EXT. A SAVANNAH STREET — DAY (1981)
A feather floats through the air. The falling feather.
A city, Savannah, is revealed in the background. The feather floats down toward the city below. The feather drops down toward the street below, as people walk past and cars drive by, and nearly lands on a man’s shoulder.
He walks across the street, causing the feather to be whisked back on its journey. The feather floats above a stopped car. The car drives off right as the feather floats down toward the street.
The feather floats under a passing car, then is sent flying back up in the air. A MAN sits on a bus bench. The feather floats above the ground and finally lands on the man’s mudsoaked shoe.
The man reached down and picks up the feather. His name is FORREST GUMP. He looks at the feather oddly, moves aside a box of chocolates from an old suitcase, then opens the case.
Inside the old suitcase are an assortment of clothes, a pingpong paddle, toothpaste and other personal items.
Forrest pulls out a book titled “Curious George,” then places the feather inside the book. Forrest closes the suitcase.
Something in his eyes reveals that Forrest may not be all there.
Forrest looks right as the sound of an arriving bus is heard.
A bus pulls up. Forrest remains on the bus bench as the bus continues on.
A BLACK WOMAN in a nurse’s outfit steps up and sits down at the bus bench next to Forrest. The nurse begins to read a magazine as Forrest looks at her.
FORREST
Hello. My name’s Forrest Gump.
He opens a box of chocolates and holds it out for the nurse.
FORREST
You want a chocolate?
The nurse shakes her head, a bit apprehensive about this strange man next to her.
FORREST
I could eat about a million and a half of these. My momma always said, “Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.”
Forrest eats a chocolate as he looks down at the nurse’s shoes.
FORREST
Those must be comfortable shoes. I’ll bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing. I wish I had shoes like that.
BLACK WOMAN
My feet hurt.
FORREST
Momma always says there’s an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Where they’re going. Where they’ve been.
The black woman stares at Forrest as he looks down at his own shoes.
FORREST
I’ve worn lots of shoes. I bet if I think about it real hard I could remember my first pair of shoes.
Forrest closes his eyes tightly.
FORREST
Momma said they’d take my anywhere.
INT. COUNTRY DOCTOR’S OFFICE — GREENBOW, ALABAMA — DAY (1951)
A little boy closes his eyes tightly. It is young Forrest as he sits in a doctor’s office.
FORREST (V.O.)
She said they was my magic shoes.
Forrest has been fitted with orthopedic shoes and metal leg braces.
DOCTOR
All right, Forrest, you can open your eyes now. Let’s take a little walk around.
The doctor sets Forrest down on its feet. Forrest walks around stiffly. Forrest’s mother, MRS. GUMP, watches him as he clanks around the room awkwardly.
DOCTOR
How do those feel? His legs are strong, Mrs. Gump. As strong as I’ve ever seen. But his back is as crooked as a politician.
Forrest walks foreground past the doctor and Mrs. Gump.
DOCTOR
But we’re gonna straighten him right up now, won’t we, Forrest?
A loud thud is heard as, outside, Forrest falls.
MRS. GUMP
Forrest!
EXT. GREENBOW, ALABAMA
Mrs. Gump and young Forrest walk across the street. Forrest walks stiffly next to his mother.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, when I was a baby, Momma named me after the great Civil War hero, General Nathan Bedford Forrest…
EXT. RURAL ALABAMA
A black and white photo of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.
The photo turns into live action as the General dons a hooded sheet over his head.
The General is in full Ku Klux Klan garb, including his horse.
The General rides off, followed by a large group of Klan members dressed in full uniform.
FORREST (V.O.)
She said we was related to him in some way. And, what he did was, he started up this club called the Ku Klux Klan. They’d all dress up in their robes and their bedsheets and act like a bunch of ghosts or spooks or something. They’d even put bedsheets on their horses and ride around. And anyway, that’s how I got my name. Forrest Gump.
EXT. GREENBOW
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk across the street.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma said that the Forrest part was to remind me that sometimes we all do things that, well, just don’t make no sense.
Forrest stops suddenly as his brace gets stuck. Forrest’s brace is caught in a gutter grate. Mrs. Gump bends down and tries to free Forrest. Two old cronies sit in front of a barber shop and watch.
MRS. GUMP
Just wait, let me get it.
Mrs. Gump struggles to pull the stuck brace from the grate.
MRS. GUMP
Let me get it. Wait, get it this way. Hold on.
Forrest pulls his foot out of the grate.
MRS. GUMP
All right.
Mrs. Gump helps Forrest up onto the sidewalk. She looks up and notices the two old man.
MRS. GUMP
Oooh. All right. What are you all staring at? Haven’t you ever seen a little boy with braces on his legs before?
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the sidewalk past the two old men. Mrs. Gump holds tightly onto Forrest’s hand.
MRS. GUMP
Don’t ever let anybody tell you they’re better than you, Forrest. If God intended everybody to be the same, he’d have given us all braces on our legs.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.
EXT. OAK ALLEY/THE GUMP BOARDING HOUSE
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a dirt road. A row of mailboxes stands left.
FORREST (V.O.)
We lived about a quarter mile of Route 17, about a half mile from the town of Greenbow, Alabama. That’s in the county of Greenbow. Our house had been in Momma’s family since her grandpa’s grandpa’s grandpa had come across the ocean about a thousand years ago. Something like that.
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the Gump Boarding House driveway.
FORREST (V.O.)
Since it was just me and Momma and we had all these empty rooms, Momma decided to let those rooms out. Mostly to people passing through. Like from, oh, Mobile, Montgomery, place like that. That’s how me and Mommy got money. Mommy was a real smart lady.
MRS. GUMP
Remember what I told you, Forrest. You’re no different than anybody else is.
Mrs. Gump heads Forrest to the porch. She bends down to look Forrest in the eye.
MRS. GUMP
Did you hear what I said, Forrest? You’re the same as everybody else. You are no different.
INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL / PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE — DAY
PRINCIPAL
Your boy’s… different, Mrs. Gump. Now, his I.Q. is seventy-five.
MRS. GUMP
Well, we’re all different, Mr. Hancock.
The principal sighs, then stands up.
INT. HALLWAY
Forrest sits outside the principal’s office and waits.
FORREST (V.O.)
She wanted me to have the finest education, so she took me to the Greenbow County Central School. I met the principal and all.
The principal stands in front of Mrs. Gump. Forrest, sitting left, listens.
PRINCIPAL
I want to show you something, Mrs. Gump. Now, this is normal.
The principal holds up a chart with a designations according to I.Q. and points to the center of the graph, labeled “Normal.” A red line below the normal area is labeled “State Acceptance.” The principal points to the section below the acceptance line labeled “Below.”
PRINCIPAL
Forrest is right here. The state requires a minimum I.Q. of eighty to attend public school, Mrs. Gump. He’s gonna have to go to a special school. Now, he’ll be just fine.
MRS. GUMP
What does normal mean, anyway? He might be a bit on the slow side, but my boy Forrest is going to get the same opportunities as everyone else. He’s not going to some special school to learn to how to re-tread tires. We’re talking about five little points here. There must be something can be done.
INT. HALLWAY
Forrest sits outside the principal’s office.
PRINCIPAL
We’re a progressive school system. We don’t want to see anybody left behind.
INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE
PRINCIPAL
Is there a Mr. Gump, Mrs. Gump?
MRS. GUMP
He’s on vacation.
EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE — NIGHT
Forrest sits on a swing outside the house. Loud organic male grunts are heard coming from inside the house. Forrest sits on the swing as the grunts continue. The principal steps out of the Gump House and wipes the sweat from his face.
Forrest is sitting on the porch.
PRINCIPAL
Well, your momma sure does care about your schooling, son. Mm-mm-mm.
The principal wipes the sweat from his neck, then looks back at Forrest.
PRINCIPAL
You don’t say much, do you?
Forrest grunts, imitating him. The principal, embarrassed, turns and walks away.
INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE/FORREST’S BEDROOM
Mrs. Gump reads from the book “Curious George” as Forrest sits on the bed and listens.
MRS. GUMP
Finally, he had to try it. It looked easy, but, oh, what happened. First there…
FORREST
Momma, what’s vacation mean?
MRS. GUMP
Vacation?
FORREST
Where Daddy went?
MRS. GUMP
Vacation’s when you go somewhere, and you don’t ever come back.
Forrest lies down on his bed and looks up.
FORREST (V.O.)
Anyway, I guess you could say me and Momma was on our own.
EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE — DAY
A cab driver closes the trunk of the car as two women walk toward the house. A milkman steps down from the porch.
FORREST (V.O.)
But we didn’t mind. Our house was never empty. There was always folks comin’ and goin’.
MRS. GUMP (V.O.)
Suppa.
INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE
Mrs. Gump steps forward and speaks to all the boarders.
MRS. GUMP
It’s suppa, everyone. Forrest…
A MAN WITH A CANE steps left across the hall.
MAN WITH CANE
My, my. That sure looks special.
Mrs. Gump looks into a sitting room and informs the boarders about dinner.
MRS. GUMP
Gentlemen, would you care to join us for supper? Hurry up and get it before the flies do. I prefer you don’t smoke that cigar so close to mealtime.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometimes we had so many people stayin’ with us that every room was filled with travelers. You know, folks livin’ out of their suitcases, and hat cases, and sample cases.
MRS. GUMP
Well, you go ahead and start. I can’t find Forrest.
Mrs. Gump walks up the stairs.
MRS. GUMP
Forrest… Forrest…
FORREST (V.O.)
One time a young man was staying with us, and he had him a guitar case.
Mrs. Gump looks into Forrest’s room. She hears singing coming from another room and walks over to a closed door. Mrs. Gump opens the door, revealing a young man with long sideburns as he plays the guitar and sings. Forrest holds onto a broom and dances oddly. The young man is ELVIS PRESLEY.
ELVIS PRESLEY
(sings)
“Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit, and you ain’t no friend of mine.”
Forrest’s legs rock back and forth to the guitar.
MRS. GUMP
Forrest! I told you not to bother this nice young man.
ELVIS
Oh, no, that’s all right, ma’am. I was just showin’ him a thing or two on the guitar here.
MRS. GUMP
All right, but your supper’s ready if y’all want to eat.
ELVIS
Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you, ma’am.
Mrs. Gump leaves and closes the door. Elvis sits back down.
Forrest stands left, and looks himself in a mirror.
ELVIS
Say, man, show me that crazy little walk you just did there. Slow it down some.
Forrest begins to dance again as Elvis plays the guitar and sings.
ELVIS
(sings)
“You ain’t nothin’ but a hound, hound dog…”
FORREST (V.O.)
I liked that guitar.
Forrest dances as he watches himself in the mirror.
FORREST (V.O.)
It sounded good.
ELVIS
(sings)
“…cryin’ all the time”
Forrest rocks up and down on his braced legs, then begins to step.
ELVIS
(sings)
“You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog…”
FORREST (V.O.)
I started moving around to the music, swinging my hips. This one night me and Momma…
EXT. GREENBOW — NIGHT
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a sidewalk. A television inside a store window reveals Elvis Presley as he performs “Houng Dog” on a stage.
FORREST (V.O.)
…was out shoppin’, and we walked right by Benson’s Furniture and Appliance store, and guess what.
The television reveals Elvis as he thrusts his hips and sings.
ELVIS
(sings)
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog…
Mrs. Gump and Forrest watch the television. Elvis dances around in the same manner Forrest did. A woman in the audience screaming and applauding.
ELVIS
(sings)
You ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog…
MRS. GUMP
This is not children’s eyes.
Mrs. Gump walks away, pulling Forrest with her. Forrest stops and takes one last look. Elvis continues to perform over the television.
ELVIS
(sings)
“Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.”
FORREST (V.O.)
Some years later, that handsome young man who they called “The King,” well, he sung too many songs, had himself a heart attack or something.
EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH — DAY
Forrest is still sitting on the bus bench. The black nurse looks at him.
FORREST
Must be hard being a king. You know, it’s funny how you remember some things, but some things you can’t.
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD/ALABAMA — MORNING (1954)
Mrs. Gump and Forrest wait for the school bus. The bus pulls up as Mrs. Gump prepares Forrest for his first day of school.
MRS. GUMP
You do your very best now, Forrest.
FORREST
I sure will, Momma.
FORREST (V.O.)
I remember the bus ride on the first day of school very well.
The bus driver opens the door and looks down. Forrest walks to the steps of the bus and looks at the bus driver. She is smoking a cigarette.
BUS DRIVER
Are you comin’ along?
FORREST
Momma said not to be taking rides from strangers.
BUS DRIVER
This is the bus to school.
FORREST
I’m Forrest Gump.
BUS DRIVER
I’m Dorothy Harris.
FORREST
Well, now we ain’t strangers anymore.
The bus driver smiles as Forrest steps up into the bus.
INT. BUS
Forrest steps up onto the bus. Mrs. Gump waves to Forrest as the bus drives away. Forrest begins to walk down the aisle.
TWO YOUNG BOYS look up from the seat.
BOY #1
This seat’s taken.
BOY #2
It’s taken!
Forrest looks around. A larger girl slides over so Forrest can’t sit next to her. She shakes her head. Forrest looks to the other side where a boy sits alone on a larger seat. They boy glares up at Forrest.
BOY #3
You can’t sit here.
FORREST (V.O.)
You know, it’s funny what a young man recollects. ‘Cause I don’t remember being born.
EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH — DAY
Forrest continues talking as he sits on the bus bench.
FORREST (V.O.)
I, I… don’t recall what I got for my first Christmas and I don’t know when I went on my first outdoor picnic. But, I do remember the first time I heard the sweetiest voice…
INT. BUS — MORNING (1954)
Young Forrest is still standing in the aisle on the bus.
FORREST (V.O.)
…in the wide world.
GIRL
You can sit here if you want.
Forrest looks back at JENNY CURRAN, a young girl about Forrest’s age.
FORREST (V.O.)
I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life. She was like an angel.
JENNY
Well, are you gonna sit down, or aren’t ya?
Forrest sits down next to Jenny.
JENNY
What’s wrong with your legs?
FORREST
Um, nothing at all, thank you. My legs are just fine and dandy.
FORREST (V.O.)
I just sat next to her on that bus and had conversation all the way to school.
JENNY
Then why do you have those shoes on?
FORREST
My momma said my back’s crooked like a question mark. These are going to make me as straight as an arrow. They’re my magic shoes.
FORREST (V.O.)
And next to Momma, no one ever talked to me or asked me questions.
JENNY
Are you stupid or something.
FORREST
Mommy says stupid is as stupid does.
Jenny puts her hand out toward Forrest. Forrest reaches over and shakes her hand.
JENNY
I’m Jenny.
FORREST
I’m Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump.
FORREST (V.O.)
From that day on, we was always together. Jenny and me was like peas and carrots.
EXT. OAK TREE — DAY
Young Jenny and Forrest run toward a large oak tree.
FORREST (V.O.)
She taught me how to climb…
Jenny sits on a large branch and calls down to Forrest.
JENNY
Come on, Forrest, you can do it.
Forrest dangles from the branch.
FORREST (V.O.)
…I showed her how to dangle.
Jenny and Forrest sit on a tree branch and read.
FORREST
“…a good little monkey and…”
FORREST (V.O.)
She helped me to learn how to read.
Forrest hangs upside down from a branch and swings back and forth. Forrest’s braces are wedged in the tree.
FORREST (V.O.)
And I showed her to swing.
EXT. OAK TREE — NIGHT
The silhouete of the oak tree, Jenny and Forrest as they sit on a branch.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometimes we’d just sit out and wait for the stars.
FORREST
Momma’s gonna worry about me.
Jenny puts her hand on Forrest’s hand.
JENNY
Just stay a little longer.
FORREST (V.O.)
For some reason, Jenny didn’t never want to go home.
FORREST
Okay, Jenny. I’ll stay.
FORREST (V.O.)
She was my most special friend.
INT. SAVANNAH/BUS STOP — DAY
Forrest nods as he remembers.
FORREST
My only friend.
Forrest continues talking to the black woman. She doesn’t seem to be listening as she reads her magazine. She looks up from her magazine.
FORREST
Now, my Momma always told me that miracles happen every day. Some people don’t think so, but they do.
EXT. OAK ALLEY — ANOTHER DAY (1954)
Jenny and Forrest walk. A dirt clod hits Forrest in the back of the head. Jenny looks as Forrest rubs his head. THREE YOUNG BOYS get off their bikes and pick up more rocks.
BOY #1
Hey… dummy!
Forrest is hit in the eye with another dirt clod. Forrest falls backward onto the ground as the boys glare at him.
BOY #2
Are you retarded, or just plain stupid?
BOY #3
Look, I’m Forrest Gump.
Jenny helps Forrest back up. Boy #1 and Boy #2 throw more dirt clods at Forrest.
JENNY
Just run away, Forrest.
Another dirt clod hits Forrest in the arm.
JENNY
Run, Forrest!
Forrest tries to run along the road, but his braces makes it impossible. He hobbles along as Jenny yells after him.
JENNY
Run away! Hurry!
Boy #1 and Boy #2 turn back toward the bikes.
BOY #2
Get the bikes!
BOY #3
Hurry up!
The boys pick up their bikes and ride after Forrest.
BOY #3
Let’s get him! Come on!
BOY #2
Look out, dummy, here we come!
The boys ride after Forrest. Jenny stands and watches.
BOY #2
We’re gonna get you!
JENNY
Run, Forrest! Run!
Forrest hobbles along the dirt road.
JENNY
Run, Forrest!
Forrest looks over his shoulder. The three boys race on their bikes.
BOY #1
Come back here, you!
Forrest begins to run faster with his braces on. Forrest continues running as the boys chase him. Blood drips down from a cut on his head. The boys on the bikes are gaining on Forrest. Forrest hobbles along. He begins to gain speed.
JENNY
Run, Forrest! Run!
SLOW MOTION —
Forrest runs from the chasing room. He looks over his shoulder in fear.
The boys on the bikes peddle faster as they gain on Forrest, running.
Forrest tries to run even faster to get away. Suddenly his braces shatter, sending steel and plastic flying into the air.
Forrest runs and look down at his legs in surprise.
Forrest continues to run faster as the metal braces and straps fly off his legs.
Forrest runs free of his braces and begins to pick up speed.
The chasing boys ride over the remains of Forrest’s braces.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you.
EXT. SAVANNAH/ BUS BENCH — DAY
FORREST
But I can run like the wind blows.
The black woman continues to read her magazine. Forrest smiles as he remembers.
FORREST
From that day on, if I was going somewhere, I was running!
EXT. OAK ALLEY — DAY (1954)
Forrest sprints away from the boys. The boys stop the chase and watch in disbelief. Forrest is already at the far end of the road, clear of the chasing boys.
BOY #2
He’s gettin’ away! Stop him!
Boy #1 throws his bike down in frustration. Forrest runs across a field.
EXT. COUNTRY ROAD
Forrest runs past a chain gang in their prison uniforms.
They are cutting at the weeds on the side of the road.
EXT. GREENBOW
Forrest runs across the street. THE TWO OLD MEN sit in front of the barber shop.
OLD CRONY
That boy sure is a running fool.
EXT. JENNY’S HOUSE
Forrest runs down a driveway toward Jenny’s small house.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now remember how I told you that Jenny never seemed to want to go home? Well, she lived in a house that was as old as Alabama. Her Momma had gone up to heaven when she was five and her daddy was some kind of a farmer.
Forrest knocks on Jenny’s door.
FORREST
Jenny? Jenny?
Forrest look around the field at the left. He notices Jenny and runs toward her.
FORREST (V.O.)
He was a very lovin’ man. He was always kissing and touchin’ her and her sisters. And then this one time, Jenny wasn’t on the bus to go to school.
Forrest runs to Jenny.
FORREST
Jenny, why didn’t you come to school today?
JENNY
Hsh! Daddy’s takin’ a nap.
Jenny grabs Forrest’s hand and runs into the field. Jenny’s DAD drunk, steps out onto the porch and shouts.
JENNY’S DAD
Jenny!
JENNY
Come on!
JENNY’S DAD
Jenny, where’d you run to? You’d better come back here, girl!
Jenny’s dad steps out toward the field. Jenny leads Forrest into the thick tobacco field. Jenny’s dad runs through the field searching for Jenny with a liquor bottle in his hand.
JENNY’S DAD
Where you at?
Jenny and Forrest run into a corn field as Jenny’s dad tries to chase her.
JENNY’S DAD
Jenny! Jenny! Where you at? Jenny!
Jenny drops to her knees and pulls Forrest down with her.
JENNY
Pray with me, Forrest. Pray with me.
JENNY’S DAD
Jenny!
JENNY
Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far, far away from here.
Dear God, make me a bird so I can fly far, far, far away from here.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma always said that God is mysterious.
JENNY’S DAD
Jenny! Get back here!
FORREST (V.O.)
He didn’t turn Jenny into a bird that day. Instead…
EXT. TRAILER PARK/ALABAMA — DAY (1955)
A police officer escorts Jenny to her grandmother’s trailer.
Jenny’s grandmother meets Jenny outside and leads her toward the trailer.
FORREST (V.O.)
…he had the police say Jenny didn’t have to stay in that house no more. She went to live with her grandma just over on Creekmore Avenue, which made me happy ’cause she was so close.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT (1955)
Jenny climbs over a second-floor railing and enters the house.
FORREST (V.O.)
Some nights, Jenny’d sneak out and come over to my house, just ’cause she said she was scared. Scared of what, I don’t know…
INT. GUMP HOUSE/FORREST’S BEDROOM
Jenny lies in bed next to young Forrest. She hugs him.
FORREST (V.O.)
…but I think it was her grandma’s dog. He was a mean dog. Anyway, Jenny and me was best friends…
EXT. GREENBOW/OAK ALLEY — DAY (1961)
Forrest and Jenny are teenagers now. They walk along an oaklined road.
FORREST (V.O.)
…all the way to high school.
Suddenly Forrest is hit in the back with a rock. Forrest and Jenny turn around.
OLDER BOY #1
Hey, stupid!
JENNY
Quit it!
A teenage boy throws another rock as a pickup truck pulls up behind him. Jenny turns and looks at Forrest.
JENNY
Run, Forrest, run!
OLDER BOY #1
Hey. Did you hear me, stupid?
JENNY
Run, Forrest!
Forrest drops his books and runs down the road. The teenage boy jumps into the back of the pickup truck with another boy as the truck speeds after Forrest. Jenny steps left and gets out of the way.
OLDER BOY #2
Come on, he’s getting away! Move it!
JENNY
Run, Forrest! Run!
OLDER BOY #1
You better be runnin’, stupid.
Forrest runs along the road. The truck speeds after him.
OLDER BOY #2
Come on, dummy!
OLDER BOY #1
Haul ass, dummy!
Older Boy throws rocks at Forrest.
OLDER BOY #1
Yeah, you better be runnin’!
INT. TRUCK
BOY
Ya-hoo!
EXT. OAK ALLEY
The boys in the back of the truck throw rocks at Forrest as they drive up to him.
OLDER BOY #1
Move it, jack rabbit!
The truck follows right on Forrest’s heels. A rebel flag license plate adorns the truck’s grill.
OLDER BOY #1
Come on!
Forrest runs along the road as the truck chases him. The boys in the back of the truck pound on the roof as the truck turns right, after Forrest. The truck drives into a field.
Forrest runs toward a fence.
BOY
Run! Faster! Yeah! Go! Go! Come on, Forrest! Yeah!
JENNY
Run, Forrest!
Forrest leaps over a five-foot fence as the boys try to catch him.
EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH — DAY (1981)
Forrest looks left as he continues telling his life story.
FORREST
Now, it used to be, I ran to get where I was goin’. I never thought it would take me anywhere.
EXT. HIGH SCHOOL/ROAD — DAY (1961)
Forrest runs along the road in front of the high school. The truck continues to chase him as the boys pound on the roof.
OLDER BOY
Come on. Whoo-hoo!
The truck speeds past Forrest as he turns from the road and runs onto the high school football field. Forrest runs across the field during a football scrimmage.
In the stands watching the scrimmage is the legendary University of Alabama football coach BEAR BRYANT, wearing his trademark plaid hat.
A group of assistant coaches sit around him, as well as the high school football coach. The quarterback throws the ball into the air.
Forrest runs past the quarterback. The receiver catches the ball. Forrest runs past the receiver as an opposing player tackles the stunned receiver.
The football coach stands, followed by the assistant coaches.
FOOTBALL COACH
Who in the hell is that?
HIGH SCHOOL COACH
That there is Forrest Gump. Coach. Just a local idiot.
Forrest runs under the field goal post and through the end zone.
FORREST (V.O.)
And can you believe it? I got to go to college, too.
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA STADIUM — DAY (1962)
The crowd roars with excitement as a football is kicked off.
The football players run around on the field. The crowd of cheering fans create a huge sign that reads: “GO.”
Forrest is in a University of Alabama football uniform. He looks up into the cheering crowd as his teammate fields the kickoff. The teammate runs over to Forrest and hands him the ball.
FOOTBALL COACH
Okay! Run!
The football coach, the assistants, and Alabama players cheer for Forrest.
FOOTBALL COACH
Run, you stupid son-of-a-bitch! Run!
Forrest runs across the field. He speeds past the defending players. Forrest runs past the opposite players. The crowd cheers wildly, holding up cards, making a large sign that reads: “Go.”
They turn the cards over, creating the word: “ALABAMA.” The football coach runs along the sidelines as he yells.
FOOTBALL COACH
You stupid son-of-a-bitch! Run! Go! Run!
Forrest cuts and runs toward the sidelines. Two opposing players collide. The football coach, the assistants and the players all motion for Forrest to run toward the end zone.
FOOTBALL COACH
Run! Turn! Go!
Forrest turns up the sidelines and runs toward the end zone.
Some opposing players fall down. Forrest runs along the sidelines. The opposing players try to catch him.
Forrest runs into the end zone as an opposing player dives at his feet. The referee holds up his arm, signaling a touch down. The crowd cheers wildly.
Forrest continues to run, smashing through the band members, then all the way toward the team tunnel. The football coach looks at an assistant coach.
FOOTBALL COACH
He must be the stupidest son-of-a-bitch alive. But he sure is fast!
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, maybe it was just me but college was very confusing times.
INT. GREENBOW/BARBER SHOT — BLACK & WHITE TELEVISION (JUNE 11, 1963)
An anchorman named CHET HUNTLEY appears over the television.
CHET HUNTLEY
(on TV)
Federal troops enforcing a court order integrated the University of Alabama today.
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA — DAY
Forrest walks through a crowd of people.
CHET HUNTLEY
Governor George Wallace had carried out his symbolic threat to stand in the schoolhouse door.
GOVERNOR WALLACE
We hereby denounce and forbid this illegal and unwarranted action by the central government.
INT. GREENBOW/BARBER SHOP
A black & white television reveals George Wallace as he stands in the doorway of the schoolhouse.
KATZENBACH
(on TV)
Governor Wallace, I take it from that, uh…
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Forrest steps over to a young man as the crowd looks at the demonstration.
KATZENBACH
…statement that you are going to stand in that door, and that you are not going to carry out the orders of this court, and that you are going to resist us from doing so. I would ask you once again to responsibility step aside and if you do not, I’m going to assure you…
FORREST
Earl, what’s going on?
EARL
Coons are tryin’ to get into school.
FORREST
Coons? When raccoons try to get on our back porch, Momma just chase ’em off with a broom.
EARL
Not raccoons, you idiot, niggas. And they want to go to school with us.
FORREST
With us? They do?
Forrest walks toward the schoolhouse.
INT. COACHES’ OFFICE
A football coach looks at a black and white television as a newsman outside the schoolhouse speaks to the camera.
NEWSMAN
(on TV)
…block the doorway, President Kennedy ordered the Secretary of Defense then to use the military force.
BLACK AND WHITE FOOTAGE
The footage cuts to Governor Wallace as he speaks to General Graham.
NEWSMAN
Here by videotape is the encounter by General Graham, Commander of the National Guard, and Governor Wallace.
Forrest stands next to George Wallace and listens.
GOVERNOR WALLACE
We must have no violence today, or any other day, because these National Guardsmen are here today as Federal Soldiers for Alabamans. And they live within our borders and they are all our brothers. We are winning in this fight because we are awakening the American people to the dangers that we have spoken about so many times, just so evident today, the trend toward military dictatorship in this country.
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA
Some of the Alabama policeman and citizens clap their hands as the National Guardsmen stand at attention with their weapons in front of them. Forrest walks through the crowd.
Two black students were being led toward the schoolhouse.
NEWSMAN
And so at day’s end the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa had been desegregated and students Jimmy Hood and Vivian Malone had been signed up for summer classes.
The young black girl drops one of her books. Forrest notices and steps past the policeman toward the book on the ground.
Forrest steps out from the crowd and picks up the book. He brings it up to the girl.
FORREST
Ma’am, you dropped your book. Ma’am.
INT. COACHES’ OFFICE — NIGHT (1963)
A coach looks at the television. The television reveals Forrest as he stands at the schoolhouse door. He looks around, then waves.
CHET HUNTLEY
(on TV)
Governor Wallace did what he promised to do. By being on the Tuscaloosa campus, he kept the mob from gathering and prevented violence.
An assistant coach looks at the television, then at the other coaches.
ASSISTANT COACH
Say, wasn’t that Gump?
The football coach and two assistant coaches look. Forrest dries himself off with a towel as he steps from the showers.
CHET HUNTLEY
(on TV)
NBC News will present a special program on the Alabama integration story at 7:30 p.m. tonight…
ASSISTANT COACH
Naw, that couldn’t be.
FOOTBALL COACH
It sure as hell was.
CHET HUNTLEY
…standard Eastern Daylight Time. Now a word from Anacin.
Forrest steps up to the coaches’ area and grabs a clean towel.
The coaches turn and stare at Forrest. Forrest gives them one of his silly waves, then walks away.
COLOR FOOTAGE — Governor Wallace waves to the crowd as he stands behind a podium with his wife.
FORREST (V.O.)
A few years later, that angry little man at the schoolhouse door thought it would be a good idea, and ran for President.
COLOR FOOTAGE — Governor Wallace mingles in a crowd. Gunshots are fired, wounding him. Some men wrestle the shooter. Wallace lies wounded on the ground.
FORREST (V.O.)
But, somebody thought that it wasn’t.
EXT. SAVANNAH/BUS BENCH — DAY (1981)
Forrest sits on the bench as the black woman looks at him. A WHITE WOMAN with a bay sits left.
FORREST
But he didn’t die.
A bus pulls up to the bus stop. The BLACK WOMAN looks down at her watch.
BLACK WOMAN
My bus is here.
FORREST
Is it the number 9?
BLACK WOMAN
No, it’s the number 4.
The Black Woman gets up and steps over to the bus.
FORREST
It was nice talkin’ to you.
The white woman sits closer to Forrest.
WHITE WOMAN
I remember when that happened, when Wallace got shot. I was in college.
FORREST
Did you go to a girls’ college, or to a girls’ and boys’ together college?
WHITE WOMAN
It was co-ed.
FORREST
‘Cause Jenny went to a college I couldn’t go to. It was a college just for girls.
EXT, GIRLS’ COLLEGE/JENNY’S DORM — NIGHT (1963)
Forrest sits outside Jenny’s dorm in the rain.
FORREST (V.O.)
But, I’d go and visit her every chance I got.
A car pulls up. A song is heard from the radio. Forrest, holding a box of chocolates, looks at the car. The two people inside the car begins to kiss and embrace each other. Jenny is inside the car with a boy. She leans back against the passenger side door as they struggle to get comfortable.
JENNY
Ouch! That hurts.
Forrest gets up and runs toward the car. He tries to look in the window as he steps over to the driver’s side door. He opens the door and begins to punch the boy inside. Jenny jump out of the car and runs over to Forrest.
JENNY
Forrest! Forrest! Forrest, stop it! Stop it!
BILLY
Jesus!
JENNY
What are you doing?
FORREST
He was hurtin’ you.
Jenny’s date, named BILLY, gets out of the car angrily.
BILLY
What the hell is going on here?
JENNY
No, he’s not!
BILLY
Who is that? Who is that?
JENNY
Get over there!
Jenny turns and looks at Billy. He shoves Jenny’s hands away from him.
JENNY
Billy, I’m sorry.
BILLY
What in the hell, git, would you git away from me!
JENNY
Don’t… Wait a second!
BILLY
Git, just git away from me!
JENNY
Don’t go! Billy, wait a second!
Billy gets back into the car.
JENNY
He doesn’t know any better!
Billy pulls away as Jenny steps toward Forrest.
JENNY
Forrest, why’d you do that?
Forrest holds out the box of chocolates.
FORREST
I brought you some chocolates. I’m sorry. I’ll go back to my college now.
JENNY
Forrest, look at you! Come on. Come on.
Jenny grabs Forrest hand and leads him toward the dorm.
INT. JENNY’S DORM/HALLWAY
Jenny and Forrest sneak to Jenny’s door.
FORREST
Is this your room?
JENNY
Shh!
Jenny unlocks the door and they step inside.
INT. JENNY’S DORM ROOM
Jenny pulls a robe off of her sleeping roommate’s bed. Jenny hands the robe to Forrest, sitting on Jenny’s bed.
JENNY
Do you ever dream, Forrest, about who you’re gonna be?
FORREST
Who I’m gonna be?
JENNY
Yeah.
FORREST
Aren’t I going to be me?
JENNY
Well, you’ll always be you, just another kind of you. You know? I want to be famous.
Jenny picks up a towel, then walks back toward Forrest. Jenny dries the water from her hair.
JENNY
I want to be a singer like Joan Baez. I just want to be an empty stage with my guitar, my voice… just me.
Jenny takes off her slip and sits on the bed next to him.
She is only wearing her bra and panties. Forrest looks at Jenny like he’s never seen a woman in her underwear before.
JENNY
And I want to reach people on a personal level. I want to be able to say things, just one-to-one.
Forrest looks down at Jenny’s breasts. Jenny realizes that he is looking at her.
JENNY
Have you ever been with a girl, Forrest?
FORREST
I sit next to them in my home economics class all the time.
DJ
(over radio)
You’re listening to WHHY in Birmingham, the clear A.M. voice of Northern Alabama. I’m Joel Dorn…
Forrest looks at Jenny as she removes her bra. Forrest looks away, a bit shamed. Jenny takes his hand and guides it up to her breast.
DJ
(over radio)
…coming to you on a night that is anything but clear. The weatherman says that rain’s gonna fall all night long so stay with us, get warm, get cozy, get under the covers to the cool sounds of WHHY.
Forrest looks over at Jenny’s breasts, the shudder as he has an orgasm.
FORREST
Ohh… Oh… I’m sorry. Sorry.
JENNY
It’s okay.
DJ
(over radio)
…444-6789, with ya till sunrise, playing the music you want to hear when you want to hear it. If you have a request or dedication, give us a call. We guarantee you’ll hear your requests within one hour.
Forrest breathes heavily. Jenny puts her bra back on.
JENNY
It’s all right.
Jenny leans over and puts her head on Forrest’s shoulder.
DJ
(over radio)
Candy is on the line tonight. Candy’s answering the phones, give Candy your request, your dedication, and ask her why she won’t go out with me, would you? Here’s more music.
JENNY
It’s okay.
FORREST
Oh, I’m dizzy.
A song is coming over the radio. Jenny hugs Forrest.
JENNY
I bet that never happened in home ec.
FORREST
No.
Jenny laughs and kisses Forrest on the cheek. Forrest and Jenny hug on the bed as Jenny’s roommate pretends to be asleep, but is listening, horrified, with her eyes open.
FORREST
I think I ruined your roommate’s bathrobe.
JENNY
I don’t care. I don’t like her, anyway.
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA/FOOTBALL STADIUM — DAY (1963)
Forrest runs across the field as the defending team chases him. The crowd yells for Forrest. They flip a sign that reads:
“Go Forrest.”
CROWD
Run! Run! Run!
Forrest runs along the field. The crowd cheers.
CROWD
Run! Run! Run!
Forrest runs into the end zone. The band members rush toward Forrest with their hands up, signaling him to stop. The crowd flips over cards, creating a sign that reads “STOP.”
CROWD
Stop!
Forrest stops in the end zone as he hears the crowd yells.
The band motions for Forrest to stop and stay in the end
zone. A group of defending players fall over each other in the end zone. Forrest looks as the crowd cheers wildly.
FORREST (V.O.)
College ran by real fast ’cause I played so much football.
BLACK AND WHITE PARAMOUNT NEWSREEL — DAY (1963)
The White House with the words “The eyes and ears of the world Paramount News” superimposed.
FORREST (V.O.)
They even put me on a thing called the All-America Team where you get to meet the President of the United States.
BLACK AND WHITE NEWSREEL
PRESIDENT KENNEDY holds an autographed football as the All-American Team stands behind him. Forrest is among the players in suits.
ANNOUNCER
(over newsreel)
President Kennedy met with the Collegiate All-American Football Team at the Oval Office today.
INT. WHITE HOUSE RECEPTION AREA — DAY (1963)
The All-American players mingle around the food table. Forrest steps up to the table. A large spread of food and soda is on the table.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, the real good thing about meeting the President of the United States is the food.
Forrest takes a bottle of Dr. Pepper from the buffet table.
Numerous bottle of Dr. Pepper are displayed on the table. A servant opens the bottle for him.
FORREST (V.O.)
They put you in this little room with just about anything you’d want to eat or drink. And since number one, I wasn’t hungry, but thirsty…
Forrest begins to guzzle the Dr. Pepper.
FORREST (V.O.)
…and number two, they was free, I musta drank me about fifteen Dr. Peppers.
Forrest sets down an empty Dr. Pepper bottle next to a large number of other empty bottles. Forrest holds his stomach and burps.
BLACK AND WHITE FOOTAGE — President Kennedy shakes hands with the All-American football players.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All-American?
1ST PLAYER
It’s an honor, Sir.
Another player steps up to the President and shakes the President’s hand.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All-American?
2ND PLAYER
Very good, Sir.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Congratulations. How does it feel to be an All-American?
3RD PLAYER
Very good, Sir.
The player walks away. Forrest steps up to the President.
The President shakes his hand.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Congratulations. How do you feel?
FORREST
I gotta pee.
President Kennedy turns and smiles.
PRESIDENT KENNEDY
I believe he said he had to go pee.
INT. WHITE HOUSE/BATHROOM
Forrest urinates in the bathroom, then lowers the lid and flashes. Forrest washes his hands, then notices an autographed photo from Marilyn Monroe and a photo of John with his brother Bobby.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometime later, for no particular reason, somebody shot that nice young President when he was ridin’ in his car.
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE — DAY SLOW MOTION — President Kennedy rises in a convertible and smiles.
FORREST
And a few years after that…
ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE — Robert Kennedy stands at a podium as people around him applaud.
FORREST (V.O.)
…somebody shot his little brother, too, only he was in a hotel kitchen.
EXT. SAVANNHA/BUS BENCH — DAY (1981)
Forrest sits on the bench and shakes his head.
FORREST
It must be hard being brothers. I wouldn’t know.
EXT. UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA — DAY — GRADUATION DAY (1966)
Students in their caps and gowns step forward the podium to receive their diplomas. Forrest’s name is called. He steps up and accepts his diploma.
DEAN
Forrest Gump.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now can you believe it? After only five years of playing football, I got a college degree.
The dean shakes Forrest’s hand vigorously. Forrest looks out into the crowd.
DEAN
Congratulations, son.
Mrs. Gump, sitting in the audience, cries.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma was proud.
Forrest and Mrs. Gump have their picure taken in front of a large statue. A military recruiter spots Forrest and steps up to him.
MRS. GUMP
Forrest, I’m so proud of you. Here, I’ll hold this for you.
Mrs. Gump takes the diploma from Forrest. The recruiter slaps Forrest on the shoulder and hands him some military literature.
MILITARY RECRUITER
Congratulations, son. Have you given any thought to your future?
FORREST
Thought?
Forrest looks at a pamphlet with a photo of “Uncle Sam” and the caption “EXCELLENT CAREERS FOR EXCELLENT YOUNG MAN. Apply now at your local U.S. Army Recruiting Center.”
FORREST (V.O.)
Hello, I’m Forrest…
INT. ARMY BUS — DAY (1966)
Forrest steps onto the army bus. Rain pours outside as the army bus driver yells at Forrest.
FORREST
…Forrest Gump.
ARMY BUS DRIVER
Nobody gives a hunk of shit who you are, fuzzball! You’re not even a lowlife scum sucking maggot! Get your faggoty ass on the bus. You’re in the Army now!
Forrest is about to sit on the first available seat, but the recruit sitting there refuses Forrest.
RECRUIT #1
This seat’s taken.
Forrest tries to sit on the next seat, but the 2nd recruit slides over, blocking him.
RECRUIT #2
It’s taken.
Forrest steps forward, looking much like he did on his first bus ride to school years ago.
FORREST (V.O.)
At first, it seemed like I made a mistake.
A large black recruit with a strange look on his face, much like Forrest’s, looks up from his seat. His name is BUBBA.
FORREST (V.O.)
…seeing how it was my induction day and I was already gettin’ yelled at.
Bubba moves his case over, making room for Forrest to sit down.
BUBBA
You can sit down… if you want to.
FORREST (V.O.)
I didn’t know who I might meet or what they might ask.
Bubba hands Forrest a handkerchief.
BUBBA
You ever been on a real shrimp boat?
FORREST
No, but I been on a real big boat.
BUBBA
I’m talkin’ about a shrimp catchin’ boat. I’ve been workin’ on shrimp boats all my life. I started out my uncle’s boat, that’s my mother’s brother, when I was about maybe nine.
I was just lookin’ into buyin’ a boat of my own and got drafted. My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue.
Bubba and Forrest shake hands.
BUBBA
People call me Bubba. Just like one of them redneck boys. Can you believe that?
FORREST
My name’s Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump.
FORREST (V.O.)
So Bubba was from Bayou La Batre, Alabama, and his momma cooked shrimp.
INT. LOUISIANA/KITCHEN — DAY (1966)
Bubba’s mother, a robust woman in a cook’s uniform, carries a bowl of shrimp into a dining room. She sets it down on a table in front of a wealthy white man.
FORREST (V.O.)
And her momma before her cooked shrimp.
INT. SOMEWHERE IN THE SOUTH/KITCHEN — DAY (EARLY DAYS OF SLAVERY)
Bubba’s grandmother carries a bowl of shrimp into a dining room. She sets it down on a table in front of a wealthy white man.
FORREST (V.O.)
And her momma before her momma cooked shrimp, too. Bubba’s family knew everything…
INT. ARMY BUS — DAY (1966)
FORREST (V.O.)
…there was to know about the shrimpin’ business.
BUBBA
I know everything there is to know about the shrimpin’ business. Matter of fact, I’m goin’ into the shrimpin’ business for myself after I get out the Army.
FORREST
Okay.
INT. BARRACKS — DAY
A DRILL SERGEANT is in Forrest’s face as Forrest stands in line with the other recruits.
DRILL SERGEANT
Gump! What’s your sole purpose in this Army?
FORREST
To do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant!
DRILL SERGEANT
Godamnit, Gump! You’re a goddamned genius! That’s the most outstanding answer I’ve ever heard. You must have a godamned I.Q. of a hundred and sixty! You are godamned gifted, Private Gump!
The Drill Sergeant moves down the line to the next man.
DRILL SERGEANT
Listen up, people…
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, for some reason, I fit in the Army like one of them round pegs. It’s not really hard. You just make your bed real neat and remember to stand up straight.
DRILL SERGEANT
That is one very intelligent individual! You lock your scuzzy bodies up behind that private and do exactly what he does and you will go far in this man’s army!
FORREST (V.O.)
And always answer every question with “Yes, Drill Sergeant!”
DRILL SERGEANT
Is that clear?
FORREST & RECRUITS
Yes, Drill Sergeant!
ANOTHER DAY
The recruits are sitting at the base of their bunks assembling their rifles. Bubba speaks to Forrest.
BUBBA
What you do is you just drag your nets across the bottom. On a good day, you can catch over a hundred pounds of shrimp. If everything goes all right, two men shrimpin’ ten hours, less what you spends on gas, you can…
Forrest finishes assembling his rifle as the other recruits are still working on theirs.
FORREST
Done, Drill Sergeant!
DRILL SERGEANT
Gump!
The Drill Sergeant rushes up to Forrest.
DRILL SERGEANT
Why did you put that weapon together so quickly, Gump?
FORREST
You told me to, Drill Sergeant.
The Drill Sergeant looks at his stop watch.
DRILL SERGEANT
Jesus Christ! This is a new company record. If it wouldn’t be a waste of such a damn fine enlisted man, I’d recommended you for O.C.S., Private Gump. You are gonna be a General some day, Gump! Now, disassemble your weapon and continue!
The Drill Sergeant walks away as Forrest begins to disassemble his rifle. After the Drill Sergeant walks past Bubba, Bubba looks up at Forrest. Bubba continues talking about shrimp in his slow southern drawl.
BUBBA
Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There, uh, shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole…
ANOTHER DAY
Bubba and Forrest shine their boots.
BUBBA
…shrimp gumbo, panfried, deep fried, stir fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp…
ANOTHER DAY
Bubba and Forrest are on their hands and knees as they scrub the floor with toothbrushes.
BUBBA
…shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich… that’s, that’s about it.
NIGHT
Bubba lies in his bunk and looks up quietly.
FORREST (V.O.)
Nighttime in the Army is a lovely time.
Forrest lies in his bunk and looks up.
FORREST (V.O.)
We’d lay there in our bunks, and I’d miss my momma. And I’d miss Jenny.
A young private tosses a Playboy magazine onto Forrest.
YOUNG PRIVATE
Hey, Gump. Get a load of the tits on her!
Forrest pick up the magazine and turns the page, revealing Jenny as she poses with a school sweater on, and that’s all.
The pictorial is titled: “Girls of the South.” Forrest looks up with shock. He cranes his head up for a closer look.
FORREST (V.O.)
Turns out, Jenny had gotten into some trouble over… some photos of her in her college sweater. And she was thrown out of school.
SONG
“My baby does the hanky-panky…”
INT. NASHVILLE/NIGHT CLUB — NIGHT (1966)
Forrest, in his army uniform, steps into the foyer of the club.
FORREST (V.O.)
But that wasn’t a bad thing. Because a man who owns a theater in Memphis, Tennessee, saw those photo and offered Jenny a job singing in a show. The first chance I got, I took the bus up to Memphis to see her perform in that show.
EMCEE steps out onto the stage.
EMCEE
That was Amber, Amber Flame. Give her a big hand, guys. Good job, Amber. And now, for your listening and viewing pleasure, direct from Hollywood, California, our very own beatnik beauty, let’s give a big round of applause to the luscious Bobbie Dylan.
CROWD
Bobbie… Bobbie…
The emcee walks back off the stage and the curtain opens, revealing Jenny as she sits on a stool on the stage. She holds a guitar up and begins to play. She is topless.
JENNY
(sings)
“Yes, and how many seas must the white dove said, before she sleeps in the sand.”
FORREST (V.O.)
Her dream had come true. She was a folk singer.
JENNY
(sings)
“Yes, how many times must the cannonballs fly before they’re forever banned.”
MAN #1
You gotta lose the guitar, darling.
MAN #2
Hey, come on, baby. Shake it up.
Shake it up now.
MAN #3
Hey, somebody ought to get her a harmonica.
The men laugh.
JENNY
(sings)
“The answer, my friend is blowing in the wind. The answer is blowing in…
MAN #
…skin, honey. This isn’t Captain Kangaroo.
MEN
Yeah! Come on!
Man #5 reaches up and tries to stick some money in Jenny’s shoe.
MAN #5 :
Hey, honey, I got something here for you.
Jenny kicks his hand. He yells angrily as he sits back down, then tosses his drink on her.
MAN #5
Goddamnit!
JENNY
Hey! Hey! Stupid jerk! I’m singing a song here. Polly, get out here!
MAN #
Hey, show us some stuff, honey!
JENNY
Shut up! Oh, shut up!
Forrest walks up to Man #5 and grabs him and tosses him down on the ground. Man #4 tries to grab Forrest, but Forrest shoves him down too.
JENNY
Forrest, what are you doing here? What are you doing?
Forrest climbs up onto the stage and picks Jenny up, guitar and all, and carries her.
FORREST
Come on.
JENNY
What are you doing? Forrest, let me down!
Jenny struggles and frees herself from Forrest. Forrest steps back in surprise. Jenny shoves the guitar at Forrest. Jenny walks off as Forrest holds the guitar. He follows after her.
EXT. MEMPHIS BRIDGE — NIGHT
Forrest follows Jenny over a bridge outside the night club.
JENNY
You can’t keep doing this, Forrest. You can’t keep tryin’ to rescue me all the time.
FORREST
They was tryin’ to grab you.
JENNY
A lot of people try to grab me. Just — you can’t keep doing this all the time!
FORREST
I can’t help it. I love you.
JENNY
Forrest, you don’t know what love is.
Jenny turns and looks over the bridge.
JENNY
You remember that time we prayed, Forrest? We prayed for God to turn me into a bird so I could fly far, far away?
FORREST
Yes, I do.
JENNY
You think I can fly off this bridge?
FORREST
What do you mean, Jenny?
JENNY
Nothing.
Jenny turns and looks at the light of an approaching vehicle.
She steps into the street.
JENNY
I gotta get outta here.
Jenny runs and flags down the approaching vehicle.
FORREST
But wait. Jenny!
JENNY
Forrest, you stay away from me, okay? You just stay away from me, please.
A pickup truck pulls over as Jenny looks at the driver.
JENNY
Can I have a ride?
DRIVER
Where you going?
JENNY
I don’t care.
DRIVER
Get in the truck.
FORREST
So bye-bye, Jenny. They sendin’ me to Vietnam. It’s this whole other country.
Jenny walks toward Forrest. She looks at the driver.
JENNY
Just hang on a minute.
Jenny walks up to Forrest.
JENNY
Listen, you promise me something, okay? Just if you’re ever in trouble, don’t try to be brave, you just run, okay? Just run away.
FORREST
Okay. Jenny, I’ll write you all the time.
Jenny takes a last look at Forrest, then climbs into the truck. Forrest watches Jenny in the pickup as it drives away.
FORREST (V.O.)
And just like that.
EXT. GREENBOW/GUMP BOARDING HOUSE/RIVER — DAY
Forrest, dressed in his uniform, sits on a log and looks out at a river.
FORREST (V.O.)
…she was gone.
Mrs. Gump walks toward Forrest and sits down next to him on the log. Forrest leans down, placing his head on his mother’s shoulder.
MRS. GUMP
You come back safe to me, do ya hear?
EXT. VIETNAM/MEKONG DELTA — MORNING (1967)
The shadow of a helicopter over the rice field below. A soldier is manning a gun from inside the helicopter. The solider looks left, Forrest and Bubba ride in the helicopter.
EXT. FIREBASE/4TH PLATOON
The helicopter circles overhead, then lands at the firebase.
SONG
“Some folks are born made to wave the flag. Ooh, they’re red, white and blue. And when the band plays “Hail to the Chief,” ohh, they point the cannon at you all. It ain’t me. It ain’t me. I ain’t no Senator’s son, no. It ain’t me. It ain’t me…”
Bubba and Forrest jump out of the helicopter with their gear/
They walk and look around oddly.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, they told us that Vietnam was gonna be very different from the United Sates of America.
The soldier places a case of beer on a large stack of cases.
He takes two beers out and walks away. In the background, soldiers are barbecuing steaks and drinking beer.
FORREST (V.O.)
Except for all the beer cans and the barbecue, it was.
BUBBA
Y’know, I bet there’s shrimp all in these waters. They tell me these Vietnams is good shrimp. You know, after we win this war, and we take over everything we can get American shrimpers to come on here and shrimp these waters. We’ll just shrimp all the time, man. So much shrimp, why, you wouldn’t believe it.
Lieutenant DAN TAYLOR steps out of a tent. Shirtless, he holds a roll of toilet paper in his hand.
LT. DAN
You must be my F.N.G.’s.
BUBBA AND FORREST
Morning’, sir!
LT. DAN
Ho! Get your hands down. Do not salute me. There are goddamned snipers all around this area who would love to grease an officer. I’m Lieutenant Dan Taylor. Welcome to Fourth Platoon.
Lt. Dan looks at Bubba.
LT. DAN
What’s wrong with your lips?
BUBBA
I was born with big gums, sir.
LT. DAN
Yeah, well, you better tuck that in. Gonna get that caught on a trip wire. Where you boys from in the world?
BUBBA & FORREST
Alabama, sir!
LT. DAN
You twins?
Forrest and Bubba look at each other oddly, they don’t get the joke.
FORREST
No, we are not relations, sir.
LT. DAN
Look, it’s pretty basic here.
Lt. Dan starts to walk. Bubba and Forrest grab their gear and follow him.
LT. DAN
You stick with me, you learn from the guys who been in country awhile, you’ll be right. There is one item of G.I. gear that can be the difference between a live grunt and a dead grunt.
Lt. Dan stops and looks at the boys.
LT. DAN
Socks, cushion, sole, O.D. green. Try and keep your feet dry when we’re out humpin’. I want you boys to remember to change your socks wherever we stop. The Mekong will eat a grunt’s feet right off his legs.
Lt. Dan steps over to a large black soldier named SERGEANT SIMS.
LT. DAN
Sergeant Sims! Goddamnit, where is that sling-rope I told you to order.
SGT. SIMS
I put in requisitions at Battalion.
LT. DAN
Yeah, yeah, yeah, well you call those sonabitches again, call them again and again and again. I don’t care how much it takes…
FORREST (V.O.)
Lt. Dan sure knew his stuff. I felt real lucky he was my lieutenant. He was from a long, great military tradition. Somebody in his family had fought and died in every single American war.
EXT. VALLEY FORGE/THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR — DAY (1778)
A distant relative of Lt. Dan’s, wearing a revolutionary war uniform, falls dead in the snow.
EXT. GETTYSBURG/THE CIVIL WAR — DAY (1863)
Another relative, wearing a civil war uniform and bearing a striking resemblance to Lt. Dan, falls down dead.
EXT. NORMANDY/WORLD WAR II — DAY (1944)
Another relative, wearing a World War II, falls down dead on the beach at Normandy.
EXT. VETNAM/MEKONG DELTA/FIREBASE — DAY (1967)
LT. DAN
Goddamnit, kick some ass!
SGT. SIMS
I’m on it, Lieutenant.
LT. DAN
Get on it!
Lt. Dan steps back up to Bubba and Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
I guess you could say he had a lot to live up to.
Lt. Dan walks along the walkway and Bubba and Forrest follow.
LT. DAN
So, you boys are from Arkansas, huh? Well, I’ve been through there. Little Rock’s a fine town. Now, go shake down your gear, see the platoon sergeant, draw what you need for the field.
Lt. Dan steps inside the latrine, still holding the roll of toilet paper.
LT. DAN
If you boys are hungry, we got steaks burnin’ right here.
Lt. Dan sits down out of sight in the latrine, then stands up, looking at the boys.
LT. DAN
Two standing orders in this platoon. One, take good care of your feet. Two, try not to do anything stupid, like gettin’ yourself killed.
Lt. Dan sits back down out of sight in the latrine. Bubba and Forrest look at each other.
FORREST
I sure hope I don’t let him down.
EXT. RICE FIELD — ANOTHER DAY
Forrest, Bubba, and other soldiers in the Fourth Platoon walk across the rice field. Some Vietnamese rice farmers are working as the soldiers walk past.
FORREST (V.O.)
I got to see a lot of countryside. We would take these real long walks.
EXT. JUNGLE/DIRT ROAD — ANOTHER DAY
Forrest’s unit walks along a dirt road.
SONG
And we were always lookin’ for this guy named Charlie. I can’t get no relief.
Suddenly Lt. Dan holds up his fist, a signal for the unit to stop. He motions for them to get down.
LT. DAN
Hold it up!
SGT. SIMS
Hold up, boys!
Forrest gets down and looks around.
FORREST (V.O.)
It wasn’t always fun. Lt. Dan always gettin’ these funny feelings about a rock or a trail, or the road, so he’d tell you to get down, shut up!
LT. DAN
Get down! Shut up!
FORREST (V.O.)
So we did.
Lt. Dan motions for the lead soldier to get down. Lt. Dan crouches down. Lt. Dan looks at the soldiers and points to his eyes. He lies down on the dirt road and crawls.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, I don’t know much about anything, but I think some of American’s best young men served in this war. There was Dallas, from Phoenix. Cleveland, he was from Detroit.
CLEVELAND
Hey, Tex. Hey, Tex. Man, what the hell’s going on?
Tex holds up his hand, motioning that he doesn’t know.
FORREST (V.O.)
And Tex was, well, I don’t remember where Tex come from.
LT. DAN
Ah, nothin’. Fourth Platoon, on your feet! Still got ten clicks to go to that river.
Forrest stands up and begins to walk with the platoon.
LT. DAN
All right, move out! Comin’ out.
Look alive out there.
FORREST (V.O.)
The good thing about Vietnam is there was always someplace to go.
LT. DAN (V.O.)
Fire in the hole!
EXT. VIETNAM/VIET CONG FOXHOLE — ANOTHER DAY
Lt. Dan walks away as Forrest rushes over, aims two pistols in the hole, then climbs inside.
FORREST (V.O.)
And there was always something to do.
LT. DAN
Mount ’em up.
SGT. SIMS
Spread out! Cover his back.
ANOTHER DAY — The platoon walks through a rice paddy, waits deep in water. It begins to rain.
FORREST (V.O.)
One day it started raining, and it didn’t quit for four months.
EXT. JUNGLE
The rain pours down on Forrest and Bubba as they sit in a foxhole.
FORREST (V.O.)
We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain…
ANOTHER DAY — The platoon walks through the jungle as rain pours down on them.
FORREST (V.O.)
…and big ol’ fat rain.
ANOTHER DAY — The platoon shelters themselves as they walk through the wind and rain.
FORREST (V.O.)
Rain that flew in sideways.
ANOTHER DAY — Forrest and other soldiers walk chest-deep through a river. The rain splatters back up from the river, hitting the soldiers. Forrest holds his hand up to protect his face.
FORREST (V.O.)
And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.
EXT. ENCAMPMENT — NIGHT
The rain pours down on the men of the platoon as they sit in a camp. Bubba sits down next to Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
Shoot, it even rained at night.
Bubba leans his back up against Forrest’s back.
BUBBA
Hey Forrest…
FORREST
Hey Bubba…
BUBBA
I’m gonna lean up against you, you just lean right back against me.
BUBBA
This way, we don’t have to sleep with our heads in the mud. You know why we a good partnership, Forrest? ‘Cause we be watchin’ out for one another. Like brothers and stuff. Hey, Forrest, there’s somethin’ I’ve been thinkin’ about. I got a very important question to ask you. How would you like to go into the shrimpin’ business with me?
FORREST
Okay.
BUBBA
Man, I tell you what, I got it all figured out, too. So many pounds of shrimp to pay off the boat, so many pounds for gas, we can just live right on the boat. We ain’t got to pay no rent. I’ll be the captain; we can just work it together. Split everything right down the middle.Man, I’m tellin’ you, fifty-fifty. And, hey, Forrest, all the shrimp you can get.
FORREST
That’s a fine idea.
FORREST (V.O.)
Bubba did have a fine idea.
ANOTHER NIGHT — Some soldiers patrol the area. Forrest lies in a pup tent and writes a litter as the rain pours down. He uses his flashlight to see.
FORREST (V.O.)
I even wrote Jenny and told her all about it. I sent her letters. Not every day, but almost. I told her what I was doin’ and asked her what she was doing, and I told her how I thought about her always.
EXT. JENNY’S GRANDMOTHER’S TRAILER — DAY
Jenny steps out of the trailer with a backpack and a guitar.
She hugs a hippie guy, then jumps into the back of a Volkswagen bus with another guy.
FORREST (V.O.)
And how I was looking forward to getting a letter from her just as soon as she had the time I’d always let her know that I was okay.
EXT. VIETNAM — NIGHT
Forrest writes a letter in his tent.
FORREST (V.O.)
Then I’d sign each letter, “Love, Forrest Gump.”
EXT. JUNGLE — DAY
The Fourth Platoon makes their way through the jungle and rain.
SONG
“There’s something happenin’ here. What it is ain’t exactly clear. There’s a man with a gun over there, telling’ me I got to beware.”
FORREST (V.O.)
This one day, we was out walking, like always, and then, just like that, somebody turned off the rain and the sun come out.
Forrest looks up as the sun suddenly appears. Forrest’s platoon is attacked. A bullet kills the soldier standing next to Forrest. Bombs explode all around as the soldiers scramble to the ground.
LT. DAN
Take cover!
Forrest crawls over a berm as bullets fly overhead and explode all around him. Forrest rolls over and pulls his pack off Lt. Dan lies next to Forrest.
LT. DAN
Get that pig up here, goddammit!
BUBBA
Forrest, you okay?
Two soldiers with a machine gun fire into the jungle. Lt. Dan shouts into the radio. Forrest begins firing his weapon into the jungle.
LT. DAN
…Strongarm, please be advised…
Two soldiers pull a wounded soldier into the jungle.
BUBBA
Medic, we got a man down!
LT. DAN
Strongarm, this is Leg Lima 6, over!
LT. DAN
Roger, Strongarm, be advised we have incoming from the treeline at point blue plus two. A.K’s and rockets…
The machine gunner fires into the treeline. Another soldier helps him with the ammunition. The machine gun jams.
SOLDIER WITH BIG MACHINE GUN
Misfire! Misfire!
LT. DAN
Goddammit, Mac! Get that pig unfucked and get it in the treeline!
A rocket explodes on the machine gunner and the other soldier, killing them. Forrest looks down and covers his head as rockets explodes all around him.
LT. DAN
(into radio)
Ah, Jesus! My unit is down hard and hurting! 6 pulling back to the blue line, Leg Lima 6 out! Pull back!
Pull back!
BUBBA
Forrest! Run! Run, Forrest!
LT. DAN
Pull back!
BUBBA
Forrest! Run! Run, Forrest! Run! Run!
SGT. SIMS
Pull back! Let’s go!
Lt. Dan gets up and grabs Forrest by the collar.
LT. DAN
Run, goddammit, run!
The platoon gets up and runs toward the cover of the jungle.
Rockets explode all around the field. Forrest runs into the jungle. The soldiers run through the jungle as bullets explode all around. A soldier is blown up by a rocket. A soldier runs through the jungle. Forrest runs past the soldier.
SOLDIER
Medic! Medic! Jesus, can I get a medic?
FORREST (V.O.)
I ran and ran, just like Jenny told me to.
Rockets explode in the jungle as Forrest runs out toward a clearing.
FORREST (V.O.)
I ran so far and so fast that pretty soon I was all by myself, which was a bad thing.
FORREST
Bubba!
Forrest turns around, then runs back into the jungle.
FORREST (V.O.)
Bubba was my best good friend. I had to make sure he was okay.
Rockets explode in the jungle. Forrest runs back into the jungle to look for Bubba.
1ST SOLDIER
Any friendlies out there?
2ND SOLDIER
Yeah, I’ve got three over there.
1ST SOLDIER
Where the hell are you?
Forrest stops and aims his weapon. He looks around, scared.
FORREST
Bubba?
Something moves. Forrest turns and looks, then rushes over.
FORREST (V.O.)
And on my way back to find Bubba, well, there was this boy laying on the ground.
FORREST
Tex!
Tex lies on the ground, his face distorted with pain.
FORREST
Okay.
Forrest reaches down and picks up Tex from the ground. Forrest pulls Tex up over his shoulder, then runs.
FORREST (V.O.)
I couldn’t just let him lay there all alone, scared the way he was, so I grabbed him up and run him out of there.
Forrest carries Tex out of the jungle and into the clearing.
He sets Tex down on the bank of a river, and runs back into the jungle.
FORREST (V.O.)
And every time I went back looking for Bubba, somebody else was saying, “Help me, Forrest. Help me.”
Forrest drops another wounded soldier down at the bank of the river next to Tex, and then runs back toward the jungle.
Forrest grabs the third wounded soldier up from the ground and turns him over. It is DALLAS.
DALLAS
Can’t hear… Can’t hear…
Dallas is dropped off at the bank next to the other wounded soldiers. Forrest turns to go back to the jungle.
2ND WOUNDED SOLDIER
No sweat, man. Just lay back. You’re gonna be okay. You’re gonna be okay.
FORREST (V.O.)
I started to get scared that I might never find Bubba.
STRONGARM
(over radio)
You’re danger close for crack air, over.
Forrest trips over something and falls to the ground. He looks up to find two bloody legs. It is Lt. Dan, who is wounded. He speaks into the radio.
LT. DAN
(into radio)
Roger, Strongarm, I know my position is danger close! We got Charlie all over this area! I gotta have those fast movers in here now! Over!
STRONGARM
(over radio)
Six, Strongarm, we want…
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan, Coleman’s dead!
LT. DAN
I know he’s dead! My whole goddamned platoon is wiped out!
STRONGARM
(over radio)
Leg Lima 6, Leg Lima 6, how copy you this transmission? Over.
Forrest tries to pick up Lt. Dan, who tries to push Forrest away.
LT. DAN
Goddammit! What are you doing? Leave me here! Get away. Just leave me here! Get out!
Forrest pulls Lt. Dan over his shoulder and runs through the jungle.
STRONGARM
Leg Lima 6, Leg Lima 6. This is Strongarm, be advised, your fast movers are inbound at this time, over.
FORREST (V.O.)
Then it felt like something just jumped up and bit me.
Forrest falls down.
FORREST
Ah, something bit me!
Forrest gets up as Lt. Dan yells. Lt. Dan fires his pistol at the unseen enemy as Forrest pulls him away.
LT. DAN
You dink son-of-a-bitch! I can’t leave the platoon! I told you to leave me there, Gump. Forget about me. Get yourself out! Did you hear what I said! Goddammit, pull me down! Get your ass out of here!
Forrest drops Lt. Dan down at the bank, next to the other wounded soldiers. Lt. Dan grabs Forrest by the shirt, angry.
LT. DAN
I didn’t ask you to pull me out of there, goddamn you! What the hell do you think you’re going?
FORREST
To get Bubba.
LT. DAN
I got an air strike inbound right now. They’re gonna nape the whole area.
Forrest gets up and runs as Lt. Dan yells after him.
LT. DAN
Gump, you stay here, goddammit! That’s an order!
FORREST
I gotta find Bubba!
Forrest runs through the jungle searching for Bubba. Forrest slows down and looks around carefully.
BUBBA
Forrest…
FORREST
Bubba…
Bubba looks up as he lies on the ground.
BUBBA
I’m okay.
Bubba holds a palm frond over his wound. Forrest removes the frond to look at the wound. Bubba’s chest has been blown open.
FORREST
Oh, Bubba, no…
BUBBA
Naw, I’m gonna be all right.
Forrest looks around as he hear the voices of the enemy.
FORREST
Come on. Come on. Come here…
Forrest carries Bubba through the jungle. The sound of approaching planes fills the air.
BUBBA
I’m okay, Forrest. I’m all right.
The roar of approaching planes is deafening. Forrest looks up in fear. Three planes dive down toward the jungle. They fire napalm as the jungle explodes with massive fireballs.
Forrest runs, carrying Bubba. The fireballs explode behind him. The entire jungle area is in flames as Forrest runs.
Forrest carries Bubba to the bank of the river. Lt. Dan and the other wounded soldiers wait for a rescue helicopter.
LT. DAN
Helo’s inbound. Pop smoke, get it up there!
FORREST (V.O.)
If I’d a known this was gonna be the last time me and Bubba was gonna talk, I’d a thought of something better to say.
Forrest looks down at Bubba. A soldier releases a smoke canister.
FORREST
Hey, Bubba…
BUBBA
Hey, Forrest. Forrest, why’d this happen?
FORREST
You got shot.
FORREST (V.O.)
Then Bubba said something I won’t even forget.
BUBBA
I wanna go home.
FORREST (V.O.)
Bubba was my best good friend. And even I know that ain’t something you can find just around the corner. Bubba was gonna be a shrimpin’ boat captain, but instead he died right there by that river in Vietnam.
The helicopter fly overhead.
BUS STATION — DAY
Forrest continues with his life story. A MAN is sitting next to Forrest on the bus bench.
FORREST
That’s all I have to say about that.
MAN
It was a bullet, wasn’t it?
FORREST
A bullet?
MAN
That jumped up and bit you.
FORREST
Oh, yes sir. Bit me directly in the buttocks. They said it was a million dollar wound, but the Army must keep that money, ’cause I still ain’t seen a nickel of that million dollars. The only good thing about being wounded in the buttocks…
FLASHBACK — INT. US. ARMY HOSPITAL/VIETNAM — DAY
Forrest holds two ice cream cones in his hands as he is wheeled on a rolling stretcher.
FORREST (V.O.)
…is the ice cream. They gave me all the ice cream I could eat. And guess what. A good friend of mine was in the bed right next door.
Forrest, lying on his stomach, is wheeled to his bed.
Forrest’s butt sticks up and is bandaged. Forrest looks at Lt. Dan lying on the bed. Forrest holds out an ice cream cone for Lt. Dan.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan, I got you some ice cream. Lieutenant Dan, ice cream.
Lt. Dan, annoyed, takes the ice cream cone and drops it into his bed pan. Forrest slides himself onto his bed. A NURSE reaches toward Lt. Dan.
MALE NURSE
It’s time for your bath, Lieutenant.
The male nurse places Lt. Dan’s hands on a pull-up bar, then picks up Lt. Dan, whose legs have been amputated.
MALE NURSE
Harper…
Another nurse wheels the rolling bed under Lt. Dan. The male nurse sets Lt. Dan down on the rolling bed. Forrest looks up at Lt. Dan as he is wheeled away. A soldier reads the names from a pile of letters.
SOLDIER
Cooper, Larson, Webster, Gump, Gump…
FORREST
I’m Forrest Gump.
The soldier hands Forrest a large pile of letters.
“Undeliverable as addressed. No forwarding order on file.”
Jenny Curran Rural Route 2 Greenbow, Ala. 39902 Forrest looks down at the pile of letters.
INT. ARMY HOSPITAL/VIETNAM — DAY
A group of wounded soldiers hang out in the hospital, recuperating. Forrest sits and watches “Gomer Pyle” on the television.
SOLDIER
Gump, how can you watch that stupid shit? Turn it off!
ANNOUNCER
From the D.M.Z. to the Delta, you are tuned to the American Forces Vietnam Network. This is Channel 6, Saigon.
Forrest turns the TV off and he is hit on the back of the head by a ping-pong ball.
SOLDIER
Good catch, Gump. You know how to play this?
Forrest shakes his head.
SOLDIER
Come on, let me show you. Here.
The wounded ping-pong player hands Forrest a paddle. Forrest and the wounded ping-pong player step toward the ping-pong table.
SOLDIER
Now the secret to this game is, no matter what happens, never, never take your eye off the ball.
He holds the ball up and moves it back and forth. Forrest keeps his eyes on the ball.
SOLDIER
All right…
The wounded ping-pong player tosses the ball down onto the table. Forrest begins to hit the ball back to the other player.
FORREST (V.O.)
For some reason, ping pong came very natural to me.
SOLDIER
See, any idiot can play.
FORREST (V.O.)
So I started playing it all the time.
Forrest hits ping-pong balls.
FORREST (V.O.)
I played ping-pong even when I didn’t have anyone to play ping-pong with.
The balls at land in a bed pan positioned on a chair. A group of wounded soldier sit and watch Forrest play with himself. Forrest hits two balls at a time against the opposite side of the table.
FORREST (V.O.)
The hospital’s people said it made me look like a duck in water, whatever that means. Even Lieutenant Dan would come and watch me play.
Lt. Dan stares out the window. Forrest lies in his bed asleep. A hand reaches and grabs him.
FORREST (V.O.)
I played ping-pong so much, I even played it in my sleep.
Lt. Dan pulls Forrest to the floor, and holds Forrest down.
LT. DAN
Now, you listen to me. We all have a destiny. Nothing just happens, it’s all part of a plan. I should have died out there with my men! But now, I’m nothing but a goddamned cripple! A legless freak. Look! Look! Look at me! Do you see that? Do you know what it’s like not to be able to use your legs?
FORREST
Well… Yes, sir, I do.
LT. DAN
Did you hear what I said? You cheated me. I had a destiny. I was supposed to die in the field! With honor! That was my destiny! And you cheated me out of it! You understand what I’m saying, Gump? This wasn’t supposed to happen. Not to me. I had a destiny. I was Lieutenant Dan Tyler.
FORREST
Yo-You’re still Lieutenant Dan.
Lt. Dan looks at Forrest, lets go of Forrest and rolls.
Lt. Dan sits up as Forrest looks at him.
LT. DAN
Look at me. What am I gonna do now? What am I gonna do now?
INT. REC ROOM/VIETNAM HOSPITAL — ANOTHER DAY
Forrest plays ping-pong by himself. An OFFICER walks up to him.
OFFICER
P.F.C. Gump?
Forrest immediately grabs the ball and places it down on the table under its paddle. Stands at attention.
FORREST
Yes, sir!
OFFICER
As you were.
The officer holds up an envelope.
OFFICER
Son, you’ve been awarded the Medal of Honor.
INT. VIETNAM HOSPITAL WARD
Forrest steps up to Lt. Dan’s bed.
FORREST
Guess what, Lieutenant Dan, they want to give me a me…
Forrest stops in mid-sentence as he looks down at the bed. A heavily bandaged soldier with bloodstains lies there. Forrest turns and look at the NURSE.
FORREST
Ma’am, what’d they do with Lieutenant Dan?
NURSE
They sent him home.
FORREST (V.O.)
Two weeks later, I left Vietnam.
INT. BARBER SHOP/GREENBOW — DAY
ANCHORMAN
(on T.V.)
The ceremony was kicked off with a candid speech by the President regarding the need for further escalation of the war in Vietnam. President Johnson awarded four Medals of Honor to men from each of the Armed Services.
The television reveals Forrest as he is awarded the Medal of Honor by President Johnson.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
America owes you a debt of gratitude, son.
Color footage revealing President Johnson as he places the award around Forrest’s neck and shakes hands.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
I understand you were wounded. Where were you hit?
FORREST
In the buttocks, sir.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
Oh, that must be a sight.
President Johnson leans and whispers into Forrest’s ear.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
I’d kinda like to see that.
INT. BARBER SHOP
The television revealing Forrest as he drops his pants, bends over and shows the bullet wound on his bare buttocks.
President Johnson looks down and smiles. The three men in the barber shop look up in disbelief. Mrs. Gump looks up in shock.
PRESIDENT JOHNSON
Goddamn, son.
EXT. LINCOLN MEMORIAL — DAY
Forrest walks by the Lincoln Memorial. A fence surrounds the Memorial, as well as armed military guards.
FORREST (V.O.)
After that, Momma went to the hotel to lay down, so I went out for a walk to see our national capital.
ISABEL
Hilary, all right, I’ve got the vets, what do you want me to do with them?
HILARY
What are you doing here so late?
Forrest takes a photo of the memorial as a woman named Hilary gathers together some veterans against the Vietnam War.
HILARY
We’ve been waiting for you for half an hour, so just get them in a line, will you. Hey, hey, come on, pictures later. You look great. Oh come on, get in this line, come on, come on right in line. Come on, let him here, let him in here.
Hilary grabs Forrest and puts him in the line with the other vets against the war.
FORREST (V.O.)
It’s a good thing Momma was resting, ’cause the street was awful crowded with people looking at all the statues and monuments. And some of them people were loud and pushy.
Hilary leads the line of vets toward the large anti-Vietnam War rally.
HILARY
Okay, follow me! Come on.
The group of vets walk as Forrest tries to take another picture. A vet behind him pushes him along.
HILARY
Let’s move it out.
VET
Hey, buddy, come on. We could use your help.
Forrest walks in the line. A banner reads “Veterans against the War in Vietnam.”
FORREST (V.O.)
Everywhere I went, I had to stand in line.
HILARY
Follow me, let’s go!
Hilary leads the vets through a crowd of people outside the rally. Another woman, named Isabel, leads the vets toward the back of a stage.
ISABEL
All right, come on, guys.
HILARY
Stand here.
VET
Hey, you’re a good man for doin’ this. Good!
FORREST
Okay.
A man, wearing an American flag shirt, stands on the stage.
He is anti-war activist ABBIE HOFFMAN.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
We must declare to that fucking impostor in the White House — Johnson. We ain’t going to work on your farm no more! Yeah!
FORREST (V.O.)
There was this man, giving a little talk. And for some reason, he was wearing an American flag for a shirt…
ABBIE HOFFMAN
Now, I’m going to bring up some soldiers that are going to talk about the war, man…
FORREST (V.O.)
…and he liked to say the “F” word. A lot. “F” this and “F” that. And every time…
ABBIE HOFFMAN
…that war has come home, and we have to stop these politicians…
FORREST (V.O.)
…he said “F” word, people, for some reason, well, they’d cheer.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
…these guys just told Lyndon Johnson where to stick this fucking war!
Yeah!
Forrest looks up at the cheering crowd. Abbie turns and motions for Forrest to come up on the stage.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
Come on, man. Come up here, man.
HILARY
Come on. Come on. Yeah, you!
Hilary pulls Forrest up onto the stage.
HILARY
Come on, get up there. Come on. Move, move. Let’s go! Let’s go.
The other vets follow Forrest pushes onto the stage and push him toward the microphones.
VET
Come on, go. You can do it. Just get up there. Go on. That’s it.
Thousands of cheering protesters stand around the Washington Monument. Forrest looks at the crowd. Abbie Hoffmann steps up to Forrest.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
Tell us a little bit about the war, man.
FORREST
The war in Vietnam?
ABBIE HOFFMAN
The war in Viet-fucking-nam!
Abbie raises his fist as the crowd cheers wildly.
FORREST
Well…
FORREST (V.O.)
There was only one thing I could say about the war in Vietnam.
FORREST
…there was only one thing I could say about the war in Vietnam.
Forrest looks at the crowd as he speaks. A policeman looks around as he sneaks over to the audio circuit board.
FORREST
In Vietnam war…
The policeman pulls the patch cords out of the audio board.
Forrest’s amplified voice becomes inaudible. Forrest continues to speak into the microphone, even though no one can hear what he is saying. Hilary looks over and notices the policeman. Hilary rushes over toward the audio board, pushes the policeman away and grabs his night stick. Another protester grabs the policeman and pulls him away.
POLICEMAN
Hey, what the hell are you doing?
HILARY
I’ll beat your head in, you goddamned oinker!
Isabel, Hilary and another protester try to plug the tangled mess of wires back into the audio board.
ISABEL
Christ, what’d they do with this?
Forrest continues to speak into the microphone. The crowd grows restless.
CROWD
We can’t hear you! We can’t hear anything!
HILARY
This one! This one! Give me that!
Hilary plugs in the right patch cord.
HILARY
That’s it.
FORREST
…and that’s all I have to say about that.
Forrest looks at the massive crowd. They are silent. Abbie Hoffman steps over to Forrest and pats him on the shoulder.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
That’s so right on, man. You said it all. What’s your name, man?
FORREST
My name is Forrest Gump. Forrest Gump.
ABBIE HOFFMAN
Forrest Gump!
Abbie raises his fist into the air. Abbie steps away from Forrest. The crowd cheers.
CROWD
Forrest Gump!
JENNY
(screaming)
Forrest! Forrest!
Jenny wades out into the reflection pool and waves her hand into the air. Forrest recognizes her.
FORREST
Jenny!
Forrest rushes off the stage as Jenny makes her way out into the pool.
JENNY
Forrest!
Forrest jumps down into the crowd and runs. Jenny smiles as she tries to run through the water. The crowd parts as Forrest runs into the pool. Jenny rushes toward him.
JENNY
Hey! Hey!
The massive crowd cheers for the embracing couple in the pool.
FORREST (V.O.)
It was the happiest moment of my life.
EXT. WASHINGTON MONUMENT/PROTESTER’S ENCAMPMENT — NIGHT
Forrest and Jenny walk past the protesters who are camping out on the lawn.
FORREST (V.O.)
Jenny and me were just peas and carrots again. She showed me around, and even introduced me…
INT. BLACK PANTHER HEADQUARTERS/STOREFRONT, D.C. — NIGHT
Forrest stands at an open window and looks at the White House.
FORREST (V.O.)
…to some of her new friends.
A Black Panther, named RUBEN, steps over and pulls the shades down.
RUBEN
Shut that blind, man. And get your white ass away from that window. Don’t you know we in war here?
Another Black Panther named MASAI grabs Forrest and pats him down.
JENNY
Hey man, he’s cool. He’s cool. He’s one of us. He’s one of us.
MASAI
Let me tell you about us.
WESLEY
Where the hell have you been?
JENNY
I ran into a friend.
MASAI
Our purpose here is to protect our black leaders from the racial onslaught of the pig who wishes to brutalize our black leaders, rape our women, and destroy our black communists.
BLACK PANTHER
Masai, phone. Talk to these guys.
WESLEY
Who’s the baby killer?
JENNY
This is my good friend I told you about. This is Forrest Gump. Forrest, this is Wesley. Wesley and I live together in Berkeley, and he’s the president of the Berkeley chapter of S.D.S.
MASAI
Let me tell you something else.
WESLEY
I want to talk to you.
JENNY
Okay, but…
WESLEY
No. Now! Goddammit!
MASAI
We are here to offer protection and help for all of those who need our help, because we, the Black Panthers, are against the war in Vietnam. Yes, we are against any war where black soldiers are sent to the front line to die for a country that hates them. Yes, we are against any war where black soldiers go to fight and come to be brutalized and killed in their own communities as they sleep in their beds at night. Yes, we are against all these racists and imperial dog acts.
JENNY
You are a fucking asshole!
Wesley hits Jenny across the face. Slow motion — Jenny falls back. Slow motion — Forrest steps forward with rage.
Slow motion — Wesley turns and looks at Forrest. Forrest tackles Wesley and slams him onto a table. Jenny turns and looks as Masai pulls out a gun.
JENNY
Forrest! Quit it! Quit it! Forrest! Stop it!
Jenny rushes over to Forrest and pulls Forrest off Wesley.
JENNY
Stop it!
Jenny tries to help Wesley as he moans on the floor. Wesley knocks Jenny’s hand away. He gets up, holding his bloody lip.
WESLEY
Oh, God. I shouldn’t have brought you here. I should have known it was just gonna be some bullshit hassle.
FORREST
He should not be hitting you, Jenny.
JENNY
Come on, Forrest.
Jenny steps out the door as Forrest picks up his hat.
FORREST
Sorry I had a fight in the middle of your Black Panther party.
The group of Black Panthers glare at Forrest. Forrest turns and walks out the room.
EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. — NIGHT
Forrest and Jenny walk past the White House. Protesters hold a candlelight vigil behind them.
JENNY
He doesn’t mean it when he does things like this. He doesn’t.
FORREST
I would never hurt you, Jenny.
JENNY
I know you wouldn’t, Forrest.
FORREST
I wanted to be your boyfriend.
They walk in silence. Jenny touches Forrest’s uniform.
JENNY
That uniform is a trip, Forrest. You look handsome in it. You do.
FORREST
You know what?
JENNY
What?
FORREST
I’m glad we were here together in our national capitol.
JENNY
Me too, Forrest. I have so much to tell you, you won’t believe what’s been going on…
FORREST (V.O.)
We walked around all night, Jenny and me, just talkin’.
EXT. ROUTE 66 — FLASHBACK — DAY
Jenny stands in the rain, hitchhiking. A car pulls over to pick her up. Jenny and other other girls get into the car.
FORREST (V.O.)
She told me about all the travellin’ she’s done.
EXT. COMMUNE IN NEW MEXICO — NIGHT
A hippie gives Jenny a sugar cube of acid as they sit in front of a roaring fire.
FORREST (V.O.)
And how she’d discovered ways to expand her mind and learn how to live in harmony…
EXT. HOLLYWOOD/WALK OF FAME — DAY
A star with the name “Jean Harlow” on the sidewalk. Jenny and two other girls sing on the sidewalk and collect change from the passersby. Jenny plays the guitar.
FORREST (V.O.)
…which must be out west somewhere, ’cause she made it all the way to California.
JENNY
(sings)
“Smile on your brother, everybody get together, try to love on another right now”
A young hippie looks over his faded Volkswagen at the girls.
YOUNG HIPPIE
Hey, anybody want to go to San Francisco?
JENNY
I’ll go.
YOUNG HIPPIE
Far out!
EXT. WASHINGTON D.C. — DAWN
Forrest and Jenny walk through the park.
FORREST (V.O.)
I was a very special night for the two of us. I didn’t want it to end.
EXT. PARKING LOT — EARLY MORNING
Jenny carries a backpack as she prepares to board a bus back to Berkeley.
FORREST
I wish you wouldn’t go, Jenny.
JENNY
I have to, Forrest.
WESLEY
Jenny? Things got a little out of hand. It’s just this war and that, that lyin’ son-of-a-bitch Johnson. I would never hurt you. You know that.
FORREST
You know what I think? I think you should go home to Greenbow. Alabama!
JENNY
Forrest, we have very different lives, you know.
Forrest looks down at Jenny. He pulls his Medal of Honor from around his neck.
FORREST
I want you to have this.
Forrest places the Medal of Honor in Jenny’s hand. Jenny looks up at him.
JENNY
Forrest, I can’t keep this.
FORREST
I got it just by doing what you told me to do.
JENNY
Why’re you so good to me?
FORREST
You’re my girl.
JENNY
I’ll always be your girl.
Jenny and Forrest hug each other. Wesley waits for Jenny.
Jenny turns and walks up to Wesley. They walk toward the entrance of the bus. Forrest smiles as Jenny looks at her.
Jenny climbs up into the bus. Wesley glares at Forrest.
Forrest gives Wesley the “evil eye.” Jenny through the near window of the bus, knocks on the window. Forrest turns and looks. Jenny waves to Forrest. Forrest looks up and smiles sadly. Jenny gives Forrest the peace sign as the bus pulls away. The sign on the back of the bus reads “Berkeley to D.C.” Forrest gives Jenny the peace sign.
FORREST (V.O.)
And just like that, she was gone out of my life again.
INT. VETERANS ADMINISTRATION HOSPITAL/REC ROOM — DAY
A footage of Neil Armstrong’s first step on the moon on television.
NEIL ARMSTRONG
That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. The, uh, the surface is fine and powdery. I can, I can pick it up loosely.
Forrest demonstrates a ping-pong to some wounded vets.
FORREST (V.O.)
I thought I was going back to Vietnam, but instead, they decided the best way for me to fight communists was to play ping-pong. So I was in the Special Services, traveling around the country cheering up all them wounded veterans and showing them how to play…
BUS STOP — PRESENT — DAY
Forrest looks at a man.
FORREST
…ping-pong. I was so good that some years later…
EXT. CHINA/PING-PONG TOURNAMENT — FLASHBACK — DAY
Forrest plays ping-pong against a Chinese player. A large mural of Mao Tse-tung hangs on the wall. A crowd of communist leaders sit and watch.
FORREST (V.O.)
…the Army decided I should be on the All-American Ping-Pong Team. We were the first Americans to visit the land of China in like a million years or something like that, and somebody said that world peace was in our hands. But all I did was play ping-pong. When I got home…
BUS STOP — PRESENT — DAY
FORREST
…I was national celebrity. Famouser even than Captain Kangaroo.
Color footage of the DICK CAVETT Show. Dick Cavett stands up as he introduces Forrest.
DICK CAVETT
Here he is, Forrest Gump, right here.
Forrest makes his way onto the stage, shakes hands with Dick Cavett.
DICK CAVETT
Mr. Gump, have a seat.
Forrest sits down between JOHN LENNON and Dick Cavett.
DICK CAVETT
Forrest Gump, John Lennon.
JOHN LENNON
Welcome home.
DICK CAVETT
You had quite a trip. Can you, uh, tell us, uh, what was China like?
John Lennon lights a cigarette.
FORREST
Well, in the land of China, people hardly got nothing at all.
JOHN LENNON
No possessions?
FORREST
And in China, they never go to church.
JOHN LENNON
No religion, too?
DICK CAVETT
Oh. Hard to imagine.
JOHN LENNON
Well, it’s easy if you try, Dick.
Forrest looks oddly at John Lennon.
FORREST (V.O.)
Some years later, that nice young man from England was on his way home to see his little boy and was signing some autographs. For no particular reason at all, somebody shot him.
EXT. STUDIO — LATER
A guard lets Forrest out a side entrance door. Forrest steps, an then stops as he hears s man sitting in a wheelchair speak to him.
LT. DAN
They gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor.
FORREST
Now that’s Lieutenant Dan. Lieutenant Dan!
Forrest looks at Lt. Dan. He is a dirty with long hair.
LT. DAN
They gave you the Congressional Medal of Honor!
FORREST
Yes sir, they sure did.
LT. DAN
They gave you an imbecile, a moron who goes on television and makes a fool out himself in front of the whole damn country, the Congressional Medal of Honor.
FORREST
Yes, sir.
LT. DAN
Well, then, that’s just perfect! Yeah, well I just got one thing to say to that. Goddamn bless America.
Lt. Dan’s wheelchair begins to slide down the ramp and spins around on the icy ground. Forrest looks down at Lt. Dan crashes at the bottom of the ramp.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan!
EXT. NEW YORK CITY STREETS — NIGHT
Taxi cabs crowd the street as Forrest pushes Lt. Dan along the sidewalk.
FORREST (V.O.)
Lieutenant Dan said he was living in a hotel. And because he didn’t have no legs, he spent most of his time exercising his arms.
LT. DAN
Take a right, take a right.
A taxi driver honks his horn as Forrest wheels Lt. Dan out in front of the taxi.
TAXI DRIVER #1
Hey! Come on already!
LT. DAN
Ah!
FORREST
What are you doing here in New York, Lieutenant Dan?
LT. DAN
I’m living off the government tit. Sucking it dry.
A taxi skids to a stop, almost hitting them as they cross the street. The taxi honks at Lt. Dan. Lt. Dan slaps the bumper of the taxi.
LT. DAN
Hey! Hey! Hey! Are you blind? I’m walking here! Ah, get out…
TAXI DRIVER #2
Why don’t you go home before you kill yourself? Get out of the way!
LT. DAN
Come on, go! Go! Go!
EXT. LT. DAN’S HOTEL ROOM — LATER
A Bob Hope Christmas special in Vietnam on television. Lt. Dan and Forrest watch the television.
FORREST (V.O.)
I stayed with Lieutenant Dan and celebrated the holidays.
BOB HOPE
You have a great year and hurry home. God bless you.
LT. DAN
Have you found Jesus yet, Gump?
FORREST
I didn’t know I was supposed to be looking for him, sir.
Lt. Dan chuckles, drinks the rest of a bottle of wine and tosses it down. He looks at Forrest. He wheels himself over to television and turns it off.
LT. DAN
That’s all these cripples, down at the V.A., that’s all they ever talk about.
Lt. Dan picks up another bottle of port wine, but it is empty. He tosses it onto the floor.
LT. DAN
Jesus this and Jesus that. Have I found Jesus? They even had a priest come and talk to me. He said God is listening, but I have to help myself.
Now, if I accept Jesus into my heart, I’ll get to walk beside him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Lt. Dan tosses the empty liquor bottle down and picks another bottle. He becomes enraged as he throws the bottle and looks at Forrest.
LT. DAN
Did you hear what I said? Walk beside him in the Kingdom of Heaven. Well, kiss my crippled ass. God is listening. What a crock of shit.
FORREST
I’m going to heaven, Lieutenant Dan.
LT. DAN
Huh? Ah, well, before you go, why don’t you get your ass down to the corner and get us another bottle of wine.
FORREST
Yes, sir.
INT. TIMES SQUARE BAR — NIGHT
A television shows DICK CLARK as he emcees the Times Square New York Eve celebration.
DICK CLARK
We are at approximately 45th Street in New York City at One Astor Plaza. This is the site of the old Astor Hotel. Down below us, well over a hundred thousand people are milling about, cheering with horns and whistles and hats…
LT. DAN
What the hell’s in Bayou La Batre?
FORREST
Shrimpin’ boats.
LT. DAN
Shrimpin’ boats? Who gives a shit about shrimpin’ boats?
FORREST
I gotta buy me one of them shrimpin’ boats as soon as I have some money. I made me a promise to Bubba in Vietnam, that as soon as the war was over, we’d go in partners. He’d be the captain of the shrimpin’ boat and I’d be his first mate. But now that he’s dead, that means that I gotta be the captain.
LT. DAN
A shrimp boat captain.
FORREST
Yes, sir. A promise is a promise, Lieutenant Dan.
LT. DAN
Now hear this! Private Gump here is gonna be a shrimp boat captain. Well, I tell you what, Gilligan, the day that you are a shrimp boat captain, I will come and be your first mate.
FORREST
Okay.
LT. DAN
If you’re ever a shrimp boat captain, that’s the day I’m an astronaut.
Two sleazy women, named LENORE and CARLA, walk up to Lt. Dan.
LENORE
Danny, what are you complaining about?
CARLA
What are you doing, huh?
LENORE
Mr. Hot Wheels. Who’s your friend?
FORREST
My name is Forrest, Forrest Gump.
LT. DAN
This is Cunning Carla, and Long-Limbs Lenore.
Carla puts a “Happy New Year” crown on Lt. Dan’s head. Lenore fixes her makeup.
CARLA
So where you been, baby-cakes, huh? Haven’t seen you around lately. You know, you should have been here for Christmas ’cause Tommy bought a round on the house and gave everybody a turkey sandwich.
LT. DAN
Well, well, I had, uh, company.
LENORE
Hey, hey! We was, we was just there. That’s at Times Square.
Lenore leans and speaks into Forrest’s ear.
LENORE
Don’t you just love New Year’s? You get to start all over.
CARLA
Hey, Lenore.
LENORE
Everybody gets a second chance.
FORREST (V.O.)
It’s funny, but in the middle of all that fun, I began to think about Jenny.
DICK CLARK
(on television)
…getting wild out there. It’s beginning to…
INT. APARTMENT/L.A. — NIGHT
The New Year’s Eve celebration over the T.V.
DICK CLARK
(over television)
…pour here in Times Square. It’s been off-and-on all night, but these people hang in there.
Jenny fills her bag with her belongings.
FORREST (V.O.)
Wondering how she was spending her New Year’s night out in California.
A man lies passed out on the bed. Jenny looks at her black eye in a mirror, then leaves the apartment. The TV shows the ball in Times Square.
CROWD
(over television)
INT. TIMES SQUARE BAR — NIGHT
The ball is lowered, lighting up a sign that reads “1972.”
CROWD
(over television)
…1! Happy New Year!
The people in the bar cheer and kiss each other. They blow horns and toss confetti into the air. Forrest looks around as Carla and Lenore lean over and kiss him.
PATRONS
(sing)
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…
FORREST
Happy New Year, Lieutenant Dan!
PATRONS
(sing)
Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne.”
INT. LT. DAN’S HOTEL ROOM — LATER
Carla removes her top and sits on top of Dan in his wheelchair. They kiss and play around. Forrest sits in a chair. Lenore leaps on him and begins to kiss Forrest. She reaches down to Forrest’s crotch. Forrest stands up nervously, causing Lenore to fall down on the floor. Lenore stands up, angry.
LENORE
What are you, stupid or something? What’s your problem? What’s his problem? Did you lose your pecker in the war or something?
CARLA
What, is your friend stupid or something?
LT. DAN
What did you say?
CARLA
I said, is your friend stupid or something?
LT. DAN
Hey! Don’t call him stupid!
Lt. Dan throws Carla back onto the bed.
CARLA
Don’t push me like that!
LENORE
Hey, don’t you push her!
LT. DAN
You shut up! Don’t you ever call him stupid!
CARLA
What’s the matter, baby? Why you treating me like shit?
LT. DAN
Get the hell out of here!
LENORE
You stupid gimp. You belong in “Ripley’s Believe It Or Not.”
Нові вітання з днем народження від начальства
LT. DAN
Get the hell out of here! Go on!
LENORE
You should be in a side show!
LT. DAN
Go on! Get out of here! Get out of here!
LENORE
You big loser!
CARLA
Come on, Lenore. We don’t need this shit!
LENORE
You’re so pathetic.
LT. DAN
Get out of here!
Lt. Dan falls out of his wheelchair and lands down on the floor. Carla and Lenore laugh as they leave the apartment.
CARLA
You retard!
LENORE
You loser! You freak!
Forrest tries to help Lt. Dan. Lt. Dan pushes Forrest away.
LT. DAN
No!
Forrest steps back as Lt. Dan flips back over, then pulls himself back up onto his wheelchair. He breathes heavily.
FORREST
I’m sorry I ruined your New Year’s Eve party, Lieutenant Dan. She tastes like cigarettes.
FORREST (V.O.)
I guess Lieutenant Dan figured there’s some things you just can’t change. He didn’t want to be called crippled, just like I didn’t want to be called stupid.
LT. DAN
Happy New Year.
EXT. WHITE HOUSE — NIGHT
An ANCHORMAN reports in front of the White House.
ANCHORMAN
The U.S. Ping-Pong Team met with President Nixon today at an Oval Office ceremony…
FORREST (V.O.)
And wouldn’t you know it…
PRESENT — BUS STOP
Forrest looks at the fat man on the bus bench.
FORREST
…a few months later they invited me and the ping-pong team to visit the White House. So I went again. And I met the President of the United States again.
INT. WHITE HOUSE — DAY
A plaque, presented to Forrest, reads “Presented to Forrest Gump, member of the United States table tennis team as player of the year for 1971. President NIXON holds the plaque.
FORREST (V.O.)
Only this time they didn’t get us rooms in a real fancy hotel.
PRESIDENT NIXON
So are you enjoying yourself in our national capital, young man?
FORREST
Yes, sir.
PRESIDENT NIXON
Well, where are you staying?
FORREST
It’s called the Hotel Ebbott.
PRESIDENT NIXON
Oh, no, no, no, no. I know of a much nicer hotel. It’s brand-new. Very modern. I’ll have my people take care of it for you.
INT. WATERGATE HOTEL ROOM — NIGHT
Forrest speaks on the phone.
SECURITY GUARD
Security, Frank Wills.
Forrest steps over to a window. Flashlights are moving around in an office across from Forrest’s room.
FORREST
Yeah, sir, you might want to send a maintenance man over to that office across the way. The lights are off, and they must be looking for the fuse box or something, ’cause them flashlights they’re, they’re keeping me awake.
SECURITY GUARD
Okay, sir. I’ll check it out.
FORREST
Thank you.
SECURITY GUARD
No problem.
FORREST
Good night.
SECURITY GUARD
Good night.
Forrest hangs up the phone. The camera tilts down, revealing the hotel stationary, which reads “The Watergate Hotel.”
INT. GYMNASIUM — DAY
President Nixon makes a resignation speech on TV.
PRESIDENT NIXON
(over television)
Therefore, I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow.
The television cuts to a shot of President Nixon standing outside Air Force One with his hands in the peace sign.
PRESIDENT NIXON
(over television)
Vice President Ford will be sworn in as President at that hour in this office. As I recall the high hopes for America with which we began this second term, I feel a great sadness that I will not be here in this office…
Forrest is playing ping-pong by himself at the gymnasium. An officer steps up to him.
OFFICER
Sergeant Gump!
FORREST
Yes, sir!
OFFICER
As you were. I have your discharge papers. Your service is up, son.
The officer hands Forrest an envelope, then walks away.
FORREST
Does this mean I can’t play ping pong no more?
OFFICER
For the Army it does.
FORREST (V.O.)
And just like that, my service in the United States Army was over. So I went home.
Forrest takes his paddle and runs out of the gymnasium.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Mrs. Gump walks out of the house and smiles. Forrest walks up to the house, wearing his uniform.
FORREST
I’m home, Momma.
MRS. GUMP
I know, I know.
INT. GUMP HOUSE
Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk into the house.
MRS. GUMP
Louise, he’s here. He’s here, everybody.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, when I got home, I had no idea that Momma had had all sorts of visitors.
In the house are stacks of ping-pong paddles and life-sized cardboard cutouts of Forrest playing ping-pong. The name on the ping-pong paddles boxes reads: “Gump-Mao table tennis.”
MRS. GUMP
We’ve had all sorts of visitors, Forrest. Everybody wants you to use their ping-pong stuff. One man even left a check for twenty-five thousand dollars if you’d be agreeable to saying you like using their paddle.
FORREST
Oh, Momma. I only like using my own paddle. Hi, Miss Louise.
LOUISE
Hey, Forrest.
MRS. GUMP
I know that. I know that. But it’s twenty-five thousand dollars, Forrest. I thought maybe you could hold it for a while, see if it grows on you. Oh, you look good, Forrest. You look real good.
FORREST (V.O.)
That Momma, she sure was right. It’s funny how things work out.
EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE/BUBBA’S MOM’S HOUSE — DAY
Forrest walks up to a shack on the edge of the Bayou. A group of black kids play in the front yard.
FORREST (V.O.)
I didn’t stay home for long, because I’d made a promise to Bubba. And I always try to keep my promise. So I went on down to Bayou La Batre to meet Bubba’s family and make their introduction.
Bubba’s mother named MRS. BLUE and her other children look at Forrest.
MRS. BLUE
Are you crazy, or just plain stupid?
FORREST
Stupid is as stupid does, Mrs. Blue.
MRS. BLUE
I guess.
EXT. BUBBA’S GRAVE — DAY
Forrest steps over to Bubba’s tombstone.
FORREST (V.O.)
And of course, I paid my respect to Bubba himself.
FORREST
Hey, Bubba, it’s me, Forrest Gump. I remember everything you said, and I got it all figured out.
Forrest pulls out notes from his pocket.
FORREST
I’m taking the twenty-four thousand, five hundred and six-two dollars and forty-seven cents that I got…
EXT. BAYOU — DAY
Forrest walks across a yard where men are cleaning shrimp.
FORREST (V.O.)
…well, that’s left after a new hair cut and a new suit and I took Momma out to real fancy dinner and I bought a bus ticket and three Doctor Peppers.
Forrest walks along a wooden pier. Forrest pays an old black shrimper a large wad of cash.
OLD SHRIMPER
Tell me something. Are you stupid or something?
FORREST
Stupid is as stupid does, sir.
EXT. BUBBA’S GRAVE
Forrest stands at the grave.
FORREST
Well, that’s what’s left after me saying, “When I was in China on the All-America Ping-Pong Team, I just loved playing ping-pong with my Flex-O-Ping-Pong Paddle.” Which everybody knows it isn’t true, but Momma says it’s just a little white lie so it wouldn’t hurt nobody. So, anyway, I’m putting all that on gas, ropes and new nets and a brand-new shrimpin’ boat.
EXT. BAYOU — DAY
Forrest steers his shrimping boat. The boat is old and rusty.
Forrest unleashes his nets as his catch of the day drops to the deck. It is a bunch of garbage and shells. Forrest picks up one shrimp.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, Bubba had told me everything he knows about shrimpin’, but you know what I found out? Shrimpin’ is tough.
EXT. DOCKS
Forrest pulls a couple of shrimp out of a bucket.
FORREST
I only caught five.
OLD SHRIMPER
A couple of more, you can have yourself a cocktail.
The old shrimper begins to walk away, then stops and looks at Forrest.
OLD SHRIMPER
Hey, you ever think about namin’ this old boat?
FORREST (V.O.)
I’d never named a boat before, but there was only one I could think of.
Forrest paints a name on the side of his boat. The name is “Jenny.”
FORREST (V.O.)
The most beautiful name in the wide world.
INT. DISCO
Disco lights flash and people dance. A guy asks a girl to dance.
GIRL
Okay.
Jenny sits at a table with some other people. She is snorting cocaine.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, I hadn’t heard from Jenny in a long while. But…
EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE — DAY
Forrest stands at the helm as the boat glides across the water.
FORREST (V.O.)
But I thought about her a lot. And I hoped that whatever she was doing made her happy.
INT. APARTMENT — NIGHT
Drug paraphernalia and a large wad of cash are spread out on a table. A man drops a syringe on the table. He reaches over and touches Jenny. She is pale with dark lines under her eyes.
INT. BATHROOM
Jenny smears some lines of cocaine on a mirror. She looks at herself in the mirror.
EXT. BALCONY
Jenny steps out onto the high-rise balcony. She steps up on a table and stands on the edge of the balcony. A busy street lies many stories below. Jenny looks down to the intersection below.
She slips over the edge, regains her balance, turns and looks back at the intersection below, and begins to get down from the edge.
Jenny grabs a hold of the ledge and carefully climbs down.
She sits down on a chair. Jenny rocks back and forth as she cries. She looks up at the sky.
EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE/FORREST’S BOAT — NIGHT
The moon shines above in the sky. Forrest lies in a hammock on his boat.
FORREST (V.O.)
I thought about Jenny all the time.
EXT. FORREST’S BOAT/BAYOU DOCK — DAY
Forrest stands at the helm of his boat and slowly glides by the docks. Forrest looks around and notices something and bends down to get a clear view. Lt. Dan sits in his wheelchair on the deck. Forrest looks at Lt. Dan. He smiles, surprised.
FORREST
Hi!
Forrest leaps off of his moving boat and into the water. The boat continues as Forrest clumsily swims. Lt. Dan sits in his wheelchair at the edge of the dock. Forrest flails his arms as he swims up to the dock. Lt. Dan waits for Forrest, smoking a cigar. Forrest climbs up a ladder onto the dock.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan, what are you doing here?
LT. DAN
Well, I thought I’d try out my sea legs.
FORREST
Well, you ain’t got no legs, Lieutenant Dan.
LT. DAN
Well, well, Captain Forrest Gump. I had to see this for myself. And I told you if you were ever a shrimp boat captain, that I’d be your first mate. Well, here I am. I am a man of my word.
FORREST
Okay.
Forrest shakes Lt. Dan’s hand.
LT. DAN
Yeah, but don’t you be thinking that I’m gonna be calling you sir.
FORREST
No, sir.
Forrest’s boat glides, crushing a dock. Forrest and Lt. Dan look at it.
FORREST
That’s my boat.
EXT. BAYOU LA BATRE WATERS — DAY
Forrest’s shrimping boat is alone on the gulf waters.
LT. DAN
I have a feeling if we head the east, we’ll find some shrimp. So, take a left. Take a left.
Forrest looks up. Lt. Dan is sitting in the rigging.
FORREST
Which way?
LT. DAN
Over there! They’re over there! Get, get on the wheel and take a left!
FORREST
Okay.
LT. DAN
Gump, what are you doing? Take a left! Left! That’s where we’re gonna find those shrimp, my boy! That’s where we’ll find ’em.
Forrest empties the net. Their “catch” is debris that falls to the deck.
FORREST
Still no shrimp, Lieutenant Dan.
LT. DAN
Okay, so I was wrong.
FORREST
Well, how we gonna find them?
LT. DAN
Well, maybe you should just pray for shrimp.
INT. SMALL CHURCH — DAY
The all-black gospel choir sings and claps their hands.
FORREST (V.O.)
So I went to church every Sunday…
Lt. Dan is sitting in his chair at the back of the church. He takes swigs from a liquor bottle.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometimes Lieutenant Dan came, too. Though I think he left the praying up to me.
EXT. BOAT — ANOTHER DAY
A catch of junk is dumped onto the deck. Lt. Dan lowers himself from the rigging.
FORREST
No shrimp.
LT. DAN
Where the hell’s this God of yours?
The wind begins to blow strong.
FORREST (V.O.)
It’s funny Lieutenant Dan said that, ’cause right then, God showed up.
EXT. BOAT — NIGHT
Water sprays on deck during a hurricane. Lt. Dan on the rigging, shouts and shakes his fist as he is pelted by wind and rain.
LT. DAN
You’ll never sink this boat!
FORREST (V.O.)
Now me, I was scared. But Lieutenant Dan, he was mad.
LT. DAN
Come on! You call this a storm?
Forrest slides back and forth as he attempts to steer the boat.
LT. DAN
Blow, you son-of-a-bitch! Blow! It’s time for a showdown! You and me. I’m right here. Come and get me! You’ll never sink this boat!
INT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
An ANCHORMAN over TV, is standing in front of a pier.
ANCHORMAN
(over television)
Hurricane Carmen came through here yesterday…
EXT. BAYOU DOCKS — DAY
The anchorman is standing in front of the ruined pier and boats.
ANCHORMAN
…destroying nearly everything in its path. And as in other towns up and down the coast, Bayou La Batre’s entire shrimping industry…
INT. GUMP HOUSE
ANCHORMAN
…has fallen victim to Carmen and has been left in utter ruin. Speaking with local officials, this reporter has learned, in fact, only one shrimping boat actually survived the storm.
Forrest’s boat comes down the river.
MRS. GUMP
Louise. Louise, there’s Forrest!
FORREST (V.O.)
After that, shrimpin’ was easy.
FORREST’S BOAT — DAY
Lt. Dan and Forrest empty their net. A huge catch of shrimp falls onto the deck. Lt. Dan opens another big catch.
Another catch drops open on top of yet another huge catch.
Forrest and Lt. Dan smile.
FORREST (V.O.)
And since people still needed them shrimps for shrimp cocktails and barbecues and all…
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
The man sitting on the bench listens to Forrest. An ELDERLY WOMAN sits next to the man.
FORREST
…and we were the only boat left standing “Bubba-Gump” shrimp’s what they got. We got a whole bunch of boats. Twelve Jenny’s, a big ol’ warehouse, we even have hats that says “Bubba-Gump” on ’em. “Bubba-Gump Shrimp.” It’s a household name.
MAN
Hold on there, boy. Are you telling me you’re the owner of the Bubba-Gump Shrimp Corporation?
FORREST
Yes, sir. We’ve got more money than Davy Crocket.
MAN
Boy, I’ve heard some whoppers in my time, but that tops them all. We was sitting next to a millionaire!
The man laughs as he walks away.
ELDERLY WOMAN
Well, I thought it was a very lovely story. And you tell it so well. With such enthusiasm.
FORREST
Would you like to see what Lieutenant Dan looks like?
ELDERLY WOMAN
Well, yes, I would!
Forrest shows her the cover of a “Fortune” magazine with Forrest and Lt. Dan on the cover.
FORREST
That’s him right there.
The elderly woman looks at the magazine and at Forrest with surprise.
FORREST
And let me tell you something about Lieutenant Dan.
EXT. BOAT/DECK — DAY
Forrest and Lt. Dan are working on the boat.
LT. DAN
Forrest, I never thanked you for saving my life.
Forrest looks a little surprised. Lt. Dan smiles, then looks away. Lt. Dan pulls himself out of his chair to the railing and jumps into the water.
FORREST (V.O.)
He never actually said so, but I think he made his peace with God.
EXT. BOAT
Forrest and Lt. Dan have dinner on the deck. The television shows an assassination attempt on President Gerald Ford.
ANCHORMAN
(over television)
For the second time in seventeen days, President Ford escaped possible assassination today when a woman, Sarah Jane Moore, fired on him as he stepped out of a hotel in San Francisco.
MARGO
(over radio)
Base to Jenny One. Base to Jenny One.
LT. DAN
Jenny One, go Margo.
MARGO
(over radio)
Forrest has a phone call.
LT. DAN
Yeah, well you’ll have to tell them to call him back. He is indisposed at the moment.
MARGO
(over radio)
His momma’s sick.
ANCHORMAN
(over television)
Lynett Alice Fromme, a follower of Charles Manson better known as “Squeaky,” attempted to assassinate the President as he was…
Forrest dives into the water as he reacts.
EXT. ROAD/GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Forrest carries a suitcase as he runs down the road. Forrest runs past the row of mailboxes and turns into the drive.
Louise and others are on the front porch.
FORREST
Where’s Momma?
LOUISE
She’s upstairs.
INT. GUMP HOUSE — WOMAN’S BED ROOM
Forrest opens the door, the doctor stands next to Mrs. Gump in bed.
MRS. GUMP
Hi, Forrest.
DOCTOR
I’ll see you tomorrow.
MRS. GUMP
Oh, all right.
The doctor looks down at Forrest’s legs.
DOCTOR
We sure got you straightened out, didn’t we, boy?
The doctor leaves and closes the door. Forrest takes off his hat and steps over to her.
FORREST
What’s the matter, Momma?
MRS. GUMP
I’m dyin’, Forrest. Come on in, sit down over here.
FORREST
Why are you dyin’, Momma?
MRS. GUMP
It’s my time. It’s just my time. Oh, now, don’t you be afraid, sweetheart. Death is just a part of life. It’s something we’re all destined to do. I didn’t know it, but I was destined to be your momma. I did the best I could.
FORREST
You did good, Momma.
MRS. GUMP
Well, I happened to believe you make your own destiny. You have to do the best with what God gave you.
FORREST
What’s my destiny, Momma?
MRS. GUMP
You’re gonna have to figure that out for yourself. Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest. You never know what you’re gonna get.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma always had a way of explaining things so I could understand them.
MRS. GUMP
I will miss you, Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
She had got the cancer and died on a Tuesday. I bought her a new hat with little flowers on it.
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
The elderly woman and Forrest sit. The woman is crying and wipes her eyes with a hankie.
FORREST
And that’s all I have to say about that.
A bus stops. Forrest looks at the elderly woman.
FORREST
Didn’t you say you were waiting for the Number Seven bus?
ELDERLY WOMAN
There’ll be another one along shortly.
FORREST
Now, because I had been a football star, and a war hero, and a national celebrity, and a shrimpin’ boat captain, and a college graduate, the city of fathers of Greenbow, Alabama, decided to get together and offered me a fine job.
EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD — DAY
Forrest rides a lawn tractor as he moves the football field lawn.
FORREST (V.O.)
So, I never went back to work for Lieutenant Dan.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE MAILBOXES
Forrest takes out a letter and opens it.
FORREST (V.O.)
Though he did take care of my Bubba-Gump money. He got me invested in some kind of fruit company. And so then I got a call from him saying we don’t have to worry about money no more.
EXT. BUS STOP
FORREST
And I said, “That’s good. One less thing.”
INT. CHURCH — DAY The choir and members are singing.
FORREST (V.O.)
Now, Momma said there’s only so much fortune a man really needs…
EXT. CHURCH
The sign reads: “Four Square Baptist Church.” A new cross is placed on the steeple. New furniture is taken inside.
REVEREND
Praise the Lord.
FORREST (V.O.)
…and the rest is just for showing off. So, I gave a whole bunch of it to the Four Square Gospel Church.
EXT. HOSPITAL — DAY
The sign reads: “Gump Medical Center Bayou La Batre, Alabama.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony.
FORREST (V.O.)
And I gave a whole bunch to the Bayou La Batre Fishing Hospital.
EXT. BUBBA’S MOM’S HOUSE
A postman delivers a letter to Bubba’s mom. She opens the letter.
FORREST (V.O.)
And even though Bubba was dead, and Lieutenant Dan said I was nuts. I gave Bubba’s mommy Bubba’s share.
She is surrounded by her many children. She looks at the check and faints.
EXT. BUS STOP
FORREST
And you know what…
INT. FLORIDA CONDO
A door opens as a white woman serves Bubba’s mom some shrimp.
FORREST (V.O.)
She didn’t have to work in nobody’s kitchen no more.
MRS. BLUE
Smells wonderful!
EXT. FOOTBALL FIELD
Forrest rides the mower.
FORREST (V.O.)
And ’cause I was godzillionaire and I liked doing it so much. I cut that grass for free.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE BALCONY — NIGHT
Forrest looks down the road as he steps onto the porch.
FORREST (V.O.)
But at nighttime, when there was nothing to do and the house was all empty, I’d always think of Jenny.
Jenny’s image walks, then vanishes. Forrest looks away. He turns and walks into the house.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Jenny walks across the lawn to Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
And then, she was there.
JENNY
Hello, Forrest.
FORREST
Hello, Jenny.
FORREST (V.O.)
Jenny came back and stayed with me.
INT. GUMP HOUSE
Jenny lies asleep in bed.
FORREST (V.O.)
Maybe it was because she had nowhere else to go. Or maybe it was because she was so tired, because she went to bed and slept and slept like she hadn’t slept in years. It was wonderful having her home.
EXT. COUNTRYSIDE — DAY
Forrest and Jenny walking.
FORREST (V.O.)
Every day we’d take a walk, and I’d jabber on like a monkey in a tree. And she’d listen about ping-pong and shrimpin’ boats and Momma makin’ a trip to heaven. I did all the talkin’. Jenny most of the time was real quiet.
FORREST
…big ol’ gobs of rain and little bitty stinging rain and rain…
Jenny’s old house stands at the end of the dirt road. It appears to be deserted. Jenny walks toward the house and stops. She stares at the house. Forrest walks toward Jenny.
Jenny suddenly heaves a rock angrily at the house. She throws other things at the house.
JENNY
How could you do this?
She breaks a window. Jenny collapses to the ground and sobs.
Forrest knees down next to her.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometimes I guess there just aren’t enough rocks.
EXT. OLD OAK TREE — DAY
Jenny and Forrest sit on a limb together.
FORREST (V.O.)
I never really knew why she came back, but I didn’t care. It was like olden times. We was like peas and carrots again.
INT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Jenny sits by the vase of flowers and look out the window.
FORREST (V.O.)
Every day I’d pick pretty flowers and put them in her room for her.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Forrest closes his eyes as he sits on the porch. Jenny places a box of Nike running shoes in his lap.
FORREST (V.O.)
And she gave me the best gift anyone could ever get in the wide world.
JENNY
Okay, you can open your eyes.
FORREST
New shoes.
JENNY
They make them just for running.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT
Through the windows, Forrest and Jenny are dancing as it rains outside.
FORREST (V.O.)
And she even showed me how to dance. And, well, we was like family… Jenny and me.
EXT. RIVER — NIGHT
Jenny and Forrest sit on a log together and look at the river.
Jenny places her arms around Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
And it was the happiest time of my life.
The fireworks explode in the sky.
INT. GUMP’S HOUSE — NIGHT
The Statue of Liberty is shown on the TV. Fireworks go off.
Forrest and Jenny are watching the 4th of July celebration on TV.
ANNOUNCER
(over television)
And this Fourth is witnessing one of the largest fireworks displays in the nation’s two-hundred year history…
JENNY
You done watching it?
FORREST
Mm-hmm.
ANNOUNCER
(over television)
…here in New York Harbor. After the spectacular display of tall ships earlier, the Statue of Liberty…
Jenny stands up and kisses Forrest on the cheek.
JENNY
I’m going to bed.
Jenny turns off the TV and walks outside. Forrest stands as he puts down his Dr. Pepper. Jenny walks toward the stairs.
FORREST
Will you marry me? I’d make a good husband, Jenny.
JENNY
You would, Forrest.
FORREST
But you won’t marry me.
JENNY
You don’t want to marry me.
FORREST
Why don’t you love me, Jenny? I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is.
Forrest turns and walks toward the door. Jenny turns and walks up the stairs. Forrest stands outside.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT
The house stands in the rain.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT
Forrest lies in his bed as the door opens. Jenny gets into bed next to Forrest.
FORREST
Jenny?
JENNY
Forrest, I do love you.
Jenny and Forrest kiss. Jenny takes off her nightgown as they make love.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — MORNING
Jenny carries her purse and walks toward a waiting cab.
CAB DRIVER
Where are you running off to?
JENNY
I’m not running.
INT. GUMP HOUSE
The cab drives away as Forrest is asleep in his bed. The Congressional Medal lies on a table by a ping-pong paddle.
Forrest holds a glass of milk and wears his bathrobe. He looks at the medal he had give to Jenny. Jenny’s bed is made. Forrest stands in the doorway looking at the room and bed where Jenny had been.
EXT. FRONT PORCH — DAY
Forrest sit on a rocking chair with his running shoes on. He is still, as if in a trance. He slowly puts on his Bubba-Gump cap. Forrest stands. He walks off the porch. He begins to jog across the lawn. His speed increases as he runs farther away. Forrest runs down the drive away from his house.
FORREST (V.O.)
That day, for no particular reason, I decided to go for a little run.
Forrest runs to the end of the drive, then turns right and runs down the highway.
FORREST (V.O.)
So I ran to the end of the road, and when I got there, I thought maybe I’d run to the end of town.
INT. BARBER SHOP — DAY
The three men sit as they watch the television. Forrest runs through the main street of town.
NEWSCASTER
President Carter, suffering from heat exhaustion fell into the arms of security agents.
FORREST (V.O.)
And when I got there…
EXT. ALABAMA ROAD
The sign reads “Entering Greenbow County.”
FORREST (V.O.)
…I thought maybe I’d just run across Greenbow County. And I figured since I run this far, maybe I’d just run across the great…
Forrest runs by a sign that reads “Mississippi welcomes you. The Magnolia State.”
FORREST (V.O.)
…state of Alabama. And that’s what I did I ran clear across Alabama.
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
FORREST
For no particular reason, I just kept on going. I ran clear to the ocean.
EXT. SANTA MONICA — DAY
The sign reads “Santa Monica yacht harbor sports fishing — boating — cafes.” Forrest runs under the sign and onto the pier.
FORREST (V.O.)
And when I got there, I figured since I’d gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going.
EXT. ATLANTIC OCEAN
Forrest runs to a pier at the Atlantic Ocean.
FORREST (V.O.)
When I got to another ocean, I figured since I’ve gone this far, I might as well just turn back, keep right on going.
Forrest runs across the pier. A lighthouse stands at the end of the pier.
FORREST (V.O.)
When I got tired, I slept. When I got hungry, I ate.
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
FORREST
When I had to go, you know, I went.
ELDERLY WOMAN
And so, you just ran?
FORREST
Yeah.
EXT. HIGHWAY
Forrest is running along the highway. Forrest runs down a road between field of wheat. A Mountain river. Forrest runs across a cobble-stone bridge. The Rocky Mountains are behind him in distance. Forrest runs through some meadowland.
Split rail fences line the road.
FORREST (V.O.)
I’d think a lot about Momma and Bubba, and Lieutenant Dan, but most of all, I thought about Jenny. I thought about her a lot.
EXT. BARBER SHOP
The three men in the barber shop watch the news on television.
NEWSCASTER
For more than two years now, a man named Forrest Gump, a gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, stopping only to sleep, has been running across America.
INT. COFFEE SHOP
Jenny fills customer’s coffee cups.
NEWSCASTER
Charles Cooper brings us this report.
NEWSMAN
For the fourth time on his journey across America, Forrest Gump, a gardener from Greenbow, Alabama, is about to cross the Mississippi River again today.
The TV shows Forrest runs across a bridge that reads “Mississippi River.”
JENNY
I’ll be damned. Forrest…
EXT. MISSISSIPPI BRIDGE
NEWSMAN
Sir, why are you running?
1ST REPORTER
Why are you running?
2ND REPORTER
Are you doing this for world peace?
3RD REPORTER
Are you doing this for women’s right?
NEWSMAN
Or for the environment?
REPORTER
Or for animals?
3RD REPORTER
Or for nuclear arms?
FORREST (V.O.)
They just couldn’t believe that somebody would do all that running for no particular reason.
2ND REPORTER
Why are you doing this?
FORREST
I just felt like running.
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
FORREST
I just left like running.
EXT. SMALL EASTERN TOWN
Forrest runs as a YOUNG MAN runs up to him.
YOUNG MAN
It’s you. I can’t believe it’s really you.
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
FORREST
Now, for some reason what I was doing seemed to make sense to people.
EXT. SMALL EASTERN TOWN
The young man jobs behind Forrest.
YOUNG MAN
I mean, it was like an alarm went off in my head, you know. I said, here’s a guy that’s got his act together. Here’s somebody who’s got it, all figured out. Here’s somebody who has the answer. I’ll follow you anywhere, Mr. Gump.
FORREST (V.O.)
So, I got company.
Forrest runs up a slope on a high mountain road. A group of people are jogging behind him.
FORREST (V.O.)
And after that I got more company. And then…
A large group jogs behind Forrest across the desert road.
FORREST (V.O.)
…even more people joined in. Somebody later told me…
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
FORREST
…it gave people hope. Now… Now, I don’t know anything about that, but…
Forrest and his followers job through a small town. A man runs up and talks to Forrest.
FORREST (V.O.)
Some of those people asked me if I could help them out.
AGING HIPPIE
Hey, man, hey, listen. I was wondering if you might help me, huh? Listen, I’m in the bumper sticker business and I’ve been trying to think up a good slogan. And since you have been such a big inspiration to the people around here, I thought you might be able to help me jump into… Whoa! Man, you just ran through a big pile of dogshit!
The hippie jumps over the “dogshit” as he runs along Forrest.
FORREST
It happens.
AGING HIPPIE
What, shit?
FORREST
Sometimes.
The hippie stops to ponder this profound thought.
FORREST (V.O.)
And some years later I heard that fella did come up with a bumper sticker slogan…
A bumper sticker reads “Shit Happens.”
FORREST (V.O.)
…and he make a lot of money off of it.
The truck with the bumper sticker drives into an intersection.
It collides with a car.
EXT. TRUCK STOP
Forrest runs, followed by his group, as a man runs up to him.
FORREST (V.O.)
Another time I was running along, somebody who had lost all his money in the T-shirt business, and he wanted to put my face on a T-shirt, but he couldn’t draw that well and he didn’t have a camera.
WILD-EYED MAN
I think it would be really fortunate for me if I could get your name on these, oh, your face and name on these T-shirts. It would be wonderful.
A truck splashes mud onto Forrest as it goes by. The man hands Forrest a yellow T-shirt to use as a rag to wipe the mud off.
WILD-EYED MAN
Here, use this one. Nobody likes that color anyway.
Forrest wipes his face on the towel and hands it back to the man.
FORREST
Have a nice day.
The man looks at the T-shirt. He holds it up displaying the “Happy Face.”
FORREST (V.O.)
And some years later I found out that that man did come up with a idea for a T-shirt and he made a lot of money off of it.
EXT. MONUMENT VALLEY
Forrest runs with a group that follows behind him.
FORREST (V.O.)
Anyway, like I was saying, I had a lot of company. My Momma always said you got to put the past behind you before you can move on. And I think that’s what my running was all about. I had run for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours.
Forrest stops running. The group stops behind him. Forrest stands and looks as the group waits expectantly. Forrest turns and look.
YOUNG MAN
Quiet. Quiet, he’s gonna say something.
FORREST
I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll go home now.
Forrest walks toward the group. The group parts for Forrest as he walks down the middle of the road.
YOUNG MAN
Now what are we supposed to do?
FORREST (V.O.)
And just like that, my running days was over. So, I went home to Alabama.
A television shows President Reagan and his staff as they react to gunshots in front of a limo.
NEWSCASTER
(over television)
Moments ago, at two twenty-five p.m., as President Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel…
INT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
Forrest sits eating a sandwich, watching the news of the assassination attempt.
NEWSCASTER
…five or six gunshots were fired by an unknown would-be assassin. The President was shot in the chest and the assailant was immediately tackled by a half a dozen lawmen. As the Presidential…
LOUISE
I picked up the mail.
FORREST
Oh, thank you, Miss, Miss Louise.
FORREST (V.O.)
One day, out of the blue clear sky, I got a letter from Jenny…
EXT. BUS STOP — PRESENT
Forrest takes the letter out of his pocket.
FORREST
…wondering if I could come down to Savannah to see her, and that’s what I’m doing here. She saw me on TV, running, I’m supposed to go on the Number Nine bus to Richmond Street and get off and go one block left to 1-9-4-7 Henry Street, Apartment 4.
The elderly woman looks at the letter.
ELDERLY WOMAN
Why, you don’t need to take a bus. Henry Street is just five or six blocks down that way.
FORREST
Down that way?
ELDERLY WOMAN
Down that way.
Forrest hastily grabs his suitcase and letter as he stands.
FORREST
It was nice talking’ to you.
Forrest runs, the elderly woman shouts from the bus stop bench. A truck honks its horn as Forrest runs across the street past the truck.
ELDERLY WOMAN
I hope everything works out for you.
INT. JENNY’S APARTMENT — DAY
Jenny opens the door.
JENNY
Hey! Forrest! How you doing?
FORREST
Hi.
JENNY
Come in. Come in.
FORREST
I got your letter.
JENNY
Oh, I was wondering about that.
Jenny shuts the door. Forrest looks around.
FORREST
Is this your house?
JENNY
Yeah, it’s messy right now. I just got off work.
FORREST
It’s nice. You got air conditioning.
Forrest hands Jenny the box of chocolates.
FORREST
Ah…
JENNY
Thank you.
FORREST
I ate some.
Jenny picks up a scrapbook and turns the pages.
JENNY
Hey, I kept, I kept a scrapbook of your, of your clippings and everything. There you are. This, I got your running.
FORREST
I ran a long way. For a long time.
JENNY
There. Listen, Forrest. I don’t know how to say this. Um, I just… I want to apologize for anything that I ever did to you, ’cause I was messed up for a long time, and…
There is a knock at the door. LYNN MARIE enters as she opens the door.
LYNN MARIE
Yoo-hoo.
JENNY
Hey.
LYNN MARIE
Hi.
Jenny grabs a young boy.
JENNY
Hey, you. This is an old friend from Alabama.
LYNN MARIE
Oh, how do you do?
JENNY
Ah, listen, next week my schedule changes, so I’ll be able to… but thanks for picking up.
LYNN MARIE
No problem. Got to go, Jen. I’m double parked.
JENNY
Okay.
Lynn Marie closes the door and waves bye to Forrest.
LYNN MARIE
Bye.
JENNY
Thanks. This is very good friend, Mr. Gump. Can you say hi to him?
LITTLE BOY
Hello, Mr. Gump.
FORREST
Hello.
LITTLE BOY
Now, can I go watch TV now?
JENNY
Yes, you can. Just keep it low.
The little boy runs into other room and picks up TV remote control.
FORREST
You’re a momma, Jenny.
JENNY
I’m a momma. His name is Forrest.
FORREST
Like me.
JENNY
I named him after his Daddy.
FORREST
He got a daddy named Forrest, too?
JENNY
You’re his daddy, Forrest.
Forrest continues to stare at Forrest Jr. Forrest then looks frightened and starts to back away.
JENNY
Hey, Forrest, look at me. Look at me, Forrest. There’s nothing you need to do, okay? You didn’t do anything wrong. Okay?
Jenny turns and looks at Forrest Jr. in the other room.
JENNY
Isn’t he beautiful?
FORREST
He’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. But… is, is he smart, or is he…
JENNY
He’s very smart. He’s one of the smartest in his class.
Forrest breathes deep. He looks at Jenny, then at Forrest Jr.
JENNY
Yeah, it’s okay. Go talk to him.
Forrest walks into the room and sits down next to Forrest Jr. “Sesame Street” is on the TV.
BERT
Oh, great.
ERNIE
Hey, Bert, can you give me a hand?
BERT
A hand? Well, yeah, what do you want, Ernie?
FORREST
What are you watching.
FORREST JR.
Bert and Ernie.
ERNIE
Well, it’s the first stage. Bert. It’s planning to write a story, Bert. I have pencils right here to write with, Bert. Now, we got, uh, paper. I’ll take that paper, Bert. See, we have the paper to write on.
EXT. PARK — DAY
Forrest and Jenny sit on a bench. Forrest Jr. swings behind them.
JENNY
Forrest, I’m sick.
FORREST
What, do you have a cough due to cold?
JENNY
I have some kind virus. And the doctors don’t, they don’t know what it is. And there isn’t anything they can do about it.
FORREST
You could come home with me. Jenny, you and little Forrest could come stay at my house in Greenbow. I’ll take care of you if you’re sick.
JENNY
Would you marry me, Forrest?
FORREST
Okay.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — DAY
A group has gathered on the lawn for the wedding. Louise walks up to Forrest.
MINISTER
Please take your seats.
LOUISE
Forrest, it’s time to start.
Jenny walks out of the house. Forrest walks over to greet her. She wears a white dress. She walks up to Forrest and adjusts his necktie.
JENNY
Hi. Your tie.
Lt. Dan is walking across the lawn. He uses a cane. A WOMAN is walking next to him.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan? Lieutenant Dan!
LT. DAN
Hello, Forrest.
Jenny walks over to Forrest and Lt. Dan.
FORREST
You got new legs. New legs!
LT. DAN
Yeah, I got new legs.
Lt. Dan lifts his pant leg to display his metal leg.
LT. DAN
Custom-made titanium alloy. It’s what they use on the space shuttle.
FORREST
Magic legs.
LT. DAN
This is my fiancee, Susan.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan!
Susan shakes Forrest’s hand.
SUSAN
Hi, Forrest.
FORREST
Lieutenant Dan, this is my Jenny.
JENNY
Hey, it’s nice to meet you, finally.
Jenny steps forward and kisses Lt. Dan’s cheek. The group is seated as they watch Forrest and Jenny take vows on the front lawn. Forrest Jr. stands next to Jenny.
MINISTER
Do you, Forrest, take Jenny to be your wife? Do you, Jenny, take Forrest to be your husband? If so, I pronounce you man and wife.
The wind blows fallen leaves across the ground. Jenny, Forrest, and Forrest Jr. walk toward the house. They all hold hands as they walk.
INT. GUMP HOUSE — MORNING
Forrest steps into Jenny’s bedroom. He carries a tray with breakfast on it. Forrest looks at Jenny as she sleeps.
Slowly she wakes up and looks at Forrest.
FORREST
Hey.
JENNY
Hey.
Forrest sets the tray down next to Jenny as she sits up in bed. Forrest opens a window, then sits down next to the bed.
JENNY
Hey, Forrest, were you scared in Vietnam?
FORREST
Yes. Well, I, I don’t know.
EXT. VIETNAM — FLASHBACK — NIGHT
Forrest looks up into the sky as the rain stops. Forrest removes his helmet. The stars emerge from behind the clouds.
FORREST (V.O.)
Sometimes it would stop raining long enough for the stars to come out. And then it was nice. It was like just before the sun goes to bed down on the bayou…
EXT. BAYOU — FLASHBACK — SUNSET
Forrest stands on his boat and looks at a deep orange and red sunset.
FORREST (V.O.)
There was over a million sparkles on the water. Like that mountain lake.
EXT. MOUNTAIN LAKE — FLASHBACK — DAY
Forrest runs along a highway. A lake reflects the mountains and the sky.
FORREST (V.O.)
It was so clear, Jenny. It looks like there were two skies, one on top of the other. And then in the desert, when the sun comes up…
EXT. DESERT — FLASHBACK — SUNRISE
Forrest runs along a desert highway. The morning light casts an orange glow over the desert.
FORREST (V.O.)
I couldn’t tell where heavens stopped and the earth began. It was so beautiful.
INT. GUMP HOUSE — MORNING
Forrest looks at Jenny. Jenny looks out the window.
JENNY
I wish I could have been there with you.
FORREST
You were.
Jenny reaches over and takes Forrest’s hand.
JENNY
I love you.
FORREST (V.O.)
You died on a Saturday morning.
EXT. JENNY’S GRAVE AT OLD OAK TREE — DAY
Forrest stands under the old oak tree where Jenny has been buried.
FORREST
And I had you placed here under our tree.
Jenny’s grave marker. Forrest tries to hold back his tears.
FORREST
And I had that house of your father’s bulldozed to the ground.
EXT. JENNY’S OLD HOUSE — DAY
Forrest watches as Jenny’s dad’s house is knocked down by a bulldozer.
FORREST (V.O.)
Momma…
EXT. JENNY’S GRAVE
FORREST
…always said dyin’ was a part of life.
Jenny’s grave marker reads: JENNY GUMP July 16, 1945 — March 22, 1982 Beloved Mother, Wife and Friend
FORREST
I sure wish it wasn’t. Little Forrest, he’s doing just fine.
INT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT
Forrest Jr. reads a book to Forrest sitting next to him.
FORREST JR.
(reading)
“But he wasn’t quite sure. Everywhere they went, the new guests…
FORREST (V.O.)
About to start school again soon. I make his breakfast, lunch, and dinner…
EXT. JENNY’S GRAVE
Forrest looks down as he sobs.
FORREST
…every day. I make sure he combs his hair and brushes his teeth every day. Teaching him how to play ping pong.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE — NIGHT
Forrest tries to teach Forrest Jr. how to play ping-pong.
FORREST
Okay…
FORREST (V.O.)
He’s really good.
FORREST
Forrest, you go.
Forrest Jr. serves the ball, causing Forrest dive and miss it.
EXT. GUMP HOUSE/RIVER — DAY
Forrest and Forrest Jr. sit on a log by the river and fish.
FORREST (V.O.)
We fish a lot.
EXT. JENNY’S GRAVE
Forrest looks down at the grave marker.
FORREST
And every night, we read a book. He’s so smart, Jenny. You’d be so proud of him. I am. He, uh, wrote a letter, and he says I can’t read it. I’m not supposed to, so I’ll just leave it here for you.
Forrest places the letter down at the grave marker, next to fresh flowers. The name on the envelope reads: “Mom.” Forrest steps back and looks down at the grave.
FORREST
Jenny, I don’t know if Momma was right or if, if it’s Lieutenant Dan. I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floating around accidental-like on a breeze, but I, I think maybe it’s both. Maybe both is happening at the same time. I miss you, Jenny. If there’s anything you need, I won’t be far away.
As Forrest walks away, a flock of birds flies overhead and lands in the tree. Forrest turns and watches.
EXT. ROAD — MORNING
Forrest walks with Forrest Jr. for the bus. The bus drives toward them.
FORREST
Here’s your bus. Okay.
Forrest pulls “Curious George” out of Forrest Jr.’s backpack.
FORREST
Hey, I know this.
FORREST JR.
I’m gonna show that for show-and-tell because grandma used to read it to you.
Forrest looks at the book. The feather from the beginning of the movie drops out of the book, unnoticed.
FORREST
My favorite book.
The bus comes to a stop. The door opens.
FORREST
Well…
Forrest puts the book back into Forrest Jr.’s backpack and hands it to him.
FORREST
…okay. Hey, there you go.
Forrest Jr. walks toward the bus. Forrest stands up.
FORREST
Hey, Forrest. Don’t… I wanted to tell you I love you.
FORREST JR.
I love you too, Daddy.
FORREST
I’ll be right here when you get back.
Forrest Jr. looks into the bus and at the bus driver. It is the same bus driver, only older now, who drove Forrest to school when he was a young boy.
SCHOOLD BUS DRIVER
You understand this is the bus to school now, don’t you?
FORREST JR.
Of course, and you’re Dorothy Harris and I’m Forrest Gump.
Forrest Jr. looks over and waves to his father. Forrest nods approvingly.
Forrest Jr. gets on the bus. The bus pulls away. Forrest stands next to the mailbox.
Forrest sits down. The camera cranes down, revealing the feather as it lies at Forrest’s feet.
A gust of wind picks the feather up. The feather floats up into the air.
Forrest sits at the side of the road. The feather floats higher into the air.
The feather soars up into the sky and travels up and down, then covers the camera lens.
THE END
| Forrest Gump | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis |
| Screenplay by | Eric Roth |
| Based on | Forrest Gump by Winston Groom |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Edited by | Arthur Schmidt |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
|
Production |
The Tisch Company[1] |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures[1] |
|
Release dates |
|
|
Running time |
142 minutes |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55 million[2] |
| Box office | $678.2 million[2] |
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. The film follows several decades in the life of a slow-witted and kindhearted Alabama man named Forrest Gump (Hanks) and his experiences in the 20th-century United States. The film differs substantially from the novel.
Principal photography took place between August and December 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Hanks into archived footage and to develop other scenes. The soundtrack features songs reflecting the different periods seen in the film.
Forrest Gump was released in the United States on July 6, 1994, and received critical acclaim for Zemeckis’s direction, performances (particularly those of Hanks and Sinise), visual effects, music, and screenplay. The film was an enormous success at the box office; it became the top-grossing film in America released that year and earned over US$678.2 million worldwide during its theatrical run, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1994, behind The Lion King. The soundtrack sold over 12 million copies. Forrest Gump won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. It received many award nominations, including Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Various interpretations have been made of the protagonist and the film’s political symbolism. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being «culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant».[3][4][5]
Plot[edit]
In 1981, at a bus stop in Savannah, a man named Forrest Gump recounts his life story to strangers who happen to sit next to him on the bench. As a boy in 1956, Forrest has an IQ of 75 and is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine. He lives in Greenbow, Alabama with his mother, who runs a boarding house and encourages him to live beyond his disabilities. Among their temporary tenants is a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates the boy’s jerky dance movements into his performances. On his first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends.
Bullied because of his leg braces and dimwittedness, Forrest flees from a group of children, but when his braces break off, he is revealed to be a fast runner. With this talent, he receives a football scholarship at the University of Alabama in 1962, where he is coached by Bear Bryant, becomes a top kick returner, is named to the All-American team, and meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House. In his first year at college, he witnesses Governor George Wallace’s Stand in the Schoolhouse Door and returns a dropped book to Vivian Malone Jones, one of the students admitted over state resistance.
After graduating from college in 1966, Forrest enlists in the U.S. Army. During basic training, he befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford Blue (nicknamed «Bubba»), who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. Later that year, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region under Lieutenant Dan Taylor. After months of routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and several members of the platoon are killed in action, including Bubba. Forrest saves several wounded platoonmates and Lieutenant Dan, who loses both his legs. Taylor is embittered to have been saved by Forrest; he would rather have died in combat like his ancestors before him, but he is returned to the United States. Forrest is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
At an anti-war March on the Pentagon rally, Forrest meets Abbie Hoffman and briefly reunites with Jenny, who has become a drug-addicted hippie and anti-war activist. He also develops a talent for ping-pong and becomes a sports celebrity competing against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show. He appears to influence Lennon’s song, «Imagine». Forrest spends 1972 New Year’s Eve in New York City with Lieutenant Dan, who has become an alcoholic, still bitter about his disability and the government’s apathy towards Vietnam veterans. Forrest’s ping-pong success eventually leads to a meeting with President Richard Nixon. He is given a room in the Watergate complex, where he unwittingly exposes the Watergate scandal.
Discharged from the army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the profitable Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Dan invests his money in early tech companies on the stock market, which Forrest mistakes for «some kind of fruit company», and the two become millionaires. Forrest gives half of his earnings to Bubba’s family for having inspired the shrimping venture. Forrest returns home to his mother and cares for her during her terminal illness from cancer.
In 1976, Jenny – recovering from years of drugs and abuse – returns to visit Forrest. He proposes to her, and that night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love, though she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running «for no particular reason» and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming famous for another feat before returning to Greenbow. In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their young son, whom she named Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an «unknown virus». The three move back to Greenbow and Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The film ends with Forrest sending his son off on his first day of school.
Cast[edit]
- Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump: At an early age, Forrest is deemed to have a below-average IQ of 75. He has an endearing character and shows devotion to his loved ones and duties, character traits that bring him into many life-changing situations. Along the way, he encounters many historical figures and events throughout his life.
- Michael Conner Humphreys as young Forrest Gump: Hanks revealed in interviews that instead of having Michael copy his accent, he copied Michael’s unique accented drawl into the older character’s accent.
- Robin Wright as Jenny Curran: Forrest’s childhood friend with whom he immediately falls in love, and never stops loving throughout his life. A victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of her bitterly widowed father, Jenny embarks on a different path from Forrest, leading a self-destructive life and becoming part of the hippie movement in California in the 1960s and the following Me Decade’s sex and drug culture of the 1970s. She re-enters Forrest’s life at various times in adulthood. Jenny eventually becomes a waitress in Savannah, Georgia, where she lives in an apartment with her (and Forrest’s) son, Forrest Jr. They eventually get married, but soon afterward she dies from complications due to an unnamed disease. This unknown disease was intended by Winston Groom, the author of the original novel, to be Hepatitis C, itself an «unknown virus» until defined in April 1989,[6][7] although some of the makers of the film have said that they intended for the unknown disease to have been HIV/AIDS.[8][9][10]
- Hanna R. Hall as young Jenny Curran
- Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan Taylor: Forrest and Bubba Blue’s platoon leader during the Vietnam War, whose ancestors have died in every U.S. war and who regards it as his destiny to do the same. After losing his legs in an ambush and being rescued against his will by Forrest, he is initially bitter and antagonistic toward Forrest for leaving him a «cripple» and denying him his family’s destiny, falling into a deep depression. He later serves as Forrest’s first mate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, gives most of the orders, becoming wealthy with Forrest, and regains his will to live. He ultimately forgives and thanks Forrest for saving his life. By the end of the film, he is engaged to be married to his fiancée Susan and is sporting «magic legs» – titanium alloy prosthetics that allow him to walk again.
- Mykelti Williamson as Benjamin Buford «Bubba» Blue: Bubba was originally supposed to be the senior partner in the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, but due to his death in Vietnam, their platoon leader, Dan Taylor, took his place. The company posthumously carried his name. Forrest later gave Bubba’s mother Bubba’s share of the business. Throughout filming, Williamson wore a lip attachment to create Bubba’s protruding lip.[11]
- Sally Field as Mrs. Gump: Forrest’s mother. Field reflected on the character, «She’s a woman who loves her son unconditionally. … A lot of her dialogue sounds like slogans, and that’s just what she intends.»[12]
- Haley Joel Osment as Forrest Gump Jr.: Osment was cast in the film after the casting director noticed him in a Pizza Hut commercial. It was his debut feature film role.[13]
- Peter Dobson as Elvis Presley: Although Kurt Russell was uncredited, he provided the voice for Elvis in the scene.[14]
- Dick Cavett as himself: Cavett played a de-aged version of himself in the 1970s, with makeup applied to make him appear younger. Consequently, Cavett is the only well-known figure in the film to play a cameo role rather than be represented through the use of archival footage like John Lennon or President John F. Kennedy.[15]
- Sam Anderson as Principal Hancock: Forrest’s elementary school principal.
- Geoffrey Blake as Wesley: A member of the SDS group and Jenny’s abusive boyfriend
- Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Dorothy Harris: The school bus driver who drives Forrest, and later his son, to school
- Sonny Shroyer as Coach Paul «Bear» Bryant
- Grand L. Bush, Michael Jace, Conor Kennelly, and Teddy Lane Jr. as the Black Panthers
- Richard D’Alessandro as Abbie Hoffman
- Tiffany Salerno and Marla Sucharetza as «Cunning» Carla and «Long-Limbs» Lenore: a couple of prostitutes that Forrest and Dan spend a New Year’s evening with and later turn away[16][17]
Production[edit]
Script[edit]
«The writer, Eric Roth, departed substantially from the book. We flipped the two elements of the book, making the love story primary and the fantastic adventures secondary. Also, the book was cynical and colder than the movie. In the movie, Gump is a completely decent character, always true to his word. He has no agenda and no opinion about anything except Jenny, his mother and God.»
—director Robert Zemeckis[18]
The film is based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom. Both center on the character of Forrest Gump. However, the film primarily focuses on the first eleven chapters of the novel before skipping ahead to the end of the novel with the founding of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and the meeting with Forrest Jr. In addition to skipping some parts of the novel, the film adds several aspects to Gump’s life that do not occur in the novel, such as his needing leg braces as a child and his run across the United States.[19]
Gump’s core character and personality are also changed from the novel; among other things, his film character is less of a savant—in the novel, while playing football at the university, he fails craft and gym but receives a perfect score in an advanced physics class he is enrolled in by his coach to satisfy his college requirements.[19] The novel also features Gump as an astronaut, a professional wrestler, and a chess player.[19]
Two directors were offered the opportunity to direct the film before Robert Zemeckis was selected. Terry Gilliam turned down the offer.[20] Barry Sonnenfeld was attached to the film, but left to direct Addams Family Values.[21]
Casting[edit]
John Travolta was the original choice to play the title role and says passing on the role was a mistake.[22][23][24] Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were also considered for the role.[25] Sean Penn stated in an interview having been second choice for the role. Hanks revealed that he signed on to the film after an hour and a half of reading the script.[26] He initially wanted to ease Forrest’s pronounced Southern accent but was eventually persuaded by director Robert Zemeckis to portray the heavy accent stressed in the novel.[26] Hanks also said it took him three days to learn how to play the role, and footage from that time could not be included.[27] Winston Groom, who wrote the original novel, describes the film as having taken the «rough edges» off the character whom he had envisioned being played by John Goodman.[28] Additionally, Tom’s younger brother Jim Hanks is his acting double in the movie for the scenes when Forrest runs across the U.S. Tom’s daughter Elizabeth Hanks appears in the movie as the girl on the school bus who refuses to let young Forrest (Michael Conner Humphreys) sit next to her.[29] Joe Pesci was considered for the role of Lieutenant Dan Taylor, which was eventually given to Gary Sinise.[30] David Alan Grier, Ice Cube and Dave Chappelle were offered the role of Benjamin Buford Blue, but all three turned it down.[25][31] Chappelle, who said he believed the film would be unsuccessful, has been reported as saying that he regrets not taking the role. Hanks was aware of Chappelle’s disappointment in missing out on the part and agreed to work with him in a future movie. Four years later he suggested to director Nora Ephron that Chappelle play Hank’s best friend in You’ve Got Mail. Ephron agreed and Chappelle was cast as compensation in that film for missing out on Bubba.[25] Rapper Tupac Shakur also auditioned.[32]
Filming[edit]
The shrimping boat Forrest used in the film
Filming began in August 1993 and ended in December of that year.[33] Although most of the film is set in Alabama, filming took place mainly in and around Beaufort, South Carolina, as well as parts of coastal Virginia and North Carolina,[26] including a running shot on the Blue Ridge Parkway.[34] Downtown portions of the fictional town of Greenbow were filmed in Varnville, South Carolina.[35] The scene of Forrest running through Vietnam while under fire was filmed on Hunting Island State Park and Fripp Island, South Carolina.[36] Additional filming took place on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina and along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, North Carolina. The most notable place was Grandfather Mountain where a part of the road subsequently became known as «Forrest Gump Curve».[37]
The location in Monument Valley where Forrest ends his run
The Gump family home set was built along the Combahee River near Yemassee, South Carolina, and the nearby land was used to film Curran’s home as well as some of the Vietnam scenes.[38] Over 20 palmetto trees were planted to improve the Vietnam scenes.[38] Forrest Gump narrated his life’s story at the northern edge of Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia as he sat at a bus stop bench. There were other scenes filmed in and around the Savannah area as well, including a running shot on the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge in Beaufort while he was being interviewed by the press, and on West Bay Street in Savannah.[38] Most of the college campus scenes were filmed in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. The lighthouse that Forrest runs across to reach the Atlantic Ocean the first time is the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. Additional scenes were filmed in Arizona, Utah’s Monument Valley, and Montana’s Glacier National Park.[39]
Visual effects[edit]
Ken Ralston and his team at Industrial Light & Magic were responsible for the film’s visual effects. Using CGI techniques, it was possible to depict Gump meeting deceased personages and shaking their hands. Hanks was first shot against a blue screen along with reference markers so that he could line up with the archive footage.[40] To record the voices of the historical figures, voice actors were filmed and special effects were used to alter lip-syncing for the new dialogue.[18] Archival footage was used and with the help of such techniques as chroma key, image warping, morphing, and rotoscoping, Hanks was integrated into it.
In one Vietnam War scene, Gump carries Bubba away from an incoming napalm attack. To create the effect, stunt actors were initially used for compositing purposes. Then, Hanks and Williamson were filmed, with Williamson supported by a cable wire as Hanks ran with him. The explosion was then filmed, and the actors were digitally added to appear just in front of the explosions. The jet fighters and napalm canisters were also added by CGI.[41]
The CGI removal of actor Gary Sinise’s legs, after his character had them amputated, was achieved by wrapping his legs with a blue fabric, which later facilitated the work of the «roto-paint» team to paint out his legs from every single frame. At one point, while hoisting himself into his wheelchair, his legs are used for support.[42]
The scene where Forrest spots Jenny at a peace rally at the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., required visual effects to create the large crowd of people. Over two days of filming, approximately 1,500 extras were used.[43] At each successive take, the extras were rearranged and moved into a different quadrant away from the camera. With the help of computers, the extras were multiplied to create a crowd of several hundred thousand people.[26][43]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Produced on a budget of $55 million, Forrest Gump opened in 1,595 theaters in the United States and Canada grossing $24,450,602 in its opening weekend. Motion picture business consultant and screenwriter Jeffrey Hilton suggested to producer Wendy Finerman to double the P&A (film marketing budget) based on his viewing of an early print of the film. The budget was immediately increased, in line with his advice. In its opening weekend, the film placed first at the US box office, narrowly beating The Lion King, which was in its fourth week of release. For the first twelve weeks of release, the film was in the top 3 at the US box office, topping the list 5 times, including in its tenth week of release.[44] Paramount removed the film from release in the United States when its gross hit $300 million in January 1995, and it was the second-highest-grossing film of the year behind The Lion King with $305 million.[45][46] The film was reissued on February 17, 1995, after the Academy Awards nominations were announced.[47] After the reissue in 1,100 theaters, the film grossed an additional $29 million in the United States and Canada, bringing its total to $329.7 million, making it the third-highest-grossing film at that time behind only E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, and was Paramount’s biggest, surpassing Raiders of the Lost Ark.[44][48][49] Forrest Gump held the record for being the highest-grossing Paramount film until it was taken by Titanic three years later in 1997.[50] For 12 years, it remained as the highest-grossing film starring Tom Hanks until 2006 when it was surpassed by The Da Vinci Code.[51] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 78.5 million tickets in the US and Canada in its initial theatrical run.[52]
The film took 66 days to surpass $250 million and was the fastest grossing Paramount film to pass $100 million, $200 million, and $300 million in box office receipts (at the time of its release).[53][54][55] After reissues, the film has gross receipts of $330,252,182 in the U.S. and Canada and $347,693,217 in international markets for a total of $677,945,399 worldwide. Even with such revenue, the film was known as a «successful failure»—due to distributors’ and exhibitors’ high fees, Paramount’s «losses» clocked in at $62 million, leaving executives realizing the necessity of better deals.[56] This has also been associated with Hollywood accounting, where expenses are inflated in order to minimize profit sharing.[57] It is Robert Zemeckis’ highest-grossing film to date.[citation needed]
Critical reception[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 106 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website’s consensus reads, «Forrest Gump may be an overly sentimental film with a somewhat problematic message, but its sweetness and charm are usually enough to approximate true depth and grace.»[58] At the website Metacritic, the film earned a rating of 82 out of 100 based on 20 reviews by mainstream critics, indicating «universal acclaim».[59] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare «A+» grade.[60]
The story was commended by several critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, «I’ve never met anyone like Forrest Gump in a movie before, and for that matter I’ve never seen a movie quite like ‘Forrest Gump.’ Any attempt to describe him will risk making the movie seem more conventional than it is, but let me try. It’s a comedy, I guess. Or maybe a drama. Or a dream. The screenplay by Eric Roth has the complexity of modern fiction…The performance is a breathtaking balancing act between comedy and sadness, in a story rich in big laughs and quiet truths…What a magical movie.»[61] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that the film «has been very well worked out on all levels, and manages the difficult feat of being an intimate, even delicate tale played with an appealingly light touch against an epic backdrop.»[62] In contrast, Anthony Lane of The New Yorker called the film «Warm, wise, and wearisome as hell.»[63] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said that the film was «glib, shallow, and monotonous» and «reduces the tumult of the last few decades to a virtual-reality theme park: a baby-boomer version of Disney’s America.»[64]
Gump garnered comparisons to fictional character Huckleberry Finn, as well as U.S. politicians Ronald Reagan, Pat Buchanan and Bill Clinton.[65][66][67][68] Peter Chomo writes that Gump acts as a «social mediator and as an agent of redemption in divided times».[69] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Gump «everything we admire in the American character – honest, brave, and loyal with a heart of gold.»[70] The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin called Gump a «hollow man» who is «self-congratulatory in his blissful ignorance, warmly embraced as the embodiment of absolutely nothing.»[71] Marc Vincenti of Palo Alto Weekly called the character «a pitiful stooge taking the pie of life in the face, thoughtfully licking his fingers.»[72] Bruce Kawin and Gerald Mast’s textbook on film history notes that Forrest Gump’s dimness was a metaphor for glamorized nostalgia in that he represented a blank slate onto which the Baby Boomer generation projected their memories of those events.[73]
Re-evaluation[edit]
In the 21st century, the film became negatively re-evaluated. Writing in 2004, Entertainment Weekly said, «Nearly a decade after it earned gazillions and swept the Oscars, Robert Zemeckis’s ode to 20th-century America still represents one of cinema’s most clearly drawn lines in the sand. One half of folks see it as an artificial piece of pop melodrama, while everyone else raves that it’s sweet as a box of chocolates.»[74] The film has been criticized for its perceived conservative politics.[75][69][76] Writing for Indiewire in 2019, Eric Kohn said: «This no-nothing white man becomes a war hero and a wealthy man simply by chugging along, participating in a country that dictates his every move. He never comprehends racism or the complexities of Vietnam; the movie portrays political activism and hippy culture as a giant cartoon beyond Forrest’s understanding, while presenting his apolitical stance as the height of all virtue.» Furthermore, in a 2014 article for CNN discussing the film’s reassessment, Brandon Griggs wrote of possible readings against the film «Forrest, as played by Tom Hanks, is the epitome of wholesome decency: a God-fearing, All-American football player and war hero who has no use for the counterculture movements of the late ’60s. Despite an IQ of 75, he achieves fame and financial success. He’s even from red-state Alabama!»[77]
In a 2014 retrospective for the film’s 20th anniversary re-release, Amy Nicholson criticized the film for being apolitical, writing «Forrest doesn’t kill anyone. He doesn’t get PTSD. He doesn’t even have a clue why he’s in Vietnam. The film is so afraid to dredge up debate that when Abbie Hoffman hands Forrest the microphone at an antiwar rally, someone unplugs the speakers so we can’t hear him — fitting for a movie with nothing to say.»[78] LGBTQ+ critics have criticized the «shallow» portrayal of the AIDS epidemic, one that «sidesteps the significance of the disease by erasing its mere mention».[79] In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter polled hundreds of academy members, asking them to re-vote on past controversial decisions. Academy members said that, given a second chance, they would award the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture to The Shawshank Redemption instead.[80]
[edit]
Winston Groom was paid $350,000 for the screenplay rights to his novel Forrest Gump and was contracted for a 3 percent share of the film’s net profits.[81] However, Paramount and the film’s producers did not pay him the percentage, using Hollywood accounting to posit that the blockbuster film lost money. Tom Hanks, by contrast, contracted for a percent share of the film’s gross receipts instead of a salary, and he and director Zemeckis each received $40 million.[81][82] In addition, Groom was not mentioned once in any of the film’s six Oscar-winner speeches.[83]
Groom’s dispute with Paramount was later effectively resolved after Groom declared he was satisfied with Paramount’s explanation of their accounting, this coinciding with Groom receiving a seven-figure contract with Paramount for film rights to another of his books, Gump & Co.[84] This film was never made, remaining in development hell for at least a dozen years.[85]
Home video[edit]
Forrest Gump was first released on VHS on April 27, 1995, and on Laserdisc the following day. The laserdisc was THX certified and released without chapters, requiring the film be watched start to finish. Film magazines of the period stated this was at the request of Zemeckis who wanted viewers to enjoy the film in its entirety. It became the best-selling adult sell-through video with sales of over 12 million.[86] It was released in a two-disc DVD set on August 28, 2001. Special features included director and producer commentaries, production featurettes, and screen tests.[87] The film was released on Blu-ray in November 2009.[88] Paramount released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray in June 2018.[89] On May 7, 2019, Paramount Pictures released a newly remastered two-disc Blu-ray that contains bonus content.[90]
Accolades[edit]
Forrest Gump won Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Hanks had won the previous year for Philadelphia), Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing at the 67th Academy Awards. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, winning three of them: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Best Director – Motion Picture, and Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film was also nominated for six Saturn Awards and won two for Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actor (Film).
In addition to the film’s multiple awards and nominations, it has also been recognized by the American Film Institute on several of its lists. The film ranks 37th on 100 Years…100 Cheers, 71st on 100 Years…100 Movies, and 76th on 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition). In addition, the quote «Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,» was ranked 40th on 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.[91] The film also ranked at number 61 on Empire‘s list of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.[92]
In December 2011, Forrest Gump was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.[93] The Registry said that the film was «honored for its technological innovations (the digital insertion of Gump seamlessly into vintage archival footage), its resonance within the culture that has elevated Gump (and what he represents in terms of American innocence) to the status of folk hero, and its attempt to engage both playfully and seriously with contentious aspects of the era’s traumatic history.»[94]
American Film Institute lists
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – #71
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains:
- Forrest Gump – Nominated Hero
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes:
- «Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.» – #40
- «Mama says, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.'» – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers – #37
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #76
- AFI’s 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film
Symbolism[edit]
Feather[edit]
«I don’t want to sound like a bad version of ‘the child within’. But the childlike innocence of Forrest Gump is what we all once had. It’s an emotional journey. You laugh and cry. It does what movies are supposed to do: make you feel alive.»
—producer Wendy Finerman[67]
Various interpretations have been suggested for the feather present at the opening and conclusion of the film. Sarah Lyall of The New York Times noted several suggestions made about the feather: «Does the white feather symbolize The Unbearable Lightness of Being? Forrest Gump’s impaired intellect? The randomness of experience?»[95] Hanks interpreted the feather as: «Our destiny is only defined by how we deal with the chance elements to our life and that’s kind of the embodiment of the feather as it comes in. Here is this thing that can land anywhere and that it lands at your feet. It has theological implications that are really huge.»[96] Sally Field compared the feather to fate, saying: «It blows in the wind and just touches down here or there. Was it planned or was it just perchance?»[97] Visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston compared the feather to an abstract painting: «It can mean so many things to so many different people.»[98]
Political interpretations[edit]
Hanks states that «the film is non-political and thus non-judgmental».[67] Nevertheless, CNN’s Crossfire debated in 1994 whether the film promoted conservative values or was an indictment of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Thomas Byers called it «an aggressively conservative film» in a Modern Fiction Studies article.[99]
All over the political map, people have been calling Forrest their own. But, Forrest Gump isn’t about politics or conservative values. It’s about humanity, it’s about respect, tolerance and unconditional love.
—producer Steve Tisch[99]
It has been noted that while Gump follows a very conservative lifestyle, Jenny’s life is full of countercultural embrace, complete with drug use, promiscuity, and antiwar rallies, and that their eventual marriage might be a kind of reconciliation.[61] Jennifer Hyland Wang argues in a Cinema Journal article that Jenny’s death to an unnamed virus «symbolizes the death of liberal America and the death of the protests that defined a decade» in the 1960s. She also notes that the film’s screenwriter, Eric Roth, developed the screenplay from the novel and transferred to Jenny «all of Gump’s flaws and most of the excesses committed by Americans in the 1960s and 1970s».[69]
Other commentators believe the film forecast the 1994 Republican Revolution and used the image of Forrest Gump to promote movement leader Newt Gingrich’s traditional, conservative values. Jennifer Hyland Wang observes that the film idealizes the 1950s, as made evident by the lack of «Whites Only»-signs in Gump’s Southern childhood, and envisions the 1960s as a period of social conflict and confusion. She argues that this sharp contrast between the decades criticizes the counterculture values and reaffirms conservatism.[69] Wang argues that the film was used by Republican politicians to illustrate a «traditional version of recent history» to gear voters toward their ideology for the congressional elections.[69] Presidential candidate Bob Dole stated that the film’s message was «no matter how great the adversity, the American Dream is within everybody’s reach».[69]
In 1995, National Review included Forrest Gump in its list of the «Best 100 Conservative Movies» of all time,[100] and ranked it number four on its «25 Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years» list.[101] National Review‘s John Miller wrote that «Tom Hanks plays the title-character, an amiable dunce who is far too smart to embrace the lethal values of the 1960s. The love of his life, wonderfully played by Robin Wright Penn, chooses a different path; she becomes a drug-addled hippie, with disastrous results.»[102]
Professor James Burton at Salisbury University argues that conservatives claimed Forrest Gump as their own due less to the content of the film and more to the historical and cultural context of 1994. Burton claims that the film’s content and advertising campaign were affected by the cultural climate of the 1990s, which emphasized family-values and American values, epitomized in the book Hollywood vs. America. He claims that this climate influenced the apolitical nature of the film, which allowed many different political interpretations.[103]
Some commentators see the conservative readings of Forrest Gump as indicating the death of irony in American culture. Vivian Sobchack notes that the film’s humor and irony rely on the assumption of the audience’s historical knowledge.[103]
Soundtrack[edit]
The 32-song soundtrack from the film was released on July 6, 1994. With the exception of a lengthy suite from Alan Silvestri’s score, all the songs are previously released; the soundtrack includes songs from Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Three Dog Night, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Doors, the Mamas & the Papas, the Doobie Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Seger, and Buffalo Springfield among others. Music producer Joel Sill reflected on compiling the soundtrack: «We wanted to have very recognizable material that would pinpoint time periods, yet we didn’t want to interfere with what was happening cinematically.»[104] The two-disc album has a variety of music from the 1950s–1980s performed by American artists. According to Sill, this was due to Zemeckis’ request, «All the material in there is American. Bob (Zemeckis) felt strongly about it. He felt that Forrest wouldn’t buy anything but American.»[104]
The soundtrack reached a peak of number 2 on the Billboard album chart.[104] The soundtrack went on to sell twelve million copies, and is one of the top selling albums in the US.[105] The Oscar-nominated score for the film was composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri and released on August 2, 1994.
Adaptations[edit]
Novel-sequel[edit]
The screenplay for the sequel was written by Eric Roth in 2001. It is based on the original novel’s sequel, Gump and Co., written by Winston Groom in 1995. Roth’s script begins with Forrest sitting on a bench waiting for his son to return from school. After the September 11 attacks, Roth, Zemeckis, and Hanks decided the story was no longer «relevant.»[106] In March 2007, however, it was reported Paramount producers took another look at the screenplay.[85]
On the first page of the sequel novel, Forrest Gump tells readers «Don’t never let nobody make a movie of your life’s story,» and «Whether they get it right or wrong, it doesn’t matter.»[107] The first chapter of the book suggests the real-life events surrounding the film have been incorporated into Forrest’s storyline, and that Forrest got a lot of media attention as a result of the film.[19] During the course of the sequel novel, Gump runs into Tom Hanks and at the end of the novel in the film’s release, includes Gump going on The David Letterman Show and attending the Academy Awards.
Remake[edit]
The Indian film, Laal Singh Chaddha, released in August 2022 and starring Aamir Khan in the title role, is an official remake of Forrest Gump. The film was directed by Advait Chandan and produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Viacom18 Studios and Paramount Pictures.[108]
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Film critic Pauline Kael came out of retirement to bash the film on a book tour; by year’s end, New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin had gone from mildly praising the film in her initial review to putting it on her worst of 1994 list, describing Forrest as a «hollow man» who’s ‘self-congratulatory in his blissful ignorance, warmly embraced as the embodiment of absolutely nothing.’
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- ^ Schweiger, Arlen (June 23, 2009). «Paramount Saves Top Titles for Blu-ray ‘Sapphire’ Treatment». Electronic House. Archived from the original on July 10, 2011. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
- ^ «Paramount Preps ‘Forrest Gump’ for 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray | High-Def Digest». highdefdigest.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
- ^ Blue-ray, Webmaster. «Forrest Gump 25th Anniversary». Blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on November 7, 2019. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
- ^ «AFI’s 100 Years… The Complete Lists». American Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2009.
- ^ Braund, Simon; et al. «Empire’s 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time». Empire. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ Nuckols, Ben (December 28, 2011). «Forrest Gump, Hannibal Lecter join film registry». Associated Press. Cox Newspapers. Archived from the original on January 11, 2012. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
- ^ «2011 National Film Registry More Than a Box of Chocolates». Library of Congress. December 28, 2011. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved December 28, 2011.
- ^ Lyall, Sarah (July 31, 1994). «It’s ‘Forrest Gump’ vs. Harrumph». The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ Forrest Gump-(Through the eyes of Forrest Gump) (DVD). Paramount Pictures. August 28, 2001. Event occurs at 23:27.
- ^ Forrest Gump-(Through the eyes of Forrest Gump) (DVD). Paramount Pictures. August 28, 2001. Event occurs at 23:57.
- ^ Forrest Gump-(Through the eyes of Forrest Gump) (DVD). Paramount Pictures. August 28, 2001. Event occurs at 26:29.
- ^ a b Byers, Thomas B. (1996). «History Re-Membered: Forrest Gump, Postfeminist Masculinity, and the Burial of the Counterculture». Modern Fiction Studies. 42 (2): 419–444. doi:10.1353/mfs.1995.0102. S2CID 161822250.
- ^ Quillen, Ed (May 7, 1995). «Why are modern conservatives so enchanted with Forrest Gump?». The Denver Post.
- ^ «The Best Conservative Movies». National Review. February 23, 2009. Archived from the original on August 23, 2018. Retrieved December 1, 2022.
- ^ Miller, John J. (February 23, 2009). «The Best Conservative Movies». National Review. Archived from the original on October 26, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ a b Burton, James Amos (September 2007). Film, History and Cultural Memory: Cinematic Representations of Vietnam-Era America During the Culture Wars, 1987–1995 (PhD thesis).
- ^ a b c Rice, Lynette (August 14, 1994). «Songs Set the Mood for ‘Gump’«. Gainesville Sun. Retrieved July 3, 2009.
- ^ «Top Albums at the Recording Industry Association of America». Recording Industry Association of America. Archived from the original on June 19, 2004. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- ^ Sciretta, Peter (December 7, 2008). «9/11 Killed the Forrest Gump Sequel». /Film. Archived from the original on January 9, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
- ^ Groom, Winston (1996). Gump & Co. Pocket Books. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-671-52264-3.
- ^ «Aamir Khan’s Laal Singh Chaddha to have a special screening for Tom Hanks». Filmfare. April 4, 2022. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
External links[edit]
- Official website
- Forrest Gump at IMDb
- Forrest Gump at the TCM Movie Database
- Forrest Gump at AllMovie
- Forrest Gump at Box Office Mojo
- Forrest Gump at Rotten Tomatoes
- Paramount Movies – Forrest Gump
| Forrest Gump | |
|---|---|
|
Theatrical release poster |
|
| Directed by | Robert Zemeckis |
| Screenplay by | Eric Roth |
| Based on | Forrest Gump by Winston Groom |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Don Burgess |
| Edited by | Arthur Schmidt |
| Music by | Alan Silvestri |
|
Production |
The Tisch Company[1] |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures[1] |
|
Release dates |
|
|
Running time |
142 minutes |
| Country | United States[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $55 million[2] |
| Box office | $678.2 million[2] |
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and stars Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson and Sally Field. The film follows several decades in the life of a slow-witted and kindhearted Alabama man named Forrest Gump (Hanks) and his experiences in the 20th-century United States. The film differs substantially from the novel.
Principal photography took place between August and December 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Hanks into archived footage and to develop other scenes. The soundtrack features songs reflecting the different periods seen in the film.
Forrest Gump was released in the United States on July 6, 1994, and received critical acclaim for Zemeckis’s direction, performances (particularly those of Hanks and Sinise), visual effects, music, and screenplay. The film was an enormous success at the box office; it became the top-grossing film in America released that year and earned over US$678.2 million worldwide during its theatrical run, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1994, behind The Lion King. The soundtrack sold over 12 million copies. Forrest Gump won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor for Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. It received many award nominations, including Golden Globes, British Academy Film Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Various interpretations have been made of the protagonist and the film’s political symbolism. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being «culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant».[3][4][5]
Plot[edit]
In 1981, at a bus stop in Savannah, a man named Forrest Gump recounts his life story to strangers who happen to sit next to him on the bench. As a boy in 1956, Forrest has an IQ of 75 and is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine. He lives in Greenbow, Alabama with his mother, who runs a boarding house and encourages him to live beyond his disabilities. Among their temporary tenants is a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates the boy’s jerky dance movements into his performances. On his first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends.
Bullied because of his leg braces and dimwittedness, Forrest flees from a group of children, but when his braces break off, he is revealed to be a fast runner. With this talent, he receives a football scholarship at the University of Alabama in 1962, where he is coached by Bear Bryant, becomes a top kick returner, is named to the All-American team, and meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House. In his first year at college, he witnesses Governor George Wallace’s Stand in the Schoolhouse Door and returns a dropped book to Vivian Malone Jones, one of the students admitted over state resistance.
After graduating from college in 1966, Forrest enlists in the U.S. Army. During basic training, he befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford Blue (nicknamed «Bubba»), who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. Later that year, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region under Lieutenant Dan Taylor. After months of routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and several members of the platoon are killed in action, including Bubba. Forrest saves several wounded platoonmates and Lieutenant Dan, who loses both his legs. Taylor is embittered to have been saved by Forrest; he would rather have died in combat like his ancestors before him, but he is returned to the United States. Forrest is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
At an anti-war March on the Pentagon rally, Forrest meets Abbie Hoffman and briefly reunites with Jenny, who has become a drug-addicted hippie and anti-war activist. He also develops a talent for ping-pong and becomes a sports celebrity competing against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show. He appears to influence Lennon’s song, «Imagine». Forrest spends 1972 New Year’s Eve in New York City with Lieutenant Dan, who has become an alcoholic, still bitter about his disability and the government’s apathy towards Vietnam veterans. Forrest’s ping-pong success eventually leads to a meeting with President Richard Nixon. He is given a room in the Watergate complex, where he unwittingly exposes the Watergate scandal.
Discharged from the army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the profitable Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Dan invests his money in early tech companies on the stock market, which Forrest mistakes for «some kind of fruit company», and the two become millionaires. Forrest gives half of his earnings to Bubba’s family for having inspired the shrimping venture. Forrest returns home to his mother and cares for her during her terminal illness from cancer.
In 1976, Jenny – recovering from years of drugs and abuse – returns to visit Forrest. He proposes to her, and that night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love, though she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running «for no particular reason» and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming famous for another feat before returning to Greenbow. In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their young son, whom she named Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an «unknown virus». The three move back to Greenbow and Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The film ends with Forrest sending his son off on his first day of school.
Cast[edit]
- Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump: At an early age, Forrest is deemed to have a below-average IQ of 75. He has an endearing character and shows devotion to his loved ones and duties, character traits that bring him into many life-changing situations. Along the way, he encounters many historical figures and events throughout his life.
- Michael Conner Humphreys as young Forrest Gump: Hanks revealed in interviews that instead of having Michael copy his accent, he copied Michael’s unique accented drawl into the older character’s accent.
- Robin Wright as Jenny Curran: Forrest’s childhood friend with whom he immediately falls in love, and never stops loving throughout his life. A victim of child sexual abuse at the hands of her bitterly widowed father, Jenny embarks on a different path from Forrest, leading a self-destructive life and becoming part of the hippie movement in California in the 1960s and the following Me Decade’s sex and drug culture of the 1970s. She re-enters Forrest’s life at various times in adulthood. Jenny eventually becomes a waitress in Savannah, Georgia, where she lives in an apartment with her (and Forrest’s) son, Forrest Jr. They eventually get married, but soon afterward she dies from complications due to an unnamed disease. This unknown disease was intended by Winston Groom, the author of the original novel, to be Hepatitis C, itself an «unknown virus» until defined in April 1989,[6][7] although some of the makers of the film have said that they intended for the unknown disease to have been HIV/AIDS.[8][9][10]
- Hanna R. Hall as young Jenny Curran
- Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan Taylor: Forrest and Bubba Blue’s platoon leader during the Vietnam War, whose ancestors have died in every U.S. war and who regards it as his destiny to do the same. After losing his legs in an ambush and being rescued against his will by Forrest, he is initially bitter and antagonistic toward Forrest for leaving him a «cripple» and denying him his family’s destiny, falling into a deep depression. He later serves as Forrest’s first mate at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, gives most of the orders, becoming wealthy with Forrest, and regains his will to live. He ultimately forgives and thanks Forrest for saving his life. By the end of the film, he is engaged to be married to his fiancée Susan and is sporting «magic legs» – titanium alloy prosthetics that allow him to walk again.
- Mykelti Williamson as Benjamin Buford «Bubba» Blue: Bubba was originally supposed to be the senior partner in the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, but due to his death in Vietnam, their platoon leader, Dan Taylor, took his place. The company posthumously carried his name. Forrest later gave Bubba’s mother Bubba’s share of the business. Throughout filming, Williamson wore a lip attachment to create Bubba’s protruding lip.[11]
- Sally Field as Mrs. Gump: Forrest’s mother. Field reflected on the character, «She’s a woman who loves her son unconditionally. … A lot of her dialogue sounds like slogans, and that’s just what she intends.»[12]
- Haley Joel Osment as Forrest Gump Jr.: Osment was cast in the film after the casting director noticed him in a Pizza Hut commercial. It was his debut feature film role.[13]
- Peter Dobson as Elvis Presley: Although Kurt Russell was uncredited, he provided the voice for Elvis in the scene.[14]
- Dick Cavett as himself: Cavett played a de-aged version of himself in the 1970s, with makeup applied to make him appear younger. Consequently, Cavett is the only well-known figure in the film to play a cameo role rather than be represented through the use of archival footage like John Lennon or President John F. Kennedy.[15]
- Sam Anderson as Principal Hancock: Forrest’s elementary school principal.
- Geoffrey Blake as Wesley: A member of the SDS group and Jenny’s abusive boyfriend
- Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Dorothy Harris: The school bus driver who drives Forrest, and later his son, to school
- Sonny Shroyer as Coach Paul «Bear» Bryant
- Grand L. Bush, Michael Jace, Conor Kennelly, and Teddy Lane Jr. as the Black Panthers
- Richard D’Alessandro as Abbie Hoffman
- Tiffany Salerno and Marla Sucharetza as «Cunning» Carla and «Long-Limbs» Lenore: a couple of prostitutes that Forrest and Dan spend a New Year’s evening with and later turn away[16][17]
Production[edit]
Script[edit]
«The writer, Eric Roth, departed substantially from the book. We flipped the two elements of the book, making the love story primary and the fantastic adventures secondary. Also, the book was cynical and colder than the movie. In the movie, Gump is a completely decent character, always true to his word. He has no agenda and no opinion about anything except Jenny, his mother and God.»
—director Robert Zemeckis[18]
The film is based on the 1986 novel by Winston Groom. Both center on the character of Forrest Gump. However, the film primarily focuses on the first eleven chapters of the novel before skipping ahead to the end of the novel with the founding of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and the meeting with Forrest Jr. In addition to skipping some parts of the novel, the film adds several aspects to Gump’s life that do not occur in the novel, such as his needing leg braces as a child and his run across the United States.[19]
Gump’s core character and personality are also changed from the novel; among other things, his film character is less of a savant—in the novel, while playing football at the university, he fails craft and gym but receives a perfect score in an advanced physics class he is enrolled in by his coach to satisfy his college requirements.[19] The novel also features Gump as an astronaut, a professional wrestler, and a chess player.[19]
Two directors were offered the opportunity to direct the film before Robert Zemeckis was selected. Terry Gilliam turned down the offer.[20] Barry Sonnenfeld was attached to the film, but left to direct Addams Family Values.[21]
Casting[edit]
John Travolta was the original choice to play the title role and says passing on the role was a mistake.[22][23][24] Bill Murray and Chevy Chase were also considered for the role.[25] Sean Penn stated in an interview having been second choice for the role. Hanks revealed that he signed on to the film after an hour and a half of reading the script.[26] He initially wanted to ease Forrest’s pronounced Southern accent but was eventually persuaded by director Robert Zemeckis to portray the heavy accent stressed in the novel.[26] Hanks also said it took him three days to learn how to play the role, and footage from that time could not be included.[27] Winston Groom, who wrote the original novel, describes the film as having taken the «rough edges» off the character whom he had envisioned being played by John Goodman.[28] Additionally, Tom’s younger brother Jim Hanks is his acting double in the movie for the scenes when Forrest runs across the U.S. Tom’s daughter Elizabeth Hanks appears in the movie as the girl on the school bus who refuses to let young Forrest (Michael Conner Humphreys) sit next to her.[29] Joe Pesci was considered for the role of Lieutenant Dan Taylor, which was eventually given to Gary Sinise.[30] David Alan Grier, Ice Cube and Dave Chappelle were offered the role of Benjamin Buford Blue, but all three turned it down.[25][31] Chappelle, who said he believed the film would be unsuccessful, has been reported as saying that he regrets not taking the role. Hanks was aware of Chappelle’s disappointment in missing out on the part and agreed to work with him in a future movie. Four years later he suggested to director Nora Ephron that Chappelle play Hank’s best friend in You’ve Got Mail. Ephron agreed and Chappelle was cast as compensation in that film for missing out on Bubba.[25] Rapper Tupac Shakur also auditioned.[32]
Filming[edit]
The shrimping boat Forrest used in the film
Filming began in August 1993 and ended in December of that year.[33] Although most of the film is set in Alabama, filming took place mainly in and around Beaufort, South Carolina, as well as parts of coastal Virginia and North Carolina,[26] including a running shot on the Blue Ridge Parkway.[34] Downtown portions of the fictional town of Greenbow were filmed in Varnville, South Carolina.[35] The scene of Forrest running through Vietnam while under fire was filmed on Hunting Island State Park and Fripp Island, South Carolina.[36] Additional filming took place on the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina and along the Blue Ridge Parkway near Boone, North Carolina. The most notable place was Grandfather Mountain where a part of the road subsequently became known as «Forrest Gump Curve».[37]
The location in Monument Valley where Forrest ends his run
The Gump family home set was built along the Combahee River near Yemassee, South Carolina, and the nearby land was used to film Curran’s home as well as some of the Vietnam scenes.[38] Over 20 palmetto trees were planted to improve the Vietnam scenes.[38] Forrest Gump narrated his life’s story at the northern edge of Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia as he sat at a bus stop bench. There were other scenes filmed in and around the Savannah area as well, including a running shot on the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge in Beaufort while he was being interviewed by the press, and on West Bay Street in Savannah.[38] Most of the college campus scenes were filmed in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. The lighthouse that Forrest runs across to reach the Atlantic Ocean the first time is the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. Additional scenes were filmed in Arizona, Utah’s Monument Valley, and Montana’s Glacier National Park.[39]
Visual effects[edit]
Ken Ralston and his team at Industrial Light & Magic were responsible for the film’s visual effects. Using CGI techniques, it was possible to depict Gump meeting deceased personages and shaking their hands. Hanks was first shot against a blue screen along with reference markers so that he could line up with the archive footage.[40] To record the voices of the historical figures, voice actors were filmed and special effects were used to alter lip-syncing for the new dialogue.[18] Archival footage was used and with the help of such techniques as chroma key, image warping, morphing, and rotoscoping, Hanks was integrated into it.
In one Vietnam War scene, Gump carries Bubba away from an incoming napalm attack. To create the effect, stunt actors were initially used for compositing purposes. Then, Hanks and Williamson were filmed, with Williamson supported by a cable wire as Hanks ran with him. The explosion was then filmed, and the actors were digitally added to appear just in front of the explosions. The jet fighters and napalm canisters were also added by CGI.[41]
The CGI removal of actor Gary Sinise’s legs, after his character had them amputated, was achieved by wrapping his legs with a blue fabric, which later facilitated the work of the «roto-paint» team to paint out his legs from every single frame. At one point, while hoisting himself into his wheelchair, his legs are used for support.[42]
The scene where Forrest spots Jenny at a peace rally at the Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., required visual effects to create the large crowd of people. Over two days of filming, approximately 1,500 extras were used.[43] At each successive take, the extras were rearranged and moved into a different quadrant away from the camera. With the help of computers, the extras were multiplied to create a crowd of several hundred thousand people.[26][43]
Reception[edit]
Box office[edit]
Produced on a budget of $55 million, Forrest Gump opened in 1,595 theaters in the United States and Canada grossing $24,450,602 in its opening weekend. Motion picture business consultant and screenwriter Jeffrey Hilton suggested to producer Wendy Finerman to double the P&A (film marketing budget) based on his viewing of an early print of the film. The budget was immediately increased, in line with his advice. In its opening weekend, the film placed first at the US box office, narrowly beating The Lion King, which was in its fourth week of release. For the first twelve weeks of release, the film was in the top 3 at the US box office, topping the list 5 times, including in its tenth week of release.[44] Paramount removed the film from release in the United States when its gross hit $300 million in January 1995, and it was the second-highest-grossing film of the year behind The Lion King with $305 million.[45][46] The film was reissued on February 17, 1995, after the Academy Awards nominations were announced.[47] After the reissue in 1,100 theaters, the film grossed an additional $29 million in the United States and Canada, bringing its total to $329.7 million, making it the third-highest-grossing film at that time behind only E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, and was Paramount’s biggest, surpassing Raiders of the Lost Ark.[44][48][49] Forrest Gump held the record for being the highest-grossing Paramount film until it was taken by Titanic three years later in 1997.[50] For 12 years, it remained as the highest-grossing film starring Tom Hanks until 2006 when it was surpassed by The Da Vinci Code.[51] Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 78.5 million tickets in the US and Canada in its initial theatrical run.[52]
The film took 66 days to surpass $250 million and was the fastest grossing Paramount film to pass $100 million, $200 million, and $300 million in box office receipts (at the time of its release).[53][54][55] After reissues, the film has gross receipts of $330,252,182 in the U.S. and Canada and $347,693,217 in international markets for a total of $677,945,399 worldwide. Even with such revenue, the film was known as a «successful failure»—due to distributors’ and exhibitors’ high fees, Paramount’s «losses» clocked in at $62 million, leaving executives realizing the necessity of better deals.[56] This has also been associated with Hollywood accounting, where expenses are inflated in order to minimize profit sharing.[57] It is Robert Zemeckis’ highest-grossing film to date.[citation needed]
Critical reception[edit]
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 106 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website’s consensus reads, «Forrest Gump may be an overly sentimental film with a somewhat problematic message, but its sweetness and charm are usually enough to approximate true depth and grace.»[58] At the website Metacritic, the film earned a rating of 82 out of 100 based on 20 reviews by mainstream critics, indicating «universal acclaim».[59] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare «A+» grade.[60]
The story was commended by several critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, «I’ve never met anyone like Forrest Gump in a movie before, and for that matter I’ve never seen a movie quite like ‘Forrest Gump.’ Any attempt to describe him will risk making the movie seem more conventional than it is, but let me try. It’s a comedy, I guess. Or maybe a drama. Or a dream. The screenplay by Eric Roth has the complexity of modern fiction…The performance is a breathtaking balancing act between comedy and sadness, in a story rich in big laughs and quiet truths…What a magical movie.»[61] Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote that the film «has been very well worked out on all levels, and manages the difficult feat of being an intimate, even delicate tale played with an appealingly light touch against an epic backdrop.»[62] In contrast, Anthony Lane of The New Yorker called the film «Warm, wise, and wearisome as hell.»[63] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said that the film was «glib, shallow, and monotonous» and «reduces the tumult of the last few decades to a virtual-reality theme park: a baby-boomer version of Disney’s America.»[64]
Gump garnered comparisons to fictional character Huckleberry Finn, as well as U.S. politicians Ronald Reagan, Pat Buchanan and Bill Clinton.[65][66][67][68] Peter Chomo writes that Gump acts as a «social mediator and as an agent of redemption in divided times».[69] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called Gump «everything we admire in the American character – honest, brave, and loyal with a heart of gold.»[70] The New York Times reviewer Janet Maslin called Gump a «hollow man» who is «self-congratulatory in his blissful ignorance, warmly embraced as the embodiment of absolutely nothing.»[71] Marc Vincenti of Palo Alto Weekly called the character «a pitiful stooge taking the pie of life in the face, thoughtfully licking his fingers.»[72] Bruce Kawin and Gerald Mast’s textbook on film history notes that Forrest Gump’s dimness was a metaphor for glamorized nostalgia in that he represented a blank slate onto which the Baby Boomer generation projected their memories of those events.[73]
Re-evaluation[edit]
In the 21st century, the film became negatively re-evaluated. Writing in 2004, Entertainment Weekly said, «Nearly a decade after it earned gazillions and swept the Oscars, Robert Zemeckis’s ode to 20th-century America still represents one of cinema’s most clearly drawn lines in the sand. One half of folks see it as an artificial piece of pop melodrama, while everyone else raves that it’s sweet as a box of chocolates.»[74] The film has been criticized for its perceived conservative politics.[75][69][76] Writing for Indiewire in 2019, Eric Kohn said: «This no-nothing white man becomes a war hero and a wealthy man simply by chugging along, participating in a country that dictates his every move. He never comprehends racism or the complexities of Vietnam; the movie portrays political activism and hippy culture as a giant cartoon beyond Forrest’s understanding, while presenting his apolitical stance as the height of all virtue.» Furthermore, in a 2014 article for CNN discussing the film’s reassessment, Brandon Griggs wrote of possible readings against the film «Forrest, as played by Tom Hanks, is the epitome of wholesome decency: a God-fearing, All-American football player and war hero who has no use for the counterculture movements of the late ’60s. Despite an IQ of 75, he achieves fame and financial success. He’s even from red-state Alabama!»[77]
In a 2014 retrospective for the film’s 20th anniversary re-release, Amy Nicholson criticized the film for being apolitical, writing «Forrest doesn’t kill anyone. He doesn’t get PTSD. He doesn’t even have a clue why he’s in Vietnam. The film is so afraid to dredge up debate that when Abbie Hoffman hands Forrest the microphone at an antiwar rally, someone unplugs the speakers so we can’t hear him — fitting for a movie with nothing to say.»[78] LGBTQ+ critics have criticized the «shallow» portrayal of the AIDS epidemic, one that «sidesteps the significance of the disease by erasing its mere mention».[79] In 2015, The Hollywood Reporter polled hundreds of academy members, asking them to re-vote on past controversial decisions. Academy members said that, given a second chance, they would award the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture to The Shawshank Redemption instead.[80]
[edit]
Winston Groom was paid $350,000 for the screenplay rights to his novel Forrest Gump and was contracted for a 3 percent share of the film’s net profits.[81] However, Paramount and the film’s producers did not pay him the percentage, using Hollywood accounting to posit that the blockbuster film lost money. Tom Hanks, by contrast, contracted for a percent share of the film’s gross receipts instead of a salary, and he and director Zemeckis each received $40 million.[81][82] In addition, Groom was not mentioned once in any of the film’s six Oscar-winner speeches.[83]
Groom’s dispute with Paramount was later effectively resolved after Groom declared he was satisfied with Paramount’s explanation of their accounting, this coinciding with Groom receiving a seven-figure contract with Paramount for film rights to another of his books, Gump & Co.[84] This film was never made, remaining in development hell for at least a dozen years.[85]
Home video[edit]
Forrest Gump was first released on VHS on April 27, 1995, and on Laserdisc the following day. The laserdisc was THX certified and released without chapters, requiring the film be watched start to finish. Film magazines of the period stated this was at the request of Zemeckis who wanted viewers to enjoy the film in its entirety. It became the best-selling adult sell-through video with sales of over 12 million.[86] It was released in a two-disc DVD set on August 28, 2001. Special features included director and producer commentaries, production featurettes, and screen tests.[87] The film was released on Blu-ray in November 2009.[88] Paramount released the film on Ultra HD Blu-ray in June 2018.[89] On May 7, 2019, Paramount Pictures released a newly remastered two-disc Blu-ray that contains bonus content.[90]
Accolades[edit]
Forrest Gump won Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role (Hanks had won the previous year for Philadelphia), Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing at the 67th Academy Awards. The film was nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards, winning three of them: Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama, Best Director – Motion Picture, and Best Motion Picture – Drama. The film was also nominated for six Saturn Awards and won two for Best Fantasy Film and Best Supporting Actor (Film).
In addition to the film’s multiple awards and nominations, it has also been recognized by the American Film Institute on several of its lists. The film ranks 37th on 100 Years…100 Cheers, 71st on 100 Years…100 Movies, and 76th on 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition). In addition, the quote «Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get,» was ranked 40th on 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes.[91] The film also ranked at number 61 on Empire‘s list of the 100 Greatest Movies of All Time.[92]
In December 2011, Forrest Gump was selected for preservation in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.[93] The Registry said that the film was «honored for its technological innovations (the digital insertion of Gump seamlessly into vintage archival footage), its resonance within the culture that has elevated Gump (and what he represents in terms of American innocence) to the status of folk hero, and its attempt to engage both playfully and seriously with contentious aspects of the era’s traumatic history.»[94]
American Film Institute lists
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies – #71
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Laughs – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Passions – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Heroes and Villains:
- Forrest Gump – Nominated Hero
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes:
- «Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.» – #40
- «Mama says, ‘Stupid is as stupid does.'» – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years of Film Scores – Nominated
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers – #37
- AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #76
- AFI’s 10 Top 10 – Nominated Epic Film
Symbolism[edit]
Feather[edit]
«I don’t want to sound like a bad version of ‘the child within’. But the childlike innocence of Forrest Gump is what we all once had. It’s an emotional journey. You laugh and cry. It does what movies are supposed to do: make you feel alive.»
—producer Wendy Finerman[67]
Various interpretations have been suggested for the feather present at the opening and conclusion of the film. Sarah Lyall of The New York Times noted several suggestions made about the feather: «Does the white feather symbolize The Unbearable Lightness of Being? Forrest Gump’s impaired intellect? The randomness of experience?»[95] Hanks interpreted the feather as: «Our destiny is only defined by how we deal with the chance elements to our life and that’s kind of the embodiment of the feather as it comes in. Here is this thing that can land anywhere and that it lands at your feet. It has theological implications that are really huge.»[96] Sally Field compared the feather to fate, saying: «It blows in the wind and just touches down here or there. Was it planned or was it just perchance?»[97] Visual effects supervisor Ken Ralston compared the feather to an abstract painting: «It can mean so many things to so many different people.»[98]
Political interpretations[edit]
Hanks states that «the film is non-political and thus non-judgmental».[67] Nevertheless, CNN’s Crossfire debated in 1994 whether the film promoted conservative values or was an indictment of the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Thomas Byers called it «an aggressively conservative film» in a Modern Fiction Studies article.[99]
All over the political map, people have been calling Forrest their own. But, Forrest Gump isn’t about politics or conservative values. It’s about humanity, it’s about respect, tolerance and unconditional love.
—producer Steve Tisch[99]
It has been noted that while Gump follows a very conservative lifestyle, Jenny’s life is full of countercultural embrace, complete with drug use, promiscuity, and antiwar rallies, and that their eventual marriage might be a kind of reconciliation.[61] Jennifer Hyland Wang argues in a Cinema Journal article that Jenny’s death to an unnamed virus «symbolizes the death of liberal America and the death of the protests that defined a decade» in the 1960s. She also notes that the film’s screenwriter, Eric Roth, developed the screenplay from the novel and transferred to Jenny «all of Gump’s flaws and most of the excesses committed by Americans in the 1960s and 1970s».[69]
Other commentators believe the film forecast the 1994 Republican Revolution and used the image of Forrest Gump to promote movement leader Newt Gingrich’s traditional, conservative values. Jennifer Hyland Wang observes that the film idealizes the 1950s, as made evident by the lack of «Whites Only»-signs in Gump’s Southern childhood, and envisions the 1960s as a period of social conflict and confusion. She argues that this sharp contrast between the decades criticizes the counterculture values and reaffirms conservatism.[69] Wang argues that the film was used by Republican politicians to illustrate a «traditional version of recent history» to gear voters toward their ideology for the congressional elections.[69] Presidential candidate Bob Dole stated that the film’s message was «no matter how great the adversity, the American Dream is within everybody’s reach».[69]
In 1995, National Review included Forrest Gump in its list of the «Best 100 Conservative Movies» of all time,[100] and ranked it number four on its «25 Best Conservative Movies of the Last 25 Years» list.[101] National Review‘s John Miller wrote that «Tom Hanks plays the title-character, an amiable dunce who is far too smart to embrace the lethal values of the 1960s. The love of his life, wonderfully played by Robin Wright Penn, chooses a different path; she becomes a drug-addled hippie, with disastrous results.»[102]
Professor James Burton at Salisbury University argues that conservatives claimed Forrest Gump as their own due less to the content of the film and more to the historical and cultural context of 1994. Burton claims that the film’s content and advertising campaign were affected by the cultural climate of the 1990s, which emphasized family-values and American values, epitomized in the book Hollywood vs. America. He claims that this climate influenced the apolitical nature of the film, which allowed many different political interpretations.[103]
Some commentators see the conservative readings of Forrest Gump as indicating the death of irony in American culture. Vivian Sobchack notes that the film’s humor and irony rely on the assumption of the audience’s historical knowledge.[103]
Soundtrack[edit]
The 32-song soundtrack from the film was released on July 6, 1994. With the exception of a lengthy suite from Alan Silvestri’s score, all the songs are previously released; the soundtrack includes songs from Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Aretha Franklin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Three Dog Night, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Doors, the Mamas & the Papas, the Doobie Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, Bob Seger, and Buffalo Springfield among others. Music producer Joel Sill reflected on compiling the soundtrack: «We wanted to have very recognizable material that would pinpoint time periods, yet we didn’t want to interfere with what was happening cinematically.»[104] The two-disc album has a variety of music from the 1950s–1980s performed by American artists. According to Sill, this was due to Zemeckis’ request, «All the material in there is American. Bob (Zemeckis) felt strongly about it. He felt that Forrest wouldn’t buy anything but American.»[104]
The soundtrack reached a peak of number 2 on the Billboard album chart.[104] The soundtrack went on to sell twelve million copies, and is one of the top selling albums in the US.[105] The Oscar-nominated score for the film was composed and conducted by Alan Silvestri and released on August 2, 1994.
Adaptations[edit]
Novel-sequel[edit]
The screenplay for the sequel was written by Eric Roth in 2001. It is based on the original novel’s sequel, Gump and Co., written by Winston Groom in 1995. Roth’s script begins with Forrest sitting on a bench waiting for his son to return from school. After the September 11 attacks, Roth, Zemeckis, and Hanks decided the story was no longer «relevant.»[106] In March 2007, however, it was reported Paramount producers took another look at the screenplay.[85]
On the first page of the sequel novel, Forrest Gump tells readers «Don’t never let nobody make a movie of your life’s story,» and «Whether they get it right or wrong, it doesn’t matter.»[107] The first chapter of the book suggests the real-life events surrounding the film have been incorporated into Forrest’s storyline, and that Forrest got a lot of media attention as a result of the film.[19] During the course of the sequel novel, Gump runs into Tom Hanks and at the end of the novel in the film’s release, includes Gump going on The David Letterman Show and attending the Academy Awards.
Remake[edit]
The Indian film, Laal Singh Chaddha, released in August 2022 and starring Aamir Khan in the title role, is an official remake of Forrest Gump. The film was directed by Advait Chandan and produced by Aamir Khan Productions, Viacom18 Studios and Paramount Pictures.[108]
References[edit]
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It [the Forrest Gump sequel] was gonna start with his little boy having AIDS. And people wouldn’t go to class with him in Florida. We had a funny sequence where they were [desegregation] busing in Florida at the same time, so people were angry about either the busing, or [their] kids having to go to school with the kid who had AIDS. So there was a big conflict.
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External links[edit]
- Official website
- Forrest Gump at IMDb
- Forrest Gump at the TCM Movie Database
- Forrest Gump at AllMovie
- Forrest Gump at Box Office Mojo
- Forrest Gump at Rotten Tomatoes
- Paramount Movies – Forrest Gump
-
- Автор сценария:
- Уинстон Грум
- Эрик Рот
-
- Режиссер:
- Роберт Земекис
Фильм «Форрест Гамп» повествует о жизни человека по имени Форрест Гамп (Том Хэнкс). С самого детства его преследуют сложные испытания, но ни одно не может поколебать его веру в добро и близких. Он носил протезы на ногах, его IQ был ниже среднего, сверстники всегда считали его дурачком, и посмеивались над ним. Гамп снова и снова доказывал им, что мечты могут стать реальностью. Кроме того, сняв протезы в юности, он узнал, что прекрасно бегает. «Беги, Форрест, беги!» — эта фраза не раз поможет ему в жизни, ему придется побегать не только от обидчиков в колледже, но и от разрывных снарядов на фронте Вьетнама.
Форрест станет свидетелем и косвенным участником важнейших культурных и исторических событий в США, встретит множество знаменитых людей и даже будет награжден медалью за отвагу. Но несмотря ни на что, в своем сердце он навсегда пронесет любовь к одной девушке Дженни Курран (Робин Райт), с которой они вместе росли. Хотя со временем их судьбы разделяться, он не перестанет искать ее, чтобы быть рядом. Фильм «Форрест Гамп» — это история самого Форреста, рассказанная им случайным прохожим на автобусной остановке, где-то в пригороде.