20 Heart-Breaking Facts About 'Forrest Gump'

In 1994, one movie would change it all. One movie truly challenged us to search our soul and see history with fresh eyes – ours, and that of our country. That movie was Pauly Shore’s masterpiece, In The Army Now. And Clifford. And the exciting conclusion to the House Party saga, House Party 3. And the blockbuster Charlie Sheen vehicle Terminal Velocity, which is a masterpiece. Oh yeah, and Forrest Gump also came out, that movie was cool too. Did you know they put Tom Hanks with Kennedy and Lennon with, like, green screens and CGI? Yeah, of course you knew that. How about the stuff you didn’t know or have forgotten, though?

We’ve discussed Forrest Gump here at Cracked, particularly focusing on its, erm, messier and racist-er sides. But the movie is quite a technical and narrative achievement, and as such, we thought it might be fascinating to check out some facts about its production, its filming, its creative minds, and its legacy. And no, by “legacy” we don’t mean the fact that Eric Roth practically plagiarized himself by rewriting Forrest Gump as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button — do not even get us started on that. And don’t even get us started on the fact there have been more House Party movies after the third one. You know what? Forrest Gump is fun awesomeness, let’s just see 20 facts about it.

20 Tom Hanks' Paycheck

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump Tom Hanks didn't take a salary. Instead of that, he signed up for a percent share of the movie's gross takings - so he ended up getting $40 million, just like director Robert Zemeckis. — Wikipedia

19 Robert Zemeckis

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis wasn't the first choice as a director. Barry Sonnenfeld was going to direct, but left to do Addams Family Values. Terry Gilliam was also considered, who simply turned it down. — Wikipedia

18 A Breakthrough Drama

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump It was Robert Zemeckis' first foray into drama. Before Forrest Gump, Zemeckis had just done comedies and adventure films like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her, and the Back to the Future trilogy. After Forrest Gump, he did other dramas like Contact and Cast Away. — Wikipedia

17 The Feather

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump The opening scene used three feathers. A real feather shot against a blue screen becomes a CGI feather, which is the one closer to ground level. Finally, that CGI feather merges with another real one on Forrest's shoe. — Fame Focus/YouTube

16 John Goodman

Forrest Gump The novel's author wanted John Goodman as Forrest. Other actors who were considered were Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Sean Penn, and John Travolta. Travolta regrets not doing it, even though the movie he was in instead was Pulp Fiction. CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia

15 Winston Groom

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump The author was shortchanged. Winston Groom sold the movie rights for $350,000 and a 3% share of the net profits, which due to sleazy Hollywood accounting, ended up amounting to exactly $0. Не wasn't even mentioned in the movie's six Oscar acceptance speeches. — Wikipedia

14 Forrest's Bench

Forrest Gump Forrest's bench is not there. Visitors to Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia, where the bus stop scenes were shot, are often disappointed not to find Forrest Gump's iconic bench. That was a prop for the movie, and today is in the Savannah History Museum. CRACKED.COM — The Iconic Savannah Theatre

13 Vietnam Helicopters

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump The production didn't have so many helicopters. For the Vietnam scenes, the same two choppers were shot from different angles, and then composited together to make it look like a whole fleet. — Fame Focus/YouTube

12 The Crowd

TRUS 2015 ? PEADE Forrest Gump The crowd was made up of copied+pasted people. 1,500 people were shot in several different spots with a motion-controlled camera. That way, they could stitch the groups together to form one big crowd, and it looks seamless. PEACE CRACKED.COM — Fame Focus/YouTube

11 Elvis Presley

Forrest Gump Elvis Presley's voice was provided by Kurt Russell. The King is played on screen by actor Peter Dobson, but his voice came from an uncredited Russell (who does know his way around Elvis, having played him in John Carpenter's 1979 biopic). CRACKED.COM — Screen Rant

10 Forrest Gump’s Eyes

CRACKED.COM USA Forrest Gump Forrest's eyes are closed in every photo of him. Tom Hanks thought Forrest would be too busy trying to stand up straight and look normal. Inversely, he never blinks during the ping pong scenes, because he was coached to always keep his eyes on the ball. FORKE — Collider

9 Martin Luther King, Jr.

Forrest Gump A deleted scene featured Martin Luther King, Jr. Forrest saves a civil rights protest led by MLK by playing with the police dogs that were going to attack. Then he says to MLK, Sorry to interrupt your parade. They're just dogs and they don't know any better. This is much cooler if we assume dogs means cops. CRACKED.COM — Scene on YouTube

8 Haley Joel Osment

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump This was Haley Joel Osment's first film role. Before The Sixth Sense (and shortly after a Pizza Hut commercial that launched his acting career), Osment's very first appearance on the big screen was as Forrest Gump Jr. — Wikipedia, 1993 Pizza Hut commercial (via YouTube)

7 Norman Rockwell

Forrest Gump The movie was visually influenced by Norman Rockwell. The scene in which Forrest talks to the principal, for example, evokes Rockwell's Girl with a Black Eye. Another art influence: Jenny breaking down outside her home echoes Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World. CRACKED.COM — The Take

6 Sequel

2000 Forrest Gump A sequel has been in development hell since 2001. Original author Winston Groom wrote a sequel novel, but Hanks and Zemeckis agree that 9/11 made it irrelevant. The novel features Forrest living through the '80s and '90s, meeting Tom Hanks, and even telling us to distrust movies based on our lives (while still going to the Oscars due to his biopic). CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia, Wikipedia

5 Bobba Gump Shrimp Company

CRACKED.COM GUMP BUBBA CO. SHRIMP Forrest Gump Bubba Gump Shrimp Company really exists. Two years after the movie came out, Paramount partnered with Rusty Pelican Restaurants to make Forrest's tribute to Bubba come true. By 2015, the restaurant had around 45 locations worldwide. — Wikipedia

4 Forrest's Take on the War

UR GI RIN Forrest Gump We know what Forrest said when his mic was unplugged. Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that. GRACKED COM — IMDb, Collider

3 The Contemporary Reappraisal

Forrest Gump The movie hasn't aged all that well, actually. Forrest Gump was a critical success, but the contemporary re-evaluation does make fair points. In 2019, a critic wrote that Forrest never comprehends racism or the complexities of Vietnam; the movie portrays political activism... as a giant cartoon beyond Forrest's understanding, while presenting his apolitical stance as the height of all virtue. Damn you for making us think, time! CRACKED.COM — Wikipedia, IndieWire

2 Bollywood Remake

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump There is a Bollywood remake. 2022's Laal Singh Chaddha is faithful to the original, while also adapting it to Indian culture and history. However, it flopped and got mixed reviews. — Wikipedia, Paramount Pictures/YouTube

1 Oscar

CRACKED.COM Forrest Gump The movie gave Tom Hanks an Oscar record. With his wins for Philadelphia in 1994 and Forrest Gump in 1995, Gump became the second performer ever to get Best Actor awards in two consecutive years (the first being Spencer Tracy in the 1930s). — Guinness World Records

Must Read

Rob Schneider Pivots From Cancel Culture Comedy to His Other Shtick

After driving away the anti-woke crowd with his holiday gala meltdown, Schneider will try to win them back with some old-fashioned Christian entertainment

Authors: By Keegan Kelly
Published: April 24, 2024
Comments: 2