Based on Winston Groom’s 1986 novel of the same name which sold over 30,000 copies, Forrest Gump tells the fictional tale of one man's amazing life through the most turbulent years of the second half of the 20th century. Born in Alabama, the son of a single mother (Sally Field), young Forrest Gump's (Michael Conner Humphreys) life seemed over before it had truly begun. Cursed with a terribly low IQ and spinal problems that reduced him to hobbling about town encased in leg braces, the boy was the object of ridicule and disdain. His only reprieve came from his loving mother and his newfound friend, Jenny Curran (Hanna Hall). When Forrest suddenly and accidentally discovers the ability to run without the use of his leg braces, he finds himself at the beginning of a journey that sees him play college football at an All-American level, meet famous celebrities and politicians, coin slogans, master the sport of Ping Pong, fight in the jungles of Vietnam, and build a shrimping empire from less than $25,000. Through it all, however, Forrest (Tom Hanks) wishes only to rekindle his relationship with a now-estranged Jenny (Robin Wright).
When Paramount Pictures bought the film rights to the novel, Winston Groom was paid $350,000 and was contracted for a 3% share of the film's net profits. In adapting the novel, the filmmakers took a lot of liberties. Director Robert Zemeckis along with screenwriter Eric Roth flipped the two elements of the book, making the love story primary and the fantastic adventures secondary. The book was also 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.
After having premiered in Los Angeles almost two weeks earlier, Forrest Gump was released nationwide on July 6th, 1994, where it went on to gross over $677,000,000 worldwide, making it the second biggest moneymaker of that year (only behind The Lion King). Though Winston Groom didn’t end up being paid by Paramount, using Hollywood accounting to posit that the blockbuster film lost money. On March 27th, 1995, Forrest Gump won 6 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth), Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Few films perfectly symbolize that old phrase ‘movie magic’, and Forrest Gump not only symbolizes it, it defines it. Director Robert Zemeckis' complexly choreographed and seamless special effects-laden tale of extraordinary simplicity charmed; spoke to; and spiritually, emotionally, and physically moved audiences both during its 1994 theatrical release and in the years later as the film nestled comfortably and deservedly into its rightful place as an American classic and one of the great films in the history of motion pictures.
After having premiered in Los Angeles almost two weeks earlier, Forrest Gump was released nationwide on July 6th, 1994, where it went on to gross over $677,000,000 worldwide, making it the second biggest moneymaker of that year (only behind The Lion King). Though Winston Groom didn’t end up being paid by Paramount, using Hollywood accounting to posit that the blockbuster film lost money. On March 27th, 1995, Forrest Gump won 6 Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth), Best Film Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Few films perfectly symbolize that old phrase ‘movie magic’, and Forrest Gump not only symbolizes it, it defines it. Director Robert Zemeckis' complexly choreographed and seamless special effects-laden tale of extraordinary simplicity charmed; spoke to; and spiritually, emotionally, and physically moved audiences both during its 1994 theatrical release and in the years later as the film nestled comfortably and deservedly into its rightful place as an American classic and one of the great films in the history of motion pictures.