Brilio.net/en - Forrest Gump is one of the most successful and must-see movies of all time. Gump’s epic life journey has brought tears even if you have watched the movie a dozen times. The movie is based on a novel written by Winston Groom. The classic flick won Oscars for Best Actor, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Screenplay. But not many have known some fun facts. We compiled a list for you from Unbelievable Facts here:
1. Forrest Gump was released and played in theaters at the same time with Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption in October 1994. Jurassic Park was on its 71st week, while Forrest Gump followed at 15 weeks. With budget of just 55 million, the movie grossed more than 279 million USD by middle of October.
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2. The role of Gump was originally intended for John Travolta but he turned it down. The next candidates were Bill Murray and Chevy Chase who also refused it. The role eventually went to Tom Hanks.
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3. Tom Hanks picked up his accent on the real life accent of the boy who played young Forrest Gump in the movie, Michael Connor Humphreys.
4. Tom Hanks did not take his actor’s fee but took percentage points for the movie which earned him about 40 million USD.
5. The first line, “My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump,” is considered one of the most iconic lines from the movie. It was Tom Hanks’ spontaneous thought while shooting the scene. The director liked it so much he decided to use the line, even opening the movie with it.
6. Tom Hanks is not a runner but he had to do a lot of running in the movie. Tom’s younger brother Jim Hanks became his sub to do the running in the wide shots.
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7. Forrest’s speech scene in Washington D.C. is an important scene that furthers the narrative of the movie. Alas, the microphone plug is pulled when Gump begins his speech. The scene apparently has actual dialogue, which says, “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.”
8. Each of the age changing scenes by Gump features him wearing a blue plaid shirt.
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9. Forrest and Dan’s Shrimp Emporium “Bubba Gump,” has real restaurants inspired from the movie. It is now a themed restaurant serving the shrimp specials in U.S., Japan, China, Mexico, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia and the UK.
10. When Forrest first learns to play tennis table in the infirmary, another soldier tells him that the trick is to keep the eye on the ball. Taking the hint seriously, Gump never blinks when he is shown playing ping-pong.
11. The actor who plays the reporter on the scene when Gump visits Washington DC after his tour in Vietnam was actually a tourist from Atlanta, Georgia. He had come on a tour of Washington DC and was on Capitol Hill that day with his wife and was asked to read.
12. The crowds in the Hippie scene were actually actors from the Maryland Renaissance Festival. The casting director Ellen Lewis realized that the festival would be a good source of performers with long hair.
13. A special blue fabric covered the lower legs of Gary Sinise to show him as a cripple in the movie.
14. The ping-pong players in the movie played without an actual ball. The CGI created balls were animated to meet the actor’s paddle.
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15. An actual event inspired the running scene of the movie. Sixteen-year-old Louis Michael Figueroa ran from New Jersey to San Francisco in 1982 to support the American Cancer Society. The run inspired a line for Forrest Gump’s famous run on the screen, “I just put one foot in front of the other. When I get tired I sleep. When I get hungry I eat. When I have to go to the bathroom, I go.”
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