Today we take a seat on a bus bench on the humble streets of Savannah, Georgia to discuss number 89 on the WGA 101 list - which, if the Southern setting was no indicator, is FORREST GUMP (screenplay by Eric Roth and based on the novel by Winston Groom). In recent years, the film has undergone a critical reappraisal, but it nonetheless continues to loom large in our cultural lexicon. According to The Historic Savannah Theatre, the bench was a simple movie prop. While on his Shrimp boat with Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise), Forrest receives a phone call that his mama (Sally Field) is sick. Apart from the roles he made famous, millions of kids grew up associating Hanks' voice what the character of Woody from "Toy Story. I know, I know, I still need to get the cast names in there and I'll be eternally tweaking it, so if you have any corrections, feel free to drop me a line. Despite being the inspiration for the accent that launched a million imitators, Humphreys didn't attend the Oscars ceremony where "Forrest Gump" swept the board because his parents couldn't afford a ticket (via The Daily Mail). And key to this 20th century recap is that its through the eyes of Gump a near-apolitical figure who sees things almost only in a positive light. Its a thankless role that only exists to serve Gumps story. Now time has obviously passed, but maybe some things should just be one thing and left as they are. This way, hes not anti-war or pro-war. Before Haley Joel Osment became world-famous as the haunted-looking kid who made the phrase, "I see dead people" famous in "The Sixth Sense," he played the five-year-old son of "Forrest Gump." Forrest also meets Lt. Dan, who he ends up saving during a battle. While inadvertently giving a speech about the Vietnam War, Forrest reconnects with Jenny. A movie can have star names, a talented director, knockout script, and huge budget, yet its critical or commercial success is never guaranteed. And that's not even the end of the insanity. Forrest Gump was no mere blockbuster. The Guardian reports that it was his screen debut in a 1993 Pizza Hut commercial that attracted the attention of the "Forrest Gump" casting director. Click to view and download the entire Forrest Gump script PDF below. A feather floats through the sky and lands on Forrests dirty shoes. However, after Hollywood sprinkled its magic dust it took off into the stratosphere and sold millions. It consisted of various actors, directors, veterans, and first responders (via People). "And then eventually, just as sort of a charity kind of thing, he danced with Princess Diana.". It is young Forrest as, Forrest has been fitted with orthopedic shoes and metal leg, The doctor sets Forrest down on its feet. "And people wouldn't go to class with him in Florida," Roth continued. Roth, 73, told Yahoo Entertainmentthe follow-up film wouldn't have followed "Forrest Gump" author Winston Groom's second novel "Gump & Co." thatclosely. Scribd is the world's largest social reading and publishing site. Scripts. For all its happy moments, the first Forrest Gump is ultimately a tragedy. When this Tom Hanks film hit theaters, it became a pop culture phenomenon. Gump raises their child on his own. The long-distance runner who is a huge fan of the movie explained, "I had been thinking about it for 15 years. Web. So how can you break put from the pack and get your idea onto the small screen? The very next day, the world was turned upside down. However, Simpson wouldn't know that Forrest was hiding back there, and every so often, we'd see Forrest's head pop up in the rear view mirror and look around before ducking back down. As "Forrest Gump" taught us, with life and boxes of chocolates, "you never know what you're gonna get." ( : A Man Called Otto) - . So while Roth writes Forrest with respect and empathy, that same tact is lacking in Jennys character shes the naive hippy, the drug addict, the punching bag. The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb) The web's largest movie script resource! Sure, these days, Tarantino's Fiction is generally considered the superior film, but back in the early '90s, Forrest Gump was just unstoppable. "Forrest Gump" is famous for his prowess at running. What would that movie look like? It was the second highest grossing film of 1994 (bested only by another instant-classic, The Lion King), won six Academy Awards, and has become a family-movie-night staple. Just as you can never judge a book by its cover, you can never assume a movie location is where the filmmaker wants the audience to believe it's set. Hanks, who also starred in the Zemeckis-directed Cast Away and The Polar Express, reunites with the Gump filmmaker in Disney's live-action Pinocchio. Tom Hanks haplessly endearing performance as the most optimistic man on the planet proved that he could be both delightfully hilarious and completely heartbreaking at the same time. On the original movie, Eric Roth won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay and he has just revealed that he actually finished the screenplay for a sequel. His portfolio of characters is diverse and he never seems to give less than 101 percent to the parts he plays. British runner Rob Pope sought to emulate Hank's character in 2018. It would be remiss not to mention the other key element to Gumps quotability: Tom Hanks. Simpson. This ironically leaves the story in 1994, allowing Forrest and Gretchen to go see the Forrest Gump movie on the big screen. Sometimes it wants happy tears, like when Lt. Dan shows up on his "magic legs." That's a stupid Hanks thing." RURAL ALABAMA EXT. Well, in 1995, Hanks said he didn't think Forrest Gump 2 was a good idea. Forrest Gump isn't a smart man, but the dude has mad skills. That's 52 more than Gump completed in the movie. Both were nominated for Best Picture Oscars but unlike "Forrest Gump" they didn't have the legs to cross the finish line. "Momma would have told him to go high when the waters rise. . Honestly, celebrities just need to stay away from this guy. Perhaps it's best a 'Forrest Gump' sequel never came to pass. And while the film certainly has its haters, its impact can still be felt to this day. He accidentally crashes the Exxon-Valdez and screws up the formula for New Coke. Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Roth explained that Forrest would actually have a new love interest in the sequel, a Native American woman he meets while riding a bus. His portrayal of Gump is crucial to the characters staying power. Forrest Gump is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Eric Roth. The man was burned out by his own quotes, and he didn't want to share any more of Mama's wisdom. Nothing just happens, its all part of a plan. How better to describe Forrests life? "Forrest and this tall guy pace around this compound together," Zemeckis explains, "and Forrest calls him in to the CIA.". But I turned in the script the night before 9/11," Roth told/Filmat the time. In a stand-up routine, Chappelle joked, "Who could be dumber than Forrest Gump? ", Bring on the tears: Tom Hanks dubs upcoming 'Toy Story 4' 'profound' and a 'moment in history', 'Splash' turns 35: How a 'second-string' mermaid movie made Tom Hanks a global movie star. He leaves the bus stop and goes to Jennys apartment, where its revealed she is raising their child. Of course, its impossible to be completely apolitical, and indeed Forrest Gump has a very particular view of the past. Simpson murder case was a huge event in the early 1990s, but does a vicious double homicide really need to be in a Tom Hanks comedy? Uploaded by Anna Rumyantzeva. The film picked up six Academy Awards, including Oscars for its incredible visual effects, Tom Hanks' iconic performance, and Robert Zemeckis' directing. Forrest graduates college and is shipped off to Vietnam, but before leaving he sees Jenny once more. The fact that Forrest Gump isnt outright offensiveat least, in this respectis a near miracle, and lots of credit should be given to Roth, who treats Gumps character with dignity and respect. Osment recalls that his scene was written by Zemeckis and by Hanks in a last-minute meeting between the three of them, at a point when the final scenes were . Plus, Groom's sequel doesn't exactly sound like a winning formula for a crowd-pleasing movie. Why exactly Travolta turned down the chance to run in Gump's shoes, is unspecified. Besides working alongside a future assassin, Forrest starts his very own power plant that's powered by pig poo, but the operation suffers a very smelly meltdown. His lines are profound in their straightforward nature: Momma always says there's an awful lot you could tell about a person by their shoes. Hes destined to succeed. Sinise explained to Forbes one of the contributing factors in putting together the band was how in the 1980s he saw firsthand the universal difficulties and personal demons Vietnam veterans had to fight when returning from the war. The deadliest terrorist attack in America until 9/11, it killed 168 people, including 19 children. At the 1994 Academy Awards, it scooped six Oscars including Best Director, Best Actor in a Leading Role, and to the surprise of many, beat Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" to land the coveted Best Picture. "We had a funny sequence where they were (desegregation)busing in Florida at the same time, so people were angry about either the busingor (their)kids having to go to school with the kid who had AIDS. . If Hanks had his way, Gump would've been a key figure in the founding of social media. Sitting pretty for posterity the iconic bench has become a pop-culture treasure in the same vein as the ruby slippers Dorothy wore in "The Wizard of Oz." And he was sitting on the bench waiting for her to have lunch and all of a sudden the building behind him blows up. "He would look up occasionally, but they didn't see him in the rearview mirror, and then he'd pop down.". In his memoir "Grateful American," Sinise wrote that his "Forrest Gump" character has inspired many veterans, and that Lt. Dan has become a symbol of awareness. Although the novel details Forrests later encounters with both President George Bush and President Bill Clinton, the majority of the story focuses on hsi difficult relationship with an adolescent Forrest Jr., who had become a rebellious alcoholic like his mother. The movie isn't just the story of a man called Gump, it's that of modern America, and famous lines from the film such as, "Life is like a box of chocolates," have become part of the fabric of popular culture. See, Forrest's girlfriend wasn't teaching at any old nursery school. Beyond a love story between Gump and Jenny, Gump is a remember when? of the 20th century. "And then we neverwe said, 'Guys, come on.'". Screenwriter Eric Roth hammered out a script for "Forrest Gump 2." A loud thud is heard as, outside, Forrest falls. As Lieutenant Dan, Sinise played Gump's platoon leader in the Vietnam War and later buddied up with his fellow veteran in the Bubba-Gump Shrimp Company. Roth even mentioned that in his script, Forrest would have been in the back of O.J. This scene between Gump and Dan is illustrative of this fixation: Dans first line outlines the crux of every characters arc in the Forrest Gump screenplay: We all have a destiny. And in 1995, Timothy McVeigh would demolish that building with a truck full of explosives. No matter what, she cant escape the abusive men that she started out with. Satisfied, the bus driver lets him on. Hanks explained, "Somewhere I have cassettes, hours and hours of me just making chit-chat with a very young Michael Conner Humphreys. On paper, a film about a peculiar character from Alabama named "Forrest Gump" recounting his life story to assorted strangers on a public bench doesn't sound all that riveting. "She taught nursery school at a government building in Oklahoma City. Finally, the Forrest Gump script is here for all you quotes spouting fans of the Robert Zemeckis movie with Tom Hanks. "All the political figures would be too obvious, so Forrest would have chatted up both Mark Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins about how it would be nice if you had a book that would show a person's face and make a friend," Hanks said. She tells him to stay away from her, but softens when she hears hes leaving. By using our Services, you agree to our use of cookies. A one-stop-shop for all things video games. Forrest walks foreground past the doctor and Mrs. Gump. That sort of unpredictability, and a bit of common sense, are the reasons why Tom Hanks never returned to his Oscar-winning role for a possible Forrest Gump 2. No matter what he does, it ends up being the right decision at the right time. If were supposed to take Mrs. Gumps word at face value, the message of Jennys storyline is even more troublesome. "It's neck and neck with, 'Life is like a box of chocolates.' Sure, Paramount owns the rights to the novel, but Tom Hanks is too old to play a Forrest Gump traipsing through the '80s. Hanks also revealed that when the movie comes on TV, his wife is always a big fan of the scene where Gump is running away from the camera. https://www.scripts.com/script.php?id=forrest_gump_142&p=2, https://www.scripts.com/script/forrest_gump_142. What if the original team who made Forrest Gump managed to get the band back together and make part two? The Smithsonian reports that the Vietnam War beach scenes were filmed in Hunting Island State Park, which is a jewel in the crown of South Carolina and attracts crowds of millions every year. Forrest Gump remains a timeless classic that has enjoyed success as it's passed down between generations; the film performed well during its theatrical re-release for its 20th anniversary, and it continues to be a story that people return to in the wake of national tragedies. It was also an enormous financial success, becoming the highest grossing film at the American box office . So there was a big conflict.". The simplicity is a double-edged sword. In the interview, Roth, who was recently nominated for another Oscar for cowriting the screenplay for "A Star is Born," described various plot lines and sequences he had written for the movie, from OJ Simpson's car chase to dancing with Princess Diana. To understand how important destiny is to these characters, take a look at Lieutenant Dan. He won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Forrest Gump (1994). Add a little exceptional acting ability in the shape of Tom Hanks and some directorial magic in the form of Robert Zemeckis and you've got an all-time Hollywood classic. Forrest Gump 2 was never made - for one specific reason. However, in the wake of the infamous terror attack, Roth, Tom Hanks, and the film's director decided that the movie had "no meaning anymore." He has also worked on Dune and Martin Scorceses Killers of the Flower Moon. He said, "I feel good about some (roles) I gave up because the other careers were created.". Just when you thought the script for the sequel-that-never-was couldn't have got any more wide-ranging, Roth revealed his intention to have Gump's Native American partner being killed in the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995. He's a marathon runner, a football star, a ping pong expert, and he can put away some Dr Peppers. He seems just about as intellectually challenged and awkward as Forrest, and they become fast friends. When hes not making movies hes writing about them. Nevertheless, the controversial comedian and actor was a shoo-in for the role of Bubba but declined because he felt it leaned too heavily on racial stereotypes (via Comedy Hype). I bet you could walk all day in shoes like that and not feel a thing. Simplicity is a double-edged sword. More and more people are flocking to the small screen to find daily entertainment. The film continues to have a strong resonance with audiences today, some even calling it cheerfully nihilistic. ", Roth said the film would have begunwith the revelation thatForrest Junior(Haley Joel Osment) had AIDS, the same disease that killed his mother Jenny Curran, played by, (Forrest) meets on a bus a Native American woman and finds his callingas a bingo caller on a reservation. Everyone is sick of them!" The rock group's bass player and founding member is none other than Gary Sinise (via Eighties Kids). This is a slight change from the original novel, which did not include Jennys death. Yet as Roth points out, "When 911 occurred everything we wrote felt meaningless.". And then eventually, just as sort of a charity kind of thing, he danced with Princess Diana, he added. I could eat about a million and a half of these. Lets take a look at how Hanks interpreted the script: Hanks takes Eric Roths homespun-wisdom-dialogue and fills it with an innocence and warmth. And in Eric Roth's sequel screenplay, Forrest was going to become king of the dance floor. Stay up to date with what you want to know. Although Roth began working on an outline for a sequel and completed a draft towards the end of 2001, the script was placed in development hell after a national tragedy forced the creative team to rethink their intentions. Roth said the film would have begunwith the revelation thatForrest Junior(Haley Joel Osment) had AIDS, the same disease that killed his mother Jenny Curran, played byRobin Wright. Hanks told Paramount, "We'll give you the money back, but you guys [Paramount] are going to have to share the profits a little bit more. Based on the 1986 novel of the same name, the classic drama took home six Oscars in 1995, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. Forrest stands next to the schoolhouse door with George Wallace, he teaches Elvis how to swivel his hips, he visits the White House three times, he's on the Dick Cavett show with John Lennon, and in a sequence that will have you rubbing your eyes with its realism, he addresses a Vietnam-era peace rally on the Mall in Washington.Special effects are also used in creating the character of Forrest . However, before it became a runaway success, both Tom Hanks and director Robert Zemeckis took a reduction in their upfront fee, but struck a bargain for a piece of the box office gross receipts. But the saddest scene in the entire film the one that makes us ugly cry for days after the credits are done rolling is when Jenny dies, leaving Forrest absolutely wrecked. Although it's been knocked off its perch by a glut of subsequent blockbusters, in 1995, The New York Times reported that "Forrest Gump" was the third-biggest-grossing film in history. more, All Eric Roth scripts | Eric Roth Scripts. While he's there, he meets a not-so-pleasant co-worker by the name of John Hinckley Jr., the guy who'd later go on to shoot Ronald Reagan. oxes of chocolate. The Ultimate Guide to Call Sheets (with FREE Call Sheet Template), How to Break Down a Script (with FREE Script Breakdown Sheet), The Only Shot List Template You Need with Free Download, Managing Your Film Budget Cashflow & PO Log (Free Template), A Better Film Crew List Template Booking Sheet, Best Storyboard Softwares (with free Storyboard Templates), Darius Khondji Cinematography Style & Techniques Explained, What is Key Light?