THE HIDDEN DETAILS AND SECRETS BEHIND FORREST GUMP

Forrest Gump is one of the all-time favorite American movies. Robert Lee Zemeckis' 1994 title was based on a novel by Winston Groom and featured Tom Hanks in the leading role as Forrest Gump himself. It was a box office hit, considered emotional, funny, and heart-warming.

Highly-rated by critics, the recipient of many award nominations, and the winner of many more, here's a rundown of interesting facts and untold stories from the set that make this movie even more legendary.

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

The success of Forrest Gump translated to real-life success. It was always Bubba's dream to open a shrimp business – selling fried shrimp, baked shrimp, etc. – but tragically he lost his life during the Vietnam War. In the movie, Forrest Gump completes Bubba's wish and founds the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.

Due to the film's success, a real Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. franchise opened. Nowadays, this franchise has restaurants in countries around the world, including Mexico, Malaysia, Japan, China, and across the United States.

Editing History

Clever digital editing was used to make some of the most memorable scenes of Forrest Gump. During the scene when Gump goes on stage to collect his Medal of Honor, Tom Hank's head was superimposed over the body of Sammy L. Davis.

Sammy L. Davis received the award for his heroic service in Vietnam, including rescuing three wounded American soldiers – a rescue that Hanks reenacted in the film. Due to this clever editing, it looked as if Gump really was on stage with President Lyndon Johnson.

The Golf War

Vietnam War scenes are usually not filmed in Vietnam, though that has been improving in recent years as the previously shut-off country begins to open its doors to foreign business and visitors.

In Forrest Gump, though, they filmed the war scenes on a golf course on Fripp Island, near the coast of South Carolina. A lot of CGI (computer-generated imagery) was used to make the golf course look like a jungle. There were parts, such as the scene featured below, where the reedy mud of the golf course suited the scene just fine.

Gump's Famous Accent

Forrest Gump is one of Tom Hanks' most iconic performances. Much of the love for his character comes from the very unique and distinctive accent Hanks uses throughout the movie.

It all started with Michael Conner Humphrey, the boy who played the young Gump. Humphrey actually spoke with that very accent and Hanks grew to love it so much, that he believed it should run throughout the entire film. Humphrey did well himself, receiving critical acclaim for his performance.

Imaginary Legs

Lieutenant Dan is another iconic character from Forrest Gump. Played by Gary Sinise, the character is unfortunately crippled during the Vietnam War, and represents much of the hardship faced by vets long after the conflict has finished.

A powerful character, but Sinise still had legs. Back in 1994 it was a little harder to modify the film so as to give the impression that Lieutenant Dan had lost his legs, so they used a little bit of green-screen trickery with a colored cloth Sinise wore over his legs.

The Nightclub Scene

Played by Robin Wright, Jenny (JUNNNNAY!) Curran has an iconic scene in the movie, where she performs naked in a seedy nightclub.

Unfortunately, Wright actually had an awful cold when the scene was shot. It took all day to get the scene perfect, as it tends to be in Hollywood, and Wright was wearing a skimpy dress for most of the day. Her performance, nonetheless, was spectacular. Probably the reason she won so many awards for her role as Curran!

CGI Ping Pong

Olympic level ping-pong is a truly fascinating sport to watch on TV, but if you've not got a trained eye, sometimes it's a little tricky to follow what on earth is going on.

Modern TV cameras have the FPS to allow you to see this speed, but back in 1994, the technology wasn't quite up there, which made it tricky to shoot the close-up scenes in Forrest Gump.

So, instead, CGI brought the game to life. There was no real ball during the ping-pong scenes. A much easier game indeed!

Bubba's Famous Lip

Mykelti Williamson, the actor behind the iconic character of Bubba, gave an amazing and heart-melting performance as Gump's best war buddy. One of the most distinctive features of Bubba is that protruding bottom lip.

Another piece of film wizardry here: that lip wasn't actually real! Williamson wore a prosthetic to make his bottom lip more pronounced and to add to his lisp, as well. When Williamson appeared on the red carpet for his performance as Bubba, everyone was surprised to see him without his renowned facial expression.

Too Good

Due to the prosthetic lip and the fact that Mykelti Williamson's role of Bubba was so convincing and became an iconic part of Forrest Gump, it actually had a negative effect on Williamson's acting career.

Most casting directors could only picture Williamson as Bubba, and were sure the audience would feel the same way. It was that hard for them to picture him in another role. Fortunately, after Williamson appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman people realized that he was his own person, and not just Bubba!

Improvised Lines

Hanks has always been known for his incredible improvisation during films. There have been lots of famous lines that the actor has dreamt up himself, and it's a testament to his acting prowess.

One of the most popular and often repeated lines from Forrest Gump is said when Gump first meets Bubba. "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump", said Hanks.

Screenshot from "Forrest Gump" \Screenshot from Tri Star/REX/Kobal/Shutterstock

This quickly became one of Director Zemeckis' favorite lines even though it was totally improvised. It's now one of the most remembered lines from the film.

Double Act

Many other famous actors of the '90s were offered the script for Forrest Gump. These included Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and John Travolta. Can you imagine any of these actors as Forrest Gump? It's pretty tricky!

Fortunately for Tom Hanks, all of these actors declined the role, and Forrest Gump awaited the perfect actor for the performance. To this day, Travolta says that he should have given the role of Gump a shot.

Fit for a King

Elvis' performance in the movie is strikingly true to life. This is because he was reportedly voiced by actor Kurt Russel, famous for many roles, one of which was the television movie about Elvis all the way back in 1979. This was the main reason he got the role in the feature film as well.

Although he's blurred in the film, his voice definitely has that familiar Elvis tone – low-pitched and husky. It's one of our favorite scenes from Forrest Gump.

"Run, Forrest! Run!"

Tom Hanks did a whole lot of running in Forrest Gump, acting according to the famous imperative: "Run, Forrest! Run!", although the first run was played, of course, by the younger version of Gump .

For the long-distance run shot, the director didn't even need to find a stunt double. Thankfully, Tom Hank's younger brother, Jim, looks an awful lot like him. It was easy just to enlist him in the movie for the shot. Saved Hanks some time and effort, that's for sure.

Growing Up

Forrest Gump covers the entire span of the character's life. From the early and formative years to the slow-witted but wise older gentleman, Hanks portrays his role brilliantly.

There's a subtle movie detail that often goes missed unless you've got your eyes peeled for it. In the first scenes of each part of the movie – where the character goes through a growing process – Gump wears the exact same checkered shirt.

Watch out for it the next time you watch the film!

The Hippie Scene

The hippie sequence in Forrest Gump is one of the most memorable parts of the film as it perfectly juxtaposes the Vietnam War scenes. However, when it came to shooting this scene the filmmakers faced a problem. In 1994, where were the casting directors ever going to find enough people with long hair to play the assortment of hippies?

At the Maryland Renaissance Festival, of course! It turned out the festival was a great source of long-haired people.

A Famous Bench

One of, or perhaps the most, iconic moments in all of Forrest Gump is the bench which Gump sits on right at the start. Gump actually sits on that bench for most of the film, recounting his story to whoever'll listen.

Due to the bench's sudden popularity, the local government in Savannah, Georgia (where the bench was located) decided to keep if safe - from tourists as well as the weather - by moving it to a local museum.

A Significant Speech

Forrest Gump is full of power scenes. It's one of the reasons it has been so successful. One of those scenes is, of course, the anti-war rally in Washington, D.C, where Gump gives his speech.

In the movie, we never hear the speech because his microphone is pulled out, but Hanks actually said: "sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."

Mixed Up Timeline

There was a minor timeline inaccuracy at the end of the movie, when Gump mentions his running time. Gump says that he had been running for three years and two months.

However, he started running when President Jimmy Carter collapsed from heat on October 1, 1979, and stopped running when he got Jenny's letter, the day of President Ronald Reagan's attempted assassination. Between these two events a year and a half had passed, and not three years. Oops!

Easy Extras

Another powerful scene is when Forrest Gump first gets on the school bus. As expected for a kid in his condition, the other students aren't too friendly to him.

However, these were no ordinary kids. Those children on the bus were actually the kids of the people behind the Forrest Gump movie. One boy is director Robert Zemeckis' son Alexander, and the girl who is rude to Gump is actually Hanks' own daughter, Elizabeth.

More Missed Opportunities

Tom Hanks wasn't the only one who the casting worked out for. There were also some big names who passed up on the role of Bubba. The role was originally offered to Ice Cube, Dave Chapelle, and David Alan Grier.

Each had different motivations for not accepting the role, such as Ice Cube finding the role of a disabled person quite uncomfortable, and Dave Chappelle not liking the script. As a result, Mykelti Williamson took the role and benefited from the film's iconic success.

Tourist Attractions

As we've mentioned, Bubba Gump shrimp restaurants are found all over the world. The majority of them are in the United States, of course, and in many of the restaurants the visitors come for more than the shrimp.

For example, in Downtown Disney, fans of the movie can see Bubba's actual shrimp boat. In another restaurant, the ping pong paddles used by Forrest Gump in the movie hang on the wall, signed by Tom Hanks himself.

Sally Field

Multi-award winning actress, Sally Field, has appeared in many celebrated films. Still, she is probably best known for her performance in Forrest Gump, as Gump's loving mom - a performance which fans loved and cherished.

But although Field appears to be much older than Gump (well, she is his mom after all!) in reality, she was only just over a decade older than Tom Hanks. The magic of cinematography and make-up, huh?

Dedication

The pressure on actors is huge. Though often times there are big gaps between movies where they can recover and relax, sometimes the inevitable happens: people get sick. Actors are people too, you know.

But due to the time pressure of filming, actors can't really just call in sick. We've seen this already with Robin Wright's nightclub scene, but the same thing happened with Tom Hanks. During the running scene at the football match Hanks was suffering from a bad flu. He still turned up to do the scene. Dedication at its best!

Adaptation

Did you know that Forrest Gump is actually based on a book? Though much of the screenplay is true to the book, there are a few differences when it comes to Gump himself. Hanks takes the role onto a more lovable and childlike plane, whereas in the book Gump is far more cynical.

The iconic box of chocolates line was actually written in the book as follows: "Let me say this: bei'n an idiot is no box of chocolates. People laugh, lose patience, treat you shabby. Now they say folks s'posed to be kind to the afflicted, but let me tell you - it ain't always that way."

Cut-Out Scene

Forrest Gump is known for its many historic scenes. One such scene was cut out by director Zemeckis because he thought it might have too many racial overtones that might be offensive to African-Americans.

This scene featured riot police releasing a dog on Martin Luther King Jr. and Gump jumping in with a game of fetch. It does seem to make light of a rather serious situation and we're kind of glad it's not in the movie! Still, the scene can be viewed on the Special Collector's Edition DVD.

One Talented Man

Forrest Gump is one talented individual. He can run like a machine, doing his very best during school football matches. He also proves his bravery in the Vietnam War, after which he becomes an international ping-pong champion. Motivational speaking, successful business owner… Is there anything Gump can't do?

In the books, however, Gump is also a very talented chess player, a wrestler, and an actual astronaut, too! Guess they couldn't fit all that in the movie…

Tricky Pitch

The producer of Forrest Gump, Wendy Finerman, was super keen on turning the novel into a movie. She pitched it for nine whole years as no one in Hollywood shared her passion or enthusiasm.

Once she signed Tom Hanks for the role, everything changed. As an actor, Hanks saw the potential and was keen to get started. He read the script in an hour or so and was onboard immediately!

Lucky Timing

Every now and then, it pays to be in the right place at the right time. While the scene on Capitol Hill was filmed, where Gump returns to Washington from Vietnam, Zemeckis approached a group of ordinary tourists. They were to play a role in the movie, and they even got to say a few lines.

Imagine that simply being on holiday from Atlanta Georgia you get to appear in one of the biggest movies of all times!

The Story Continues

After the success of his first book, the author of Forrest Gump, Winston Groom, wrote a second book called Gump & Co. The opening sentence reads: "Don't never let nobody make a movie of your life's story."

Sadly, Groom was never acknowledged by the filmmakers, even though the screenplay was largely based on his own work. According to him, no one even thanked him in private.

He signed to receive $350,000 and 3% of the film's profits, but was never paid that percentage. Big budgeted as it was, Paramount claimed it actually lost more money than it gained filming Forrest Gump.

Instant Classic

When Winston Groom's book, Forrest Gump, was first published in 1986, it wasn't exactly a massive hit. Only 30,000 copies were sold. That's not bad, but once Wendy Finerman realized the potential and turned it into a movie, over 1.6 million books were sold and it became a classic almost overnight.

It turns out Groom did benefit from the success of the movie after all! He was able to sell loads more books and was motivated to write a sequel.

Gump Again

Winston Groom wanted to take Forrest's shenanigans onto the next level in the sequel, Gump & Co. With the success of his business, Gump is left to his own devices. Amongst his many incredible adventures, he takes part in the collapse of the Berlin wall, gets involved with the Iran-Contra affair, and ends up fighting in Desert Storm with his experience of Vietnam under his belt.

The book has received very mixed reviews, but is still worth the read if you love Gump and all things Gump-y.

On the Run

Forrest Gump's obsessive running was actually inspired by a real life event, carried out by one teenage boy. The teenager, Louis Michael Figueroa, set off from his home in New Jersey in 1982. It was his goal to raise money and awareness for the Cancer Society by running the entire distance to San Franciso. He was only 16 years old.

Gump's famous lines about putting one foot in front of the other and stopping to eat when he gets hungry, were actually Figueroa's slightly modified words.

Jenny's Death

One of the saddest moments in the film is when Jenny dies. Jenny is Forrest Gump's best friend and one-true love. She dies just one year after they get married.

It was never revealed in the movie what gets her in the end, but it is generally accepted and the movie leads us to believe that Jenny died of AIDs. The virus was hugely prevalent in the 1980s.

However, Winston Groom, in his sequel, suggested instead that Jenny died of Hepatitis C, from infection during her drug-using days.

Photo Opportunity

There's a hidden detail in all the photographs of Forrest Gump: his eyes are closed in every single one.

Tom Hanks is a professional actor, known for improvising lines and getting deeply into character. It's likely he chose to do this on purpose, or even worked it out with director Zemeckis.

It's one of those secret underlying details that make movies like this truly great! Perhaps it has to do with Gump's shyness or his reaction to the camera in general? Who knows!

The Gump Property

The house Forrest Gump grew up in is very American in style, looking a little like a plantation-style house. During filming, the entire house was actually constructed, but it was built quickly and was never up to planning permission code. As a result, it was demolished and vanished off the face of the earth once filming ended.

It was originally built outside Varnville in South Carolina, as the city of Greenbow, where Gump is said to be from, doesn't exist in reality.

Badge of Honor

Lieutenant Dan wore a medal around his neck during the entire course of the movie, including the scenes where he led a platoon of soldiers through the Vietnamese jungles. The medal Gary Sinise wore was the St. Christopher medal with the inscription "Protect Us In Combat."

It actually belonged to Sinise's brother-in-law who was awarded the medal in Vietnam and wore it during his service in the United States Military. Another small detail which adds to the overall authenticity of the movie.

Lennon and Gump

In another funny and iconic scene, Forrest Gump gets to meets the famous John Lennon, of the Beatles. This was real-life footage from the Dick Cavett show.

However, in the movie, Yoko Ono was digitally removed in editing and Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump was added in instead. It works really well, and because of the grainy quality of the footage, Hanks seems to fit in right next to Lennon. The genius of movie editing!

Movie Score

One of the best things about great movies is their awesome soundtrack. Along with a movie's success comes the success of the movie score.

Hit songs like "Fortunate Son" by Creedence Clearwater Revival, "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield, and "Sweet Home Alabama" by Lynyrd Skynyrd all sold well over 12 million copies.

These are obviously great songs on their own, but the movie sure added to their success! To this day, they continue to be big hits with the added nostalgic quality.

The Golden Year

1994 was a huge year for Hollywood. Forrest Gump was released, alongside some of the biggest hits in movie history, like Pulp Fiction, Jurassic Park and Shawshank Redemption.

Despite this stiff competition, Forrest Gump soared above the rest. It jumped to number one and managed to stay in theatres for a whopping 42 weeks as the hype around the movie continued throughout the year.

It earned a stunning $677 from the box office and became one of the top five highest grossing movies of all time.

Losing Money?

Although Forrest Gump was a huge success, much of this came down to its very expensive promotion by Paramount Pictures.

The movie was filmed with a budget of $55 million and grossed $677 million, but the amount that went into advertising and spreading the news meant the studio ended up losing a whopping $62 million. There was some confusion over this at the time, and much of it was pinned on Hollywood's strange accounting methods.

Money Issues

The money issues weren't just there after the movie was released. At one point, the studio came very close to shutting down the entire production. Hanks and Zemeckis actually paid out of their pockets to keep everything going.

Hanks even accepted a percentage commission of the film's success over a flat-out salary rate. He believed in the movie that much. It worked out, and he ended up earning around $40 million for his performance.

Despite all this, the film was still crowned a "successful failure" by critics, due to the fact it apparently still lost money.

Legal Dispute

Due to all these money complications, Winston Groom, the original author of Forrest Gump, only received the $350,000 payment for the script's rights. He wanted to receive the 3% commission of the movie's profits, but there was no profit in the end so he made no extra money.

He contacted lawyers and set up a case with Paramount Pictures, which he eventually withdrew after Paramount offered to buy another script based on another book.

A Sequel In the Works?

Though a sequel has been under discussion for a while, and fans of Gump would love to see more of him, it looks quite unlikely at this point.

No one wants to take on the responsibility of carrying on Gump's legacy. Many critics and movie experts consider the "successful failure" of the first movie as a bit of a fluke, and think that if they tried again with a sequel, it would definitely fail. Plus, Tom Hanks said he will never play the role of Gump again in fear of spoiling the first movie's legacy.

Roth's Screenplay

Eric Roth did actually write a screenplay for the sequel of Forrest Gump. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for the first movie, and wrote scripts for other popular hits like Munich, The Insider, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

How could anyone turn down a script from a writer of such caliber? It all came down to bad timing. Roth dropped off the script a day before the September 11 attacks. It put a halt to the idea, and it has never been picked up again.

Goodbye Pawn Stars

And it's not just iconic films that have interesting facts and behind-the-scenes secrets to discover. Reality TV shows are often filled with scandals and none more than Pawn Stars.

From the star of the show that pleaded guilty to the truth behind The Old Man, "Pawn Stars" is hot when it comes to reality TV, and here are some facts many fans will be surprised by.

Edited by Vishal Subramanian