and Jenny had not moved.
• The girl behind Forrest and Jenny on the school bus disappears and reappears between shots.
• The ramp outside the stage door at The Dick Cavett Show as seen over Forrest's shoulder is clear of snow, yet moments later it covered with snow as Lt. Dan slides down it.
• In the New Year's Eve sequence, Dick Clark is on the TV in the bar, wearing a brown jacket. When the scene switches to Jenny on that same New Year's Eve, Dick is wearing a blue jacket on her TV.
• When Forrest and Jenny visit her old house in Greenbow, Alabama she breaks a window with a rock. In the next scene when Forrest is comforting her on the ground that window is not broken.
• Forrest leaves the mower with grass in front of it when he goes to meet Jenny. When they cut back to him, the mower is sitting next to the cut grass, not in the middle of it.
• When Forrest is talking to Lt. Dan after jumping off his boat and meeting him on the pier, some camera angles show Forrest to be completely dry when he was just swimming in the water.
• When Forrest is given his discharge papers, he sets down his ping-pong paddle and (computerized) ball to salute the officer. When he picks the paddle back up, he also pretends to pick up the ball, which didn't end up getting animated.
• In the montage of Forrest's and Lt. Dan's first successful shrimp catch after the hurricane where they are emptying their full shrimp nets onto the deck of the boat, the shrimp nets are full of headless shrimp. Shrimp caught in nets are complete animals, and they are processed on the boat after they are dumped, at which time their heads are removed. Shrimp boats do not catch pre-processed shrimp from the waters of the gulf.
• When Forrest is playing ping pong, the computerized ball starts moving very quickly. If you follow it closely, you can see that it bounces off his elbow at one point instead of the paddle (right before the ball bounces and then seems to hit the camera).
• When the bullies first throw rocks at Forrest, the second one clearly hits him below his eye, but he starts to bleed up on the top of his forehead.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/goofs/

14 Things You Didn't Know About the Movie Forrest Gump

AARPRun, Forrest, Run!
Few films have stitched themselves into American memory as dearly as 1994's Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Robin Wright and Mykelti Williamson. Based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump was a box office and awards juggernaut, winning six Oscars

• Tom Hanks wasn't anyone's first choice for the role​
  It's hard to imagine anyone but Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump, but novelist Winston Groom imagined John Goodman in the title role (that may have had something to do with the fact that in the novel, Forrest is 6 foot 6 and weighs 240 pounds). Director Robert Zemeckis is said to have wanted Bill Paxton, whom the studios turned down as not having enough star power, or Harry Anderson, who was unavailable due to being attached to a television series. Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and John Travolta are all said to have turned down the role as well.​
• Neither was Robin Wright as Forrest's forever love, Jenny Curran
  Jodie Foster, Nicole Kidman and Demi Moore were all considered for the role before Wright, who snagged Golden Globe and SAG nominations for her portrayal, went on to play high-profile characters in film and television (The Princess Bride, House of Cards) and directed her first feature film in 2021 (Land).
• Dave Chappelle turned down the role of Forrest's friend Bubba Blue
  The comedian-actor didn't think the movie would do well and passed on the role but has since expressed regret about his decision (and four years later got to costar with Hanks, this time in You've Got Mail). Ice Cube also passed on the part, as did David Alan Grier. While it's said that Chris Rock, Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence were also considered for the role, Mykelti Williamson was cast as Bubba and will be forever loved for his emotional performance.
• Tom Hanks' brother did some of that running in the movie​
  Jim Hanks, himself an actor and filmmaker, doubled for his older brother on set, including in numerous sequences featuring Forrest's high-knee, arm-pumping run. According to Jim, "Tom had other doubles but they couldn't do the run. That's a stupid Hanks thing."
• And his daughter was in it, too!
  Keep an eye out for a surly redheaded girl in the bus scene, when young Forrest can't find a place to sit (until Jenny invites him to sit next to her). That's Hanks' daughter, Elizabeth. And while you're at it, note that one of the little boys who won't let young Forrest sit next to him is Robert Zemeckis' son, Alexander.
• Speaking of kids, this young actor got his first close-up in Forrest Gump
  Haley Joel Osment was spotted by Zemeckis in a Pizza Hut TV ad and cast as Forrest's son (also named Forrest!) in his first film role. Five years later, he'd become an international sensation (and be nominated for an Oscar) for his work as the little boy who saw dead people in The Sixth Sense.
• A famous magician got involved in special effects​
  Ricky Jay, a master of illusions, designed a wheelchair that hid actor Gary Sinise's legs so his character, Lt. Dan Taylor, would appear to have lost both legs to amputation below the knee. The wheelchair had a hidden platform for the actor's legs, but it required considerable contortions that Sinise could endure only for about 10 minutes at a time. (Digital special effects were employed in other scenes to erase Sinise's legs.)
• South Carolina stood in for Vietnam
  Two lush, palm-studded islands - Fripp Island and Hunting Island State Park - just off the South Carolina coast were used for the film's Vietnam scenes (although additional palmetto trees were brought in to fill in the tropical background). Many other scenes from the film were shot in and around Beaufort, South Carolina, where the crew was based for five months.
• Tom Hanks ad-libbed one of the film's most memorable lines
  When Bubba says to Forrest, "My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue, but people call me Bubba," Hanks went off script and said, "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump." Zemeckis loved it, kept it in the film, and the rest is quotable history.
• When the film changes time periods, Forrest is always first shown wearing a blue checkered shirt
  
• That famous bench wasn't a real park bench
  While there are indeed park benches in Chippewa Square, the shady historic spot in Savannah, Georgia, where the movie's famous bench scenes are filmed, there wasn't one where the director needed it to be - facing outward near the sidewalk to allow Tom Hanks to wait for the bus. A fiberglass prop bench did the job, and it now resides in the Savannah History Museum. The Chippewa Square spot where the bench stood in the film is now a garden, but that doesn't keep Forrest Gump fans from snapping photos nearby.
• Lieutenant Dan's necklace has deep significance to Gary Sinise
  Sinise's Lieutenant Dan can be seen wearing a rosary that includes a Saint Christopher medal with the inscription, “Protect Us In Combat.” That same rosary, dog tags and all, was worn by Sinise's brother-in-law, Jack Treese, who served as a medic in the Vietnam War.
• Kurt Russell has a cameo that'll have you all shook up
  While actor Peter Dobson played a not-yet-famous Elvis Presley as a lodger in the Gump household in a brief scene with young Forrest, the voice belongs to none other than actor Kurt Russell. Why? Russell, who was uncredited in the film, had played Presley already in a 1979 biopic directed by John Carpenter titled, appropriately enough, Elvis.

https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/info-2022/forrest-gump.html

Forrest's Run Across America

• 3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours.

Forrest Gump FAQ

Q: Why did Forrest need leg braces when he was little?

A:

When the country doctor put braces on Forrest Gump's legs, he explains to Mama Gump, "His legs are strong, Mrs. Gump. As strong as I've ever seen. But his back is as crooked as a politician." The doctor prescribed leg braces because Forrest's spine was as "crooked as a question mark". That seems to indicate that he had scoliosis but he evidently did not. The doctor may have mistakenly thought that if Forrest walked straighter, his spine would grow straighter, as well.

Q: Is Forrest Gump a true Story?

A:

No. The story is properly categorized as "historical fiction", a fiction based on real or likely people set in historical times, doing things that happened then.

Q: Is Forrest Gump based on a book?

A:

Yes, and in the book he becomes a Pro Wrestler and doesn't know how to loose. He is portrayed as a big strong man. Forrest Gump (1986) is also a novel written by American novelist Winston Groom. The book was adapted for the movie by American screenwriter Eric Roth. [https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671526065/]

Q: How long is Forrest Gump?

A:

2 hours and 22 minutes

Q: When was Forrest Gump released?

A:

July 6, 1994

Q: What is the plot of Forrest Gump?

A:

The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109830/faq/

Amazon:

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671526065/

Forrest Gump

The modern classic that inspired the beloved movie.