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In 1994,
a lovely and unexpected movie
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captured the hearts
of cinema-goers around the world.
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I was sobbing uncontrollably.
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And I couldn't stop falling in love
with this man.
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But the making
of this heartwarming tale...
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Boom!
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...was anything but.
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Hey!
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What kind of movie
do you think we're making?
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And background action!
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Instead, Forrest Gump...
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A professional wrestler.
...is a story of secrecy and intrigue...
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The script wasn't great.
...studio financing debacles...
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We're shutting the movie down.
Oh my God!
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...and a director on the edge of his seat.
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If you saw this happening...
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he was about to blow.
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And cut.
From kneecapping the budget...
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We're fucked.
...and kneecapping Gary Sinise...
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It's like a magic trick.
...this story of perseverance...
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Shake.
...was resisted...
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Ice cream.
He cannot talk like this!
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...every step of the way.
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Every day was just a train wreck
waiting to happen.
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And thanks
to a tiny dedicated team...
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Bob and Tom gave up
a certain amount of their salary.
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...Forrest Gump defied the odds...
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Oh my God, I've come this far.
...the studio...
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Fuck the studio!
...and the Academy...
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I was a bit shocked.
Thank you.
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...to become one of the most
successful movies of the '90s.
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How'd they do that?
Well, like Mama always said...
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If you have enough brute force...
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...you can make anything work.
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These are
The Movies That Made Us.
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The same wisdom imparted
by the protagonist
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of the beloved 1994 classic, Forrest Gump...
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Life was like
a box of chocolates.
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...can be applied to the movie itself.
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You never know what you gonna get.
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Instead of a box of chocolates,
like almost every movie in Hollywood,
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it all starts with a box of scripts.
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The system was pretty simple.
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You just go into the story department,
and you had a box.
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And for a script reader
like Kevin Jones,
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he really didn't know which one he was
going to get, like the chocolate thing.
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You just got what you got, and you just
took the scripts back to your office,
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read them, wrote them up, brought 'em,
put 'em back in the box,
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and you were done.
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But long before Forrest Gump
became a script that would then
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sit in a box,
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just like the movie itself,
the origins of this heartwarming story
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begin in the American Deep South
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with local journalist-turned-author
Winston Groom.
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Winston Groom was a writer
who'd grown up in Alabama.
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Sorry, where was that?
Alabama!
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Yes, that's it.
And he started thinking of a story
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his dad had told him about this
idiot savant, as he was termed then.
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Hello.
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He was teased by all the other kids.
Dummy!
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Then one day,
his mother bought him a piano,
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and he started playing
this piano like a genius.
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And this melodic inspiration
of real-life events
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led Winston Groom to wonder...
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"I wonder if I can make him
the hero of a novel."
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But despite having
no particular interest in music,
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notes were still involved.
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He took a few notes,
and then the notes, within weeks,
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had become a full-length novel.
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A novel called Forrest Gump,
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which of course, became a movie
about a special young boy...
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I'm Forrest. Forrest Gump.
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...who was raised
by his lovely and wise mother...
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Your boy is different, Mrs. Gump.
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...who does all she can
to help him face the cruel world
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from which he often runs.
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Run, Forrest! Run!
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He falls in love.
He goes to war.
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He learns more than anyone
was expecting about shrimp.
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Shrimp kebabs, shrimp burger,
lemon shrimp. That's... that's about it.
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He wins a ping-pong tournament
and a Medal of Honor.
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America owes you a debt of gratitude, son.
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Starts a restaurant chain.
Bubba Gump Shrimp.
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Invests in an orchard.
Yeah!
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All whilst revolutionizing
bumper stickers.
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It happens.
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But maybe Forrest's
greatest achievement
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is the mini Gump he creates
with the love of his life, Jenny.
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Who dies, not long
after his mother imparts
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her last piece of quotable wisdom
from her deathbed.
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Life is a box of chocolates, Forrest.
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But with the movie...
You never know what you're gonna get.
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Thanks to Groom's novel,
you knew exactly
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what you were going to get, give or take.
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The novel, in some ways,
is very different from the film.
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For example...
He supposedly weighed, like, 350 pounds.
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He becomes a professional wrestler.
At one point, Forrest goes to the moon.
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That'll never happen!
Houston, we have a problem.
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At another point,
there's anorangutan who's with him.
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So with all these bits
that didn't end up in the movie,
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for some, there was only one conclusion.
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Forrest Gump was not a very good book.
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But before this apparently
"not very good book" was even published,
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an early copy began
circulating the studios,
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where it was about to grab
the attention of a producer.
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There are different kinds of producers.
Creative producers, financial producers.
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Pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp...
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This producer
was neither of those.
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I was head of Development
for, um, Steve Tisch.
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At this point, I'd worked
with Steve Tisch on Hot to Trot.
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I mean, I had not a lot of experience.
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She did have one thing
going for her.
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I think that I had
a good nose or intuition
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for what people might be interested in.
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And Wendy
stuck that nose in books,
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searching for the scent of a hit.
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And one book in particular really stank.
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So when I read Forrest Gump,
I loved it so much.
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I just had never read
anything like that before,
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and I couldn't stop reading and I couldn't
stop falling in love with this man.
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And that's when the love affair
began with Forrest Gump.
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Emphasis on "affair,"
because across town in Burbank,
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Warner Brothers Studios were looking
to bust a move on Wendy's man.
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I had heard through the grapevine
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that Warner Brothers
had interest in the piece.
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But this is Warner Brothers.
We got more money than Davy Crockett.
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Surely,
they could outbid Wendy.
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Or not.
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Because as it turns out,
Wendy had a nose for deals, too.
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I called up Warner Brothers and said,
"Unless we become part of the package,
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I'm going to try to buy it as well."
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Are you stupid or something?
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No, because I would have literally
been driving up the price.
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Stupid is as stupid does.
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Eager to avoid a bidding war,
Wendy and Warner Brothers teamed up.
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Exactly.
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But there was one other member
of the team
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who had, arguably,
the most important role of all.
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Winston Groom, part of his deal
was he got a crack at the script.
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So he began writing
the screenplay for Forrest Gump.
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Filled with wrestling, space adventures...
Houston, we have a problem.
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...and orangutans. A little bit
like people thought of the book...
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Not a very good book.
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...they also thought...
The script was kind of a mess.
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Because it was a mess,
just like hundreds of other scripts
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Warner Brothers had in development,
Forrest Gump went in a box...
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...where it stayed for a year or so.
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But then on one fateful day...
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Just go into the story department,
and you had a box.
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A Pandora's Box, in this case.
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You just got what you got,
you took took the scripts,
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read them, wrote them up,
put 'em back in the box.
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Because after Kevin
read the script,
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Forrest Gump would never be
in the box again.
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I was kind of taken by it.
I was instantly smitten by the script.
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And it was smitten-ness
that Kevin related to most.
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Forrest, when he was a kid,
had this huge crush on Jenny,
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and I had that crush on that girl
in that same period of time,
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and I kind of felt at that time a lot
like how Forrest would have felt.
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So I felt like that was me.
Then I went home that night
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and I read the book, and it was even
more stories. I said, "This is amazing!"
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And just like Wendy, for Kevin,
his love affair began, too.
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I loved the story.
Wendy loved hearing that.
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I pick up the phone,
and it's Wendy Finerman.
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She says, "I hear you love my movie."
Yeah.
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However, love is relative.
Jenny...
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The truth was Winston's script
and Kevin weren't a match made in heaven.
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When I read the script and just thoroughly
enjoyed it, I kinda felt it wasn't great.
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But there was something about it
that just was captivating.
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So,
with the general consensus being...
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The script was kind of a mess.
...it was time for Wendy's inexperience
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to, uh, shrink slightly.
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If you don't get where you want to be,
often, you'll try to go to a new writer
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who you think might solve that problem.
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And so, Wendy parted ways
with Winston Groom, leaving him in...
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Alabama!
Yeah.
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She tried other screenwriters
until finally, the perfect script emerged
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about a man with savant syndrome,
capable of incredible feats,
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a script about love, a script that's,
well, it wasn't Forrest Gump.
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And the winner is...
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Rain Man, Mark Johnson, producer.
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00:09:17,974 --> 00:09:20,810
Rain Man came out
and won Best Picture, Best Actor.
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Good news for Dustin Hoffman,
but very bad news for Forrest Gump.
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They thought that that appetite
for that kind of movie had been filled.
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Then, Warner Brothers got rid
of Forrest Gump because of it.
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Cash in.
Yeah, cash in.
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For Wendy and Kevin...
What am I gonna do now?
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...it looked like the love affair was over.
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What am I going to do now?
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00:09:41,998 --> 00:09:44,667
If it gets
put in what's called "turnaround,"
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which gives a producer 18 months
to figure out another home for it.
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And if they don't,
it goes back in that box forever.
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Producer or the project tends to die.
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...and died on a Tuesday.
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00:09:57,054 --> 00:10:00,933
But before the march of time
was able to claim another script,
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00:10:01,017 --> 00:10:03,978
it turns out, that something else
had got it to turn around.
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00:10:04,061 --> 00:10:05,187
Kevin's career.
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00:10:05,271 --> 00:10:06,856
Kevin Jones had moved.
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00:10:06,939 --> 00:10:08,649
From this studio to this one.
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00:10:08,733 --> 00:10:10,735
Paramount was looking
for a junior executive.
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00:10:11,277 --> 00:10:13,630
In his new position of power...
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I got the call.
Warner was no longer interested
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00:10:15,948 --> 00:10:19,201
and was willing to let her take it out
and was I interested?
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00:10:19,285 --> 00:10:22,913
Moving as fast as his junior
executive legs could carry him,
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00:10:22,997 --> 00:10:25,791
Kevin turned around the turnaround.
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00:10:25,875 --> 00:10:27,627
Everybody gets a second chance.
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00:10:27,710 --> 00:10:31,130
And Forrest Gump found
a new home at Paramount Studios.
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00:10:31,213 --> 00:10:32,548
I was amazingly happy.
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00:10:32,632 --> 00:10:36,886
But there were some new things
in store for the film as well because...
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00:10:36,969 --> 00:10:40,765
Also, during that process,
I had been working on The Postman
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with a writer named Eric Roth.
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00:10:43,017 --> 00:10:44,352
That's how I met Tom Hanks.
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Who was meant to star
in The Postman. Kevin had other plans.
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00:10:48,230 --> 00:10:49,857
Uh...
No, not that Kevin.
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00:10:49,940 --> 00:10:51,609
Kevin fucking Costner.
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00:10:51,692 --> 00:10:54,612
Yes, that Kevin.
I noticed you've added a middle name.
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00:10:54,695 --> 00:10:58,699
Kevin Costner came around and decided
that he wanted to do The Postman.
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00:10:58,783 --> 00:10:59,617
And...
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He removed us.
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00:11:04,288 --> 00:11:05,706
And that was fine.
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00:11:05,790 --> 00:11:07,833
That's all I have to say about that.
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00:11:07,917 --> 00:11:11,170
But with Forrest Gump back up
and running at Paramount,
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00:11:11,253 --> 00:11:13,839
Wendy had an idea.
She showed me this book.
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00:11:13,923 --> 00:11:17,510
And I said, "Here's another project
that I think we can work on."
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00:11:17,593 --> 00:11:19,011
And Eric said, "Okay."
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00:11:19,095 --> 00:11:21,722
As for the would-be postman,
Tom Hanks...
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00:11:21,806 --> 00:11:24,934
It was at a time
where he was going from comedies...
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00:11:25,017 --> 00:11:26,435
What am I supposed to do? Tell me.
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00:11:26,519 --> 00:11:29,689
...into really pursuing
more dramatic pieces.
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00:11:29,772 --> 00:11:32,692
We sent him this book and said,
"If Eric was to write this,
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00:11:32,775 --> 00:11:35,861
would you lend your name and hopefully
be involved?" He said, "Absolutely."
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00:11:35,945 --> 00:11:38,030
So we put our hat on Tom Hanks.
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00:11:38,114 --> 00:11:39,740
Let's go.
And go they did,
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00:11:39,824 --> 00:11:43,160
to meet with Paramount chief,
Brandon Tartikoff.
236
00:11:43,244 --> 00:11:46,330
We pitched the movie.
We go into the meeting with Tartikoff.
237
00:11:46,414 --> 00:11:49,375
Also present,
Paramount executive Michelle Manning.
238
00:11:49,458 --> 00:11:52,628
I had just started at Paramount.
I was a Senior Vice President.
239
00:11:52,712 --> 00:11:55,256
There was one other guy there.
Tom Hanks.
240
00:11:55,339 --> 00:11:56,173
Yes, him.
241
00:11:56,257 --> 00:12:00,344
And as Wendy and her collaborators
pitched the idea of a Forrest Gump
242
00:12:00,428 --> 00:12:03,180
written by Eric Roth
and starring Tom Hanks...
243
00:12:03,264 --> 00:12:06,100
We knew the essence,
but we didn't know the beat by beat.
244
00:12:06,183 --> 00:12:10,938
But without a script,
Tom Hanks didn't know what to say.
245
00:12:13,107 --> 00:12:15,234
Tom, please be funny. Just be funny.
246
00:12:15,317 --> 00:12:16,861
Be funny, Tom.
Yes, sir!
247
00:12:16,944 --> 00:12:19,613
It made it very saleable.
That's all I can tell you.
248
00:12:19,697 --> 00:12:20,781
He was wonderful.
249
00:12:20,865 --> 00:12:23,051
And Brandon Tartikoff says,
"When can we start?"
250
00:12:23,075 --> 00:12:26,954
And we're like, "Whoa! We need to...
Eric needs to do the script first."
251
00:12:27,037 --> 00:12:29,665
Springing into action...
Great! Go write!
252
00:12:29,749 --> 00:12:32,418
...Eric revved up the typewriter
and stated...
253
00:12:32,501 --> 00:12:35,713
I found a way, I think, to find
the voice of the character.
254
00:12:35,796 --> 00:12:38,466
My mother used to say,
"Handsome is as handsome does."
255
00:12:38,549 --> 00:12:40,885
I changed that to...
Stupid is as stupid does, sir.
256
00:12:40,968 --> 00:12:44,388
He had said in the book,
"Being an idiot is no box of chocolates."
257
00:12:44,472 --> 00:12:45,931
And I changed that to...
258
00:12:46,015 --> 00:12:50,019
Life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're gonna get.
259
00:12:50,102 --> 00:12:54,648
And ultimately, Eric Roth came up
with the thread of his love of Jenny.
260
00:12:54,732 --> 00:12:56,150
You're my girl.
261
00:12:56,233 --> 00:12:58,319
That was the soul of the movie.
262
00:12:58,402 --> 00:13:01,322
The months flew by
as the first draft took shape.
263
00:13:01,405 --> 00:13:04,408
And by the time Eric turned the script in...
264
00:13:04,492 --> 00:13:05,576
Tartikoff...
265
00:13:05,659 --> 00:13:07,578
Hello, viewers.
...had resigned.
266
00:13:12,291 --> 00:13:15,419
And Sherry Lansing is now
the head of the studio.
267
00:13:15,503 --> 00:13:18,422
And while Hollywood powerhouse
Sherry Lansing
268
00:13:18,506 --> 00:13:22,343
taking control of your project
may sound like a good thing,
269
00:13:22,426 --> 00:13:25,721
it was potentially
a very, very not good thing at all.
270
00:13:25,805 --> 00:13:28,808
'Cause usually what happens
is when a new regime comes in,
271
00:13:28,891 --> 00:13:30,518
they basically clean house,
272
00:13:31,143 --> 00:13:34,688
and everything that was developed
before them is disposed of
273
00:13:34,772 --> 00:13:36,273
or put in turnaround.
274
00:13:36,357 --> 00:13:40,110
The fate of the, thus far,
ill-fated Forrest Gump
275
00:13:40,194 --> 00:13:44,865
all came down to Eric Roth's
first and potentially final draft,
276
00:13:44,949 --> 00:13:49,203
now sitting in the powerful clutches
of one Sherry Lansing.
277
00:13:49,286 --> 00:13:52,081
And she, you know...
278
00:13:52,164 --> 00:13:55,751
I thought it was a very lovely story.
279
00:13:55,835 --> 00:13:58,170
She was quite moved with it.
280
00:13:58,254 --> 00:14:02,466
Which was quite good news.
And so the next thing was...
281
00:14:02,550 --> 00:14:05,427
Now we need to get a director.
Right. That was easy.
282
00:14:05,511 --> 00:14:08,931
The director.
For that, a grueling search...
283
00:14:09,014 --> 00:14:10,057
Bob Zemeckis.
284
00:14:10,140 --> 00:14:12,369
Right, Bob Zemeckis.
That'd be good, actually.
285
00:14:12,393 --> 00:14:15,187
Dear friend of mine at the time,
Bob was meant to direct this.
286
00:14:15,271 --> 00:14:17,911
He was also meant to direct...
Roger Rabbit.
287
00:14:17,940 --> 00:14:19,191
Romancing the Stone.
288
00:14:19,275 --> 00:14:23,320
He was Back to the Future.
289
00:14:23,404 --> 00:14:27,491
So big blockbuster stuff.
But Forrest Gump was more...
290
00:14:27,575 --> 00:14:29,952
Historical love story.
291
00:14:30,035 --> 00:14:32,663
Much like his soon-to-be
leading man...
292
00:14:32,746 --> 00:14:35,374
It was his time
to go to a different place.
293
00:14:35,457 --> 00:14:37,376
Um...
Alabama!
294
00:14:37,459 --> 00:14:42,131
Okay, but first this historical
love story would need a love interest.
295
00:14:42,214 --> 00:14:45,509
Jenny!
Jenny! Oh, my God. Okay.
296
00:14:45,593 --> 00:14:48,470
To play cupid
for this unconventional pair
297
00:14:48,554 --> 00:14:50,347
was casting director Ellen Lewis.
298
00:14:50,431 --> 00:14:54,143
It's never easy to describe
exactly what you're looking for,
299
00:14:54,226 --> 00:14:59,189
other than that she's our shining light.
She's his shining light.
300
00:14:59,273 --> 00:15:01,317
Luckily,
there were quite a few big stars
301
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:03,986
ready to shine their light
on a screen test.
302
00:15:04,069 --> 00:15:05,696
Direct from Hollywood, California...
303
00:15:05,779 --> 00:15:08,282
One was
the princess bride herself.
304
00:15:08,365 --> 00:15:13,120
Robin Wright, who came in, who was
pregnant and did a beautiful audition.
305
00:15:13,203 --> 00:15:15,664
Please don't hate me.
Quite the opposite!
306
00:15:15,748 --> 00:15:18,375
And walked out with the role of Jenny.
307
00:15:18,459 --> 00:15:20,002
Go on, go talk to him.
Cut.
308
00:15:20,085 --> 00:15:23,213
So after finding their Jenny,
they began searching
309
00:15:23,297 --> 00:15:26,133
for the other important woman
in Forrest's life.
310
00:15:26,216 --> 00:15:30,304
Bob Zemeckis and Tom Hanks
knew that they wanted Sally Field.
311
00:15:30,387 --> 00:15:31,221
I know.
312
00:15:31,305 --> 00:15:34,266
Despite the awkwardness
of their previous roles together.
313
00:15:35,267 --> 00:15:38,437
Tom had just starred in a movie
with Sally as his love interest.
314
00:15:39,104 --> 00:15:40,984
If we get married,
you'll have to get over that.
315
00:15:41,023 --> 00:15:43,192
So now the next movie,
she's playing his mother.
316
00:15:43,275 --> 00:15:46,278
Funny how things work out.
Which provided humor.
317
00:15:46,362 --> 00:15:48,989
And to provide
some tortured anguish...
318
00:15:49,073 --> 00:15:50,699
Now that's Lieutenant Dan.
319
00:15:50,783 --> 00:15:53,369
Bob offered that role to Kevin Bacon.
320
00:15:54,620 --> 00:15:59,667
He turned it down.
I got a phone call from Bob with Tom.
321
00:15:59,750 --> 00:16:03,462
And Tom brought up
the Steppenwolf Theater Company.
322
00:16:03,545 --> 00:16:07,049
Which was a highly regarded,
Chicago-based band of thespians
323
00:16:07,132 --> 00:16:09,259
co-founded by Gary Sinise,
324
00:16:09,343 --> 00:16:12,304
who after finding his seat
in the world of theater...
325
00:16:12,388 --> 00:16:13,222
Okay.
326
00:16:13,305 --> 00:16:15,683
...started making his mark in Hollywood.
327
00:16:15,766 --> 00:16:18,018
I'd just done a film, Of Mice and Men.
328
00:16:18,102 --> 00:16:19,478
I remember that now!
329
00:16:19,561 --> 00:16:22,272
I directed it and produced it
and I acted in it.
330
00:16:22,356 --> 00:16:24,233
Gary's movie was a... yes, a hit.
331
00:16:24,316 --> 00:16:27,486
All of a sudden, I was getting
some pretty good interviews.
332
00:16:27,569 --> 00:16:29,655
But there was one role
in particular...
333
00:16:29,738 --> 00:16:30,572
Fall back!
334
00:16:30,656 --> 00:16:32,116
...that jumped up and bit him.
335
00:16:32,199 --> 00:16:34,159
That's disgusting!
336
00:16:34,827 --> 00:16:37,037
Having Vietnam veterans
in my family,
337
00:16:37,121 --> 00:16:39,832
I just very much wanted
to play Lt. Dan Taylor.
338
00:16:39,915 --> 00:16:42,418
So I was eager to go audition for it.
339
00:16:42,501 --> 00:16:44,128
I'm Lieutenant Dan Taylor.
340
00:16:44,712 --> 00:16:48,090
And once Gary came in
and read, it was obvious.
341
00:16:48,966 --> 00:16:52,678
This is Lieutenant Dan.
And then I got a phone call.
342
00:16:52,761 --> 00:16:54,638
That changed a lot of things.
343
00:16:54,722 --> 00:16:57,266
So with Gary Sinise on board...
Take a left!
344
00:16:57,349 --> 00:17:01,353
Ellen got busy with the easy
work of casting the smaller roles.
345
00:17:01,437 --> 00:17:04,314
That's where we're gonna find
those shrimp, my boy!
346
00:17:04,398 --> 00:17:07,067
No, not those shrimp.
This little shrimp.
347
00:17:07,151 --> 00:17:08,318
Hello, Mr. Gump.
348
00:17:08,402 --> 00:17:09,570
Hello.
349
00:17:09,653 --> 00:17:14,158
Bizarrely, I was watching TV
in my hotel room in Los Angeles,
350
00:17:14,241 --> 00:17:16,452
and a pizza commercial came on.
351
00:17:16,535 --> 00:17:18,746
This one second
and twelve frames...
352
00:17:18,829 --> 00:17:23,083
"Big" would be an understatement.
...sold Ellen on this tiny future star.
353
00:17:23,167 --> 00:17:26,003
And action.
And that was Haley Joel Osment.
354
00:17:26,086 --> 00:17:29,339
I just wanted to tell you I love you.
I love you too, Daddy.
355
00:17:29,423 --> 00:17:31,717
So years before
he started seeing...
356
00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:33,400
Dead people.
Still creepy.
357
00:17:33,427 --> 00:17:35,763
...Wendy was working out how we could.
358
00:17:35,846 --> 00:17:39,349
He meets Johnson. He meets Kennedy.
Congratulations.
359
00:17:39,433 --> 00:17:44,688
He meets Elvis. I think that's enough for,
"Let's just start on some things."
360
00:17:44,772 --> 00:17:46,565
Yes, maybe the budget.
361
00:17:46,648 --> 00:17:48,358
This film had a lot of scope.
362
00:17:48,442 --> 00:17:51,695
There's lots of extras,
we crossed over a number of decades,
363
00:17:51,779 --> 00:17:54,031
so it had aspects of visual effects.
364
00:17:54,114 --> 00:17:57,868
How do you budget a visual effects film?
Well, you don't do it very well.
365
00:17:57,951 --> 00:18:00,829
Equally challenging
to budget for were the...
366
00:18:00,913 --> 00:18:03,999
Locations.
...of which Forrest Gump had plenty.
367
00:18:04,083 --> 00:18:07,002
He goes to Vietnam.
It's this whole other country.
368
00:18:07,086 --> 00:18:09,588
It was a scavenger hunt for locations.
369
00:18:09,671 --> 00:18:11,673
Not just for the exotic ones.
370
00:18:11,757 --> 00:18:15,094
Because at the heart
of Forrest Gump is its distinct...
371
00:18:15,177 --> 00:18:16,845
Alabama!
...setting.
372
00:18:16,929 --> 00:18:21,475
So I went all over the South
looking for Forrest Gump's place.
373
00:18:21,558 --> 00:18:24,895
And I couldn't find it
until I hit Beaufort, South Carolina.
374
00:18:24,978 --> 00:18:27,397
That's where I found that old oak alley
375
00:18:27,481 --> 00:18:30,526
and then there was this wonderful river,
a lot right in front of it
376
00:18:30,609 --> 00:18:33,237
where there had been a house,
but it was no longer there.
377
00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:35,215
Not for long.
We built this house.
378
00:18:35,239 --> 00:18:37,449
And a few other things, too.
379
00:18:37,533 --> 00:18:41,453
We can do Jenny's farm over here
and Vietnam across the street.
380
00:18:41,537 --> 00:18:44,081
Yep, just pop Vietnam
across the street.
381
00:18:44,164 --> 00:18:47,501
We were able to take
the area around Beaufort
382
00:18:47,584 --> 00:18:51,171
and utilize it
for a whole variety of locations.
383
00:18:51,255 --> 00:18:54,675
A financial reality
pleasantly reflected in the budget
384
00:18:54,758 --> 00:18:57,469
handed to Sherry Lansing, totaling...
385
00:18:57,553 --> 00:18:59,304
Slightly over 50 million dollars.
386
00:18:59,388 --> 00:19:01,890
Which, compared to
other movies of the day,
387
00:19:01,974 --> 00:19:03,767
actually wasn't that bad,
388
00:19:03,851 --> 00:19:05,394
all things considered.
Great!
389
00:19:05,477 --> 00:19:09,189
And with that,
Forrest Gump was about to truly begin.
390
00:19:09,273 --> 00:19:11,650
Umm...
Oh, what is it now?
391
00:19:11,733 --> 00:19:17,406
The search for young Forrest and
young Jenny was very, very challenging.
392
00:19:17,489 --> 00:19:19,283
Run, Forrest! Hurry!
393
00:19:19,366 --> 00:19:22,578
The clock was ticking.
I mean, it was very tense.
394
00:19:24,163 --> 00:19:26,415
Thank God. Michael came through.
395
00:19:26,498 --> 00:19:29,918
My name is Michael Conner Humphreys,
and I played Young Forrest.
396
00:19:30,002 --> 00:19:34,173
Mama always says
that God watches out for little children.
397
00:19:34,256 --> 00:19:37,801
My parents saw
the advertisement for it on the news.
398
00:19:37,885 --> 00:19:40,888
My mom says, "Just for fun, you wanna
go do this for the experience?"
399
00:19:40,971 --> 00:19:43,348
What an experience
it must have been!
400
00:19:43,432 --> 00:19:44,432
Hey!
401
00:19:44,850 --> 00:19:49,188
Michael Humphreys had never acted before.
He'd never been on a plane before!
402
00:19:49,271 --> 00:19:52,900
Which made the impact
this young actor would have on the film,
403
00:19:52,983 --> 00:19:55,360
as you'll soon see, all the more...
404
00:19:56,778 --> 00:19:57,946
...remarkable.
405
00:19:58,030 --> 00:20:01,408
I never understood the gravity of it,
where this all goes.
406
00:20:01,491 --> 00:20:05,412
With shooting about to begin,
it, and everything else, goes to...
407
00:20:05,495 --> 00:20:06,997
Beaufort, South Carolina.
408
00:20:07,080 --> 00:20:12,794
Finally, after nearly a decade,
the cameras would roll on Forrest Gump.
409
00:20:12,878 --> 00:20:15,047
Umm...
Oh, come off it!
410
00:20:15,130 --> 00:20:19,343
Zemeckis is in South Carolina, and he gets
a call from his agent telling him...
411
00:20:19,426 --> 00:20:22,221
Sherry's getting nervous.
Very nervous, in fact.
412
00:20:22,304 --> 00:20:25,432
The studio's slashing the budget.
Not just by a bit.
413
00:20:25,515 --> 00:20:27,768
Ten million more
than they wanted to spend.
414
00:20:27,851 --> 00:20:31,480
Which would mean taking
that relatively modest budget of...
415
00:20:31,563 --> 00:20:33,482
Slightly over 50 million dollars.
416
00:20:33,565 --> 00:20:37,611
...and putting Forrest Gump firmly
in low-budget movie territory.
417
00:20:37,694 --> 00:20:39,446
Zemeckis took it very personally.
418
00:20:39,529 --> 00:20:42,658
He said, "What do I have to do
for Hollywood to believe in me?"
419
00:20:42,741 --> 00:20:45,994
After all, both Zemeckis
and Hanks were no slouches
420
00:20:46,078 --> 00:20:47,704
in the box office department.
421
00:20:47,788 --> 00:20:50,249
And so as one would expect...
422
00:20:50,332 --> 00:20:52,584
It got ugly. I mean, it got nasty.
423
00:20:52,668 --> 00:20:54,920
It's time for a showdown!
424
00:20:55,003 --> 00:20:57,297
Things really weren't
looking good.
425
00:20:57,381 --> 00:21:01,551
Sherry's like, "It's so expensive to shoot
on water. Get rid of the shrimp thing."
426
00:21:01,635 --> 00:21:05,472
You'll never sink this boat!
427
00:21:05,555 --> 00:21:08,308
"Just get rid of Vietnam."
Leave me here. Get out!
428
00:21:08,392 --> 00:21:10,828
Bob and Tom are like,
"We're not gonna make a movie
429
00:21:10,852 --> 00:21:13,522
where you arbitrarily
start stripping away scenes."
430
00:21:13,605 --> 00:21:16,400
But Sherry Lansing
wasn't about to make a movie
431
00:21:16,483 --> 00:21:17,985
that cost 50 million dollars.
432
00:21:18,068 --> 00:21:20,112
Sherry's like,
"We're shutting the movie down."
433
00:21:22,030 --> 00:21:24,157
She sounds like she's really gonna do it.
434
00:21:24,241 --> 00:21:26,118
Well, she was.
435
00:21:26,201 --> 00:21:30,038
And so, Bob Zemeckis and Tom Hanks
themselves found the courage
436
00:21:30,122 --> 00:21:36,169
deep within their deep pockets
and did something truly unprecedented.
437
00:21:36,253 --> 00:21:40,882
Both Bob and Tom gave up
a certain amount of their salary
438
00:21:40,966 --> 00:21:45,137
in exchange for more
participation points in the movie.
439
00:21:45,220 --> 00:21:48,432
Bob and Tom couldn't quite
make up the $10 million shortfall
440
00:21:48,515 --> 00:21:49,599
all by themselves.
441
00:21:49,683 --> 00:21:52,102
If I had any money, I would.
So instead...
442
00:21:52,185 --> 00:21:55,522
We do this, we do it together.
They made a pact with each other
443
00:21:55,605 --> 00:21:57,482
to make sure
that they made the whole movie.
444
00:21:57,566 --> 00:21:59,443
We be watching out for one another.
445
00:21:59,526 --> 00:22:02,571
We're not just gonna make a movie.
We're gonna make our movie.
446
00:22:02,654 --> 00:22:06,867
And making it with a healthy
disregard of Paramount Pictures.
447
00:22:06,950 --> 00:22:10,495
Bob's like, "I put money up
for this movie. Fuck the studio!"
448
00:22:10,579 --> 00:22:13,832
That's the spirit!
And now shooting could start.
449
00:22:13,915 --> 00:22:15,292
Let's roll sound.
450
00:22:15,375 --> 00:22:18,337
Which it did,
in August of 1993.
451
00:22:18,420 --> 00:22:21,173
We all lived
in Beaufort, South Carolina in houses.
452
00:22:21,256 --> 00:22:23,633
But Tom Hanks wasn't feeling
at home.
453
00:22:23,717 --> 00:22:26,094
Not when it came
to finding Forrest's voice.
454
00:22:26,178 --> 00:22:28,972
We just didn't want Tom Hanks
doing a "Southern" accent.
455
00:22:29,056 --> 00:22:30,557
I'm no fabulous linguist,
456
00:22:30,640 --> 00:22:33,894
so I was trying to soft-pedal it as much
as possible and was really lost...
457
00:22:34,686 --> 00:22:38,190
I mean, he... He has a daddy
whose name is Forrest, too?
458
00:22:39,274 --> 00:22:42,069
...until Michael was cast as young Forrest.
459
00:22:42,152 --> 00:22:43,671
You remember Michael?
Hi.
460
00:22:43,695 --> 00:22:45,113
Hey!
461
00:22:45,197 --> 00:22:48,784
We never had the real template
for the way Forrest needed to sound
462
00:22:48,867 --> 00:22:50,118
for good or for bad.
463
00:22:50,202 --> 00:22:53,330
And when Michael came in,
we said, well, "I think there it is!"
464
00:22:53,413 --> 00:22:56,625
My mama says, "Stupid is as stupid does."
465
00:22:56,708 --> 00:23:00,170
Because he wasn't an actor,
that was just who this kid was.
466
00:23:00,253 --> 00:23:03,131
Those were his rhythms,
those were his inflections.
467
00:23:03,215 --> 00:23:07,886
So I think Tom started to really study me,
the way I spoke and the way I acted.
468
00:23:07,969 --> 00:23:11,306
And it was like, if you transpose this
onto an adult man,
469
00:23:11,390 --> 00:23:15,268
you get this kind of goofy,
not-so-smart, affable character.
470
00:23:15,352 --> 00:23:17,330
All thanks
to young Michael Humphreys...
471
00:23:17,354 --> 00:23:19,356
Forrest Gump.
...had his voice.
472
00:23:20,607 --> 00:23:23,235
And that, well, that had everyone talking.
473
00:23:23,318 --> 00:23:24,694
I was amused by it.
474
00:23:24,778 --> 00:23:28,490
You know, we all started giggling
around the room. It was pretty goofy.
475
00:23:28,573 --> 00:23:31,701
It was one of those questions where,
"Is Tom too far over the top?"
476
00:23:31,785 --> 00:23:35,497
I'm sure when they saw the first dailies
with Tom talking like Gomer Pyle...
477
00:23:35,580 --> 00:23:37,624
And, well, the truth had to come out.
478
00:23:37,707 --> 00:23:39,918
They probably wondered,
"What is this going to be?"
479
00:23:40,001 --> 00:23:42,504
No, not "probably."
They absolutely did.
480
00:23:42,587 --> 00:23:46,508
When Sherry saw the first day of dailies,
she's like, "No. He can't talk like this!"
481
00:23:46,591 --> 00:23:48,885
It's a bit late for that.
Okay.
482
00:23:48,969 --> 00:23:53,640
I went back to my office and I called Bob,
and I said, "She really is kind of nervous
483
00:23:53,723 --> 00:23:56,601
that Tom's gonna talk like that
through the entire movie."
484
00:23:56,685 --> 00:23:57,519
Okay.
485
00:23:57,602 --> 00:23:59,354
So merely days into shooting,
486
00:23:59,438 --> 00:24:02,274
and a sentiment
still reverberating in his mind...
487
00:24:02,357 --> 00:24:03,483
Fuck the studio!
488
00:24:03,567 --> 00:24:05,110
...Bob had a choice to make.
489
00:24:05,193 --> 00:24:09,906
You boil it down to maybe a few decisions
along the way that make or break a movie.
490
00:24:09,990 --> 00:24:13,368
Bob's decision...
They called Sherry, lost their shit.
491
00:24:13,452 --> 00:24:15,620
Okay.
And it never came up again.
492
00:24:15,704 --> 00:24:17,080
Okay.
493
00:24:17,164 --> 00:24:19,249
However, there were plenty
of other things
494
00:24:19,332 --> 00:24:21,626
that Sherry Lansing wasn't okay with.
495
00:24:21,710 --> 00:24:24,629
About three weeks in,
I get a call from Stanley Jaffe.
496
00:24:24,713 --> 00:24:27,024
The other guy at Paramount
with a big checkbook.
497
00:24:27,048 --> 00:24:31,553
He's looking at this cost report and said,
"This is trending in the wrong direction."
498
00:24:31,636 --> 00:24:33,196
"Stop!"
Which, back then,
499
00:24:33,221 --> 00:24:34,806
#Wasn'tAGoodThing.
500
00:24:34,890 --> 00:24:36,975
Directors and studios have tension.
501
00:24:37,058 --> 00:24:40,145
There was definitely tension
from the money side of it.
502
00:24:40,228 --> 00:24:44,357
And they had a bunch of so-called
producers actually come down
503
00:24:44,441 --> 00:24:46,193
to the set in South Carolina.
504
00:24:46,276 --> 00:24:51,281
And one such so-called producer
was the iron-fisted Michelle Manning.
505
00:24:51,364 --> 00:24:55,577
So I got shipped off to Beaufort
and was told I could not come back
506
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:57,829
until I had fixed everything.
507
00:24:57,913 --> 00:25:03,084
So they came down to dog him,
to make sure he didn't do something crazy.
508
00:25:03,168 --> 00:25:06,046
Maybe to help him figure out
some cheaper ways of doing stuff.
509
00:25:06,129 --> 00:25:07,422
Man, what the hell's going on?
510
00:25:07,506 --> 00:25:11,927
Well, one area that could use
trimming was the special effects budget,
511
00:25:12,010 --> 00:25:16,181
especially because one problem
was proving particularly tricky.
512
00:25:16,264 --> 00:25:19,434
You ain't got no legs, Lt. Dan.
Maybe it was two problems.
513
00:25:19,518 --> 00:25:22,896
I had no idea
how we were gonna hide my legs.
514
00:25:22,979 --> 00:25:24,739
They were looking
for budget cuts.
515
00:25:24,773 --> 00:25:25,899
Saw his legs off?
516
00:25:25,982 --> 00:25:28,568
That would have been easier.
It certainly would.
517
00:25:28,652 --> 00:25:32,113
But the process would be
less painful and more painstaking.
518
00:25:32,197 --> 00:25:34,366
And I got a call from Bob Zemeckis,
519
00:25:34,449 --> 00:25:36,117
and he said, "Gary, I know
520
00:25:36,201 --> 00:25:38,828
how we're gonna do the legs."
Get on with it.
521
00:25:38,912 --> 00:25:41,790
"We'll take 'em off in the computer!"
Computer hacking.
522
00:25:41,873 --> 00:25:45,085
The first time you see him,
that great reveal in the hospital.
523
00:25:45,168 --> 00:25:46,920
Time for your bath, Lieutenant.
524
00:25:47,003 --> 00:25:50,757
Of course, you assume
his legs are in some holes.
525
00:25:50,840 --> 00:25:54,594
Of course, you would.
Two little legs in two tiny holes.
526
00:25:54,678 --> 00:25:56,888
A very simple and effective... Whoa!
527
00:25:56,972 --> 00:25:59,349
Harper!
They cut his legs off?
528
00:25:59,432 --> 00:26:03,228
But then Bob has the nurse
lift me up to the camera
529
00:26:03,812 --> 00:26:06,147
so you can see, it's like a magic trick!
530
00:26:06,231 --> 00:26:09,401
Technically, it was
an Industrial Light and Magic trick.
531
00:26:09,484 --> 00:26:13,697
They'd go in and just remove
the blue-screen material out of the frame.
532
00:26:13,780 --> 00:26:16,074
But it wouldn't be
as easy as that.
533
00:26:16,157 --> 00:26:19,995
Bob's goal was to not make it easy
on the shot, he wanted to shoot it
534
00:26:20,078 --> 00:26:23,038
in a way that if this person really didn't
have legs, how would I shoot it?
535
00:26:23,623 --> 00:26:27,043
Like when he's on the side of the boat
and he's going to swing across
536
00:26:27,127 --> 00:26:29,170
and then he jumps into the water.
537
00:26:29,254 --> 00:26:34,050
Now, if Gary had actually
lifted his legs up over that side,
538
00:26:34,134 --> 00:26:36,386
he would have lifted
his cutoff legs too high.
539
00:26:36,469 --> 00:26:40,640
It wouldn't make sense or look right,
so I had 'em cut a hole out of the boat.
540
00:26:40,724 --> 00:26:43,059
He swings without having
to change anything
541
00:26:43,143 --> 00:26:45,687
so it looks very natural,
and it's so subtle,
542
00:26:45,770 --> 00:26:49,149
but it really makes it look
like this guy really doesn't have legs.
543
00:26:49,232 --> 00:26:52,861
The more you could be convinced
that this was really his situation,
544
00:26:52,944 --> 00:26:54,529
the more you'd relate to the character.
545
00:26:54,613 --> 00:26:56,573
Perfect!
And that's the bottom line.
546
00:26:56,656 --> 00:27:00,410
A bottom line that Michelle was
constantly pressured by Paramount
547
00:27:00,493 --> 00:27:02,078
to make more bottomer.
548
00:27:02,162 --> 00:27:04,080
And she was an unwelcome presence
549
00:27:04,164 --> 00:27:08,126
that Zemeckis definitely didn't show
any Southern hospitality to.
550
00:27:08,209 --> 00:27:12,339
Oh, I got there, and Bob was like,
"Get off my set now."
551
00:27:12,422 --> 00:27:15,800
It got really ugly really, really fast.
552
00:27:15,884 --> 00:27:17,510
We were so tight a unit,
553
00:27:17,594 --> 00:27:22,474
the nerve of anyone coming down,
saying anything, wasn't gonna fly.
554
00:27:22,557 --> 00:27:24,309
Michelle, on the other hand...
555
00:27:24,392 --> 00:27:27,812
The whole crew's in there eating
at the one restaurant in Beaufort.
556
00:27:27,896 --> 00:27:30,065
And I hear Bob, "Michelle!"
557
00:27:30,148 --> 00:27:32,776
Grabs me, yanks me outside.
558
00:27:34,277 --> 00:27:36,488
"What the fuck are you doing here?
Who sent you?"
559
00:27:36,571 --> 00:27:37,989
"You can't do this to my movie!"
560
00:27:38,073 --> 00:27:39,824
Did you hear what I said?
561
00:27:39,908 --> 00:27:43,244
I look over.
All heads have turned and are staring.
562
00:27:44,162 --> 00:27:46,762
The crew could see through the windows
as they were eating dinner.
563
00:27:47,707 --> 00:27:50,210
I was so embarrassed.
564
00:27:50,293 --> 00:27:52,462
So by this point,
it's fairly evident
565
00:27:52,545 --> 00:27:55,632
that the big-time Hollywood director,
Bob Zemeckis,
566
00:27:55,715 --> 00:27:57,634
liked to have things his way.
567
00:27:57,717 --> 00:28:01,763
As a kid, I could see he was a very, uh,
demanding director for everybody.
568
00:28:01,846 --> 00:28:02,889
Bob.
What?
569
00:28:03,306 --> 00:28:06,226
I could tell that by the crew,
just the vibe of the crew.
570
00:28:06,309 --> 00:28:09,604
Not like pins and needles,
but they just wanted to get it right.
571
00:28:09,688 --> 00:28:10,980
He's kind of a perfectionist.
572
00:28:11,064 --> 00:28:14,734
There'd be times where Bob would say,
"Listen, this is what I wanna do."
573
00:28:14,818 --> 00:28:17,362
"This is the shot,
you know, and can we do it?"
574
00:28:17,445 --> 00:28:19,656
We'd all go, "Sure, Bob, we can do that."
575
00:28:19,739 --> 00:28:22,701
We'd all look at each other and say,
"How will we do that?"
576
00:28:22,784 --> 00:28:25,704
I get a pit in my stomach
just thinking about it right now.
577
00:28:25,787 --> 00:28:27,455
Guys, relax.
It'll be fine.
578
00:28:27,539 --> 00:28:30,625
This guy would sort it out.
Bob, please.
579
00:28:30,709 --> 00:28:34,087
He was the one when Bob would say,
"I don't know. We'll figure it out,"
580
00:28:34,170 --> 00:28:35,505
he would look at Ken.
581
00:28:35,588 --> 00:28:39,592
Can you get his hand in his hand?
And Ken would go, "We'll figure it out."
582
00:28:39,676 --> 00:28:43,179
But for some of us who worked with him
for a long time on different movies,
583
00:28:43,263 --> 00:28:45,098
if you saw this happening...
584
00:28:47,058 --> 00:28:50,979
...he was about to blow. You backed off.
585
00:28:51,062 --> 00:28:55,066
Now speaking of blowing up,
there was napalm to drop on Vietnam,
586
00:28:55,150 --> 00:28:57,861
which is, if you remember,
a field across the street.
587
00:28:57,944 --> 00:29:00,488
It was an area
they had in South Carolina.
588
00:29:00,572 --> 00:29:03,908
They gave us permission
to blow up this forest.
589
00:29:06,119 --> 00:29:08,747
Because it was going to be turned
into a golf course.
590
00:29:08,830 --> 00:29:10,665
With it all on the line,
591
00:29:10,749 --> 00:29:14,294
this expensive shot
would have to be a hole-in-one.
592
00:29:14,377 --> 00:29:16,171
That was gonna be a one-time deal.
593
00:29:16,254 --> 00:29:18,798
There was no room,
or money, for error.
594
00:29:18,882 --> 00:29:21,217
So I was very focused
on my little part of it.
595
00:29:21,301 --> 00:29:25,430
Here we go. That's it.
We got the ADs screaming, "Let's go."
596
00:29:25,513 --> 00:29:28,892
I had a lot of cameras. I had to make sure
where everybody was,
597
00:29:28,975 --> 00:29:30,977
and how all the cameras
were gonna turn on.
598
00:29:31,060 --> 00:29:33,271
We rehearsed it and rehearsed it
and rehearsed it.
599
00:29:33,354 --> 00:29:36,024
With the studio lurking
like a sniper
600
00:29:36,107 --> 00:29:39,277
in the pretend sub-tropical jungle
of South Carolina...
601
00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,364
I even pressed the button...
the massive napalm explosion in the movie.
602
00:29:43,448 --> 00:29:46,618
They couldn't afford
one single mistake.
603
00:29:46,701 --> 00:29:48,536
All right, and...
Action!
604
00:29:52,207 --> 00:29:54,250
Boom! Boom, boom, boom!
605
00:29:54,334 --> 00:29:56,896
And the shot was in the can.
606
00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,215
Blew the hell out of the jungle.
What'd you think, Bob?
607
00:30:02,300 --> 00:30:05,929
Bob Zemeckis comes around the corner.
He was on the can.
608
00:30:06,012 --> 00:30:08,389
Bob was...
609
00:30:08,473 --> 00:30:09,682
...a little miffed.
610
00:30:09,766 --> 00:30:13,353
So it wasn't just
South Carolina that blew up that day.
611
00:30:13,436 --> 00:30:16,648
The take was the one we used,
and it worked great.
612
00:30:16,731 --> 00:30:18,733
Except there was no director there
to watch it.
613
00:30:18,817 --> 00:30:21,402
But don't worry.
He saw everything else.
614
00:30:21,486 --> 00:30:25,240
And after creating Alabama
and Vietnam in South Carolina,
615
00:30:25,323 --> 00:30:28,034
the crew made a quick stop
in Savannah, Georgia
616
00:30:28,117 --> 00:30:29,953
to shoot these iconic bench scenes.
617
00:30:30,036 --> 00:30:33,832
Chippewa Square,
which is the place where the bench is.
618
00:30:33,915 --> 00:30:36,876
Sorry, "was."
Of course, we took it away.
619
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:40,213
People there are always searching.
"Where is that Gump bench?"
620
00:30:40,296 --> 00:30:42,090
Perhaps we'll never know.
621
00:30:42,173 --> 00:30:45,718
And after a few expensive sequences
in Washington, DC,
622
00:30:45,802 --> 00:30:48,763
for production,
it became a race to the finish line.
623
00:30:48,847 --> 00:30:50,473
Quite literally, of course.
624
00:30:50,557 --> 00:30:52,809
We were going to be going over
if we did the run.
625
00:30:52,892 --> 00:30:54,143
Run, Forrest! Run!
626
00:30:54,227 --> 00:30:56,479
Hang on,
just to be clear, which run?
627
00:30:56,563 --> 00:30:57,563
This run?
No.
628
00:30:57,605 --> 00:30:58,791
Or this run?
No.
629
00:30:58,815 --> 00:31:00,942
What about this run?
I don't think so.
630
00:31:01,025 --> 00:31:04,696
Then it must be where Gump runs
from coast to coast to coast to coast.
631
00:31:04,779 --> 00:31:05,989
Was it that run?
632
00:31:06,072 --> 00:31:08,408
Yeah, that's right.
Thought it was that run.
633
00:31:08,491 --> 00:31:10,869
Bob wanted this postcard of America.
634
00:31:10,952 --> 00:31:13,204
An idea Zemeckis
really wanted to sell.
635
00:31:13,288 --> 00:31:16,332
At the time, there was a Chevy commercial
where they were all about America
636
00:31:16,416 --> 00:31:18,602
and they had all these beautiful shots
over the country.
637
00:31:18,626 --> 00:31:21,421
But no one was buying it.
Well, shit.
638
00:31:21,504 --> 00:31:24,132
Bob says, "We're bleeding here.
What can we do about it?"
639
00:31:24,215 --> 00:31:26,801
Hemorrhaging from the budget.
Why'd this happen?
640
00:31:26,885 --> 00:31:29,554
Probably from the back
of his head as well.
641
00:31:29,637 --> 00:31:32,223
Bob Zemeckis surrendered to the pain.
642
00:31:32,807 --> 00:31:34,927
He said, "We gotta figure out
how to cut out the run,"
643
00:31:34,976 --> 00:31:38,980
and he was really upset about it.
It's just a man running.
644
00:31:39,063 --> 00:31:42,609
On paper and reading it, you know,
did it have that impact? No.
645
00:31:42,692 --> 00:31:45,528
They just couldn't believe
somebody'd do all that running
646
00:31:45,612 --> 00:31:46,863
for no particular reason.
647
00:31:46,946 --> 00:31:50,617
With Michelle and the studio
hot on Bob's heels,
648
00:31:50,700 --> 00:31:51,910
he didn't have a chance.
649
00:31:51,993 --> 00:31:54,996
Do you really need all
of that explosion stuff?
650
00:31:55,079 --> 00:31:57,266
Get rid of the shrimp.
For a studio person
651
00:31:57,290 --> 00:32:00,168
like Michelle,
it's probably just about the money.
652
00:32:00,251 --> 00:32:03,504
The reason the script works is
we have all these different scenes.
653
00:32:03,588 --> 00:32:04,464
Exactly.
654
00:32:04,547 --> 00:32:07,759
And nobody wanted to cut any
of the beautiful script that we had.
655
00:32:07,842 --> 00:32:12,013
Hang on. "Beautiful script"?
I... I've been moved by scripts.
656
00:32:12,096 --> 00:32:17,101
I have never been uncontrollably moved
by a script like I was with this script.
657
00:32:17,185 --> 00:32:20,021
Well, it turns out,
just like Wendy and Kevin...
658
00:32:20,104 --> 00:32:21,272
I love this story.
659
00:32:21,356 --> 00:32:22,398
...so did Michelle.
660
00:32:22,482 --> 00:32:25,443
I was... I was in it. All the way.
661
00:32:25,526 --> 00:32:28,905
When they decided to shoot
the running scenes in secret...
662
00:32:28,988 --> 00:32:31,240
I kind of became a co-conspirator.
663
00:32:31,324 --> 00:32:33,242
And this covert operation...
664
00:32:33,326 --> 00:32:34,953
It was called the Fantasy Unit.
665
00:32:35,036 --> 00:32:37,080
...was kept secret from Michelle's boss.
666
00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:40,458
But I was never gonna tell
the studio about the Fantasy Unit.
667
00:32:40,541 --> 00:32:44,671
But time was running out,
so the Fantasy Unit moved fast.
668
00:32:44,754 --> 00:32:48,716
Sometimes we would fly to two locations
in the same day in two different states.
669
00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:51,302
Not a minute
or a Hank was wasted.
670
00:32:51,386 --> 00:32:54,973
We hired Tom Hanks' brother
as his running double.
671
00:32:55,056 --> 00:32:59,227
Under this cloak of secrecy,
they almost completed their mission,
672
00:32:59,310 --> 00:33:01,729
and then, Paramount found out.
673
00:33:01,813 --> 00:33:03,231
"What Fantasy Unit?"
674
00:33:03,314 --> 00:33:06,317
But with only one shot
left in the sequence,
675
00:33:06,401 --> 00:33:08,820
Paramount generously joined the party.
676
00:33:08,903 --> 00:33:11,072
Which is the scene at Monument Valley.
677
00:33:11,155 --> 00:33:14,158
Sorry. Not Monument Valley.
We're not gonna pay for that.
678
00:33:14,242 --> 00:33:18,371
They said, "Why don't you just shoot it
at Franklin Canyon Reservoir?"
679
00:33:18,454 --> 00:33:20,707
On absolutely no one's
bucket list.
680
00:33:20,790 --> 00:33:24,210
I'll put it this way, doesn't look
anything like Monument Valley.
681
00:33:24,293 --> 00:33:27,422
Considering the offer,
and no doubt madly scratching his head...
682
00:33:27,505 --> 00:33:29,924
In the end, Zemeckis says...
Fuck the studio!
683
00:33:30,008 --> 00:33:32,968
"If I have to, I'll pay this."
And so, true to their pact...
684
00:33:33,011 --> 00:33:35,513
We're not just gonna make a movie.
We're gonna make our movie.
685
00:33:35,596 --> 00:33:39,308
...Bob and Tom forked out another
one-and-a-half million dollars,
686
00:33:39,392 --> 00:33:41,477
more than enough to give anyone the runs.
687
00:33:41,561 --> 00:33:43,896
Bob just has a sense
of what's really important.
688
00:33:43,980 --> 00:33:46,083
Can you imagine the film
without the running sequence?
689
00:33:46,107 --> 00:33:48,526
And with that,
just like Gump himself,
690
00:33:48,609 --> 00:33:50,945
production's journey came to an end.
691
00:33:51,029 --> 00:33:52,739
Think I'll go home now.
692
00:33:52,822 --> 00:33:55,950
Anyway, cutting to the chase,
the movie moved into post-production,
693
00:33:56,034 --> 00:33:59,829
and for a historical love story,
there were a lot of effects to deal with.
694
00:33:59,912 --> 00:34:04,584
Forrest had to meet Kennedy,
LBJ, John Lennon, Nixon.
695
00:34:04,667 --> 00:34:09,088
And don't forget this is before digital,
and this had never been done before.
696
00:34:09,172 --> 00:34:12,759
So no one knew how to do it.
How am I supposed to do that?
697
00:34:12,842 --> 00:34:14,635
I don't know how you do that.
698
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,514
Some computer weenies somewhere up
in Northern California figure d this out.
699
00:34:18,598 --> 00:34:20,451
More specifically...
It'll be fine.
700
00:34:20,475 --> 00:34:24,353
...Ken and the other computer weenies
at Industrial Light and Magic.
701
00:34:24,437 --> 00:34:26,731
The archival shots were pretty
demanding, time-wise.
702
00:34:26,814 --> 00:34:29,317
Each one took on average
a couple of months to complete.
703
00:34:29,400 --> 00:34:33,613
You take the blue-screen shot, and Tom's
matching Bob talking him through it.
704
00:34:33,696 --> 00:34:36,741
It's got to be that rhythm
that they're doing it, Tom. Shake, shake.
705
00:34:36,824 --> 00:34:40,078
So it matches up to, say, JFK's hand
when he shakes his hand.
706
00:34:40,161 --> 00:34:43,164
In this case, we actually pulled JFK
out of his original shot,
707
00:34:43,247 --> 00:34:46,959
put him into a movie set White House.
708
00:34:47,043 --> 00:34:50,004
How about you? How do you feel?
I have to pee.
709
00:34:50,088 --> 00:34:52,799
Leaving the computer weenies
to their weenie work,
710
00:34:52,882 --> 00:34:55,051
Bob set his mind to ear-based tasks.
711
00:34:55,134 --> 00:34:58,763
Bob was always thinking about how
he was gonna get as much American music
712
00:34:58,846 --> 00:35:00,848
of each of the eras as he could.
713
00:35:00,932 --> 00:35:02,767
Because this great
American movie,
714
00:35:02,850 --> 00:35:07,230
now filled with great American landmarks,
needed great American music.
715
00:35:07,313 --> 00:35:10,191
And a great American editor
to work out which ones to use.
716
00:35:10,274 --> 00:35:14,237
Bob came into the cutting room
with a basket full of CDs,
717
00:35:14,320 --> 00:35:18,157
and he said, "See if you can make
these songs work behind the scenes."
718
00:35:18,241 --> 00:35:20,243
Which for Arthur...
Was great fun.
719
00:35:20,326 --> 00:35:22,662
Until he was reminded
about the budget.
720
00:35:22,745 --> 00:35:24,831
I never thought about the budget.
721
00:35:24,914 --> 00:35:26,916
Well, Paramount did,
big surprise.
722
00:35:26,999 --> 00:35:31,838
These are enormously expensive purchases.
And very predictably...
723
00:35:31,921 --> 00:35:35,550
The studio's reaction was basically,
"You can't have any of that music."
724
00:35:35,633 --> 00:35:38,177
Forming another Fantasy Unit
of sorts.
725
00:35:38,261 --> 00:35:41,973
What Bob had done,
brilliantly, is temp the movie.
726
00:35:42,056 --> 00:35:45,685
A temporary score
until the real one is written.
727
00:35:45,768 --> 00:35:51,023
The temp track had all these great hits
that made everything sound great.
728
00:35:51,107 --> 00:35:55,153
All-American classics.
Elvis, Creedence Clearwater Revival,
729
00:35:55,236 --> 00:35:56,779
Aretha Franklin.
730
00:35:56,863 --> 00:35:59,365
The soundtrack was
a shockingly expensive trip
731
00:35:59,448 --> 00:36:01,617
through the greatest hits
of American music.
732
00:36:01,701 --> 00:36:05,788
There were, I think, 30, 35 songs
like that in the movie.
733
00:36:05,872 --> 00:36:09,709
After seeing the movie,
this time Paramount really were happy
734
00:36:09,792 --> 00:36:11,460
to sing along.
We got all of 'em.
735
00:36:13,004 --> 00:36:16,924
Everybody who saw that first cut
where all those songs were in,
736
00:36:17,008 --> 00:36:21,512
you can't imagine the movie without it,
unless you're just a money person.
737
00:36:21,596 --> 00:36:25,099
Soon, even money people
would sing the soundtrack's praises.
738
00:36:25,183 --> 00:36:30,062
The soundtrack was the biggest soundtrack
ever in the history of the film business.
739
00:36:30,146 --> 00:36:32,607
And finally,
after nearly ten years,
740
00:36:32,690 --> 00:36:34,483
in June 1994,
741
00:36:34,567 --> 00:36:38,821
Forrest Gump began what would become
a very long theatrical run.
742
00:36:39,363 --> 00:36:43,868
From frame one, from the feather,
it was like, you just get sucked in.
743
00:36:43,951 --> 00:36:46,829
All across the nation,
theaters were selling out.
744
00:36:46,913 --> 00:36:50,499
I don't think anybody in the crew expected
the movie to do what it did. Nobody.
745
00:36:50,583 --> 00:36:52,001
Oh, I'm dizzy.
746
00:36:52,084 --> 00:36:56,214
When it was all said and done,
Paramount was pleasantly surprised, too.
747
00:36:56,297 --> 00:36:59,717
The picture, by the time
it ended its run, had made
748
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,803
more than 650 million dollars
at the box office.
749
00:37:02,887 --> 00:37:06,390
Just a bit more than the budget
they were so worried about.
750
00:37:06,474 --> 00:37:09,644
The movie went on to be
the third-biggest movie of all time.
751
00:37:10,770 --> 00:37:14,357
And speaking of being right,
for the director and staff,
752
00:37:14,440 --> 00:37:18,402
who went into their own pockets
to make the movie they wanted to make,
753
00:37:18,486 --> 00:37:20,321
betting on themselves paid off.
754
00:37:20,404 --> 00:37:25,284
That movie was so gigantically profitable,
that even with weird Hollywood accounting,
755
00:37:25,368 --> 00:37:29,455
each man still made more than 40 million
dollars and by now, a lot more than that.
756
00:37:29,538 --> 00:37:31,658
You gotta love that back end.
Not that one.
757
00:37:31,707 --> 00:37:35,169
And aside from the millions
of dollars Bob and Tom took home,
758
00:37:35,253 --> 00:37:37,838
they each picked up a little gold statue...
759
00:37:37,922 --> 00:37:40,216
Robert Zemeckis for Forrest Gump.
760
00:37:40,299 --> 00:37:43,177
...which for Bob, was his first.
Thank you very much.
761
00:37:43,261 --> 00:37:47,139
A few other Gumpers won, too.
Arthur Schmidt for Forrest Gump.
762
00:37:47,223 --> 00:37:48,641
Eric Roth, Forrest Gump.
763
00:37:48,724 --> 00:37:51,644
Ken Ralston, George Murphy,
Stephen Rosenbaum, and Allen Hall
764
00:37:51,727 --> 00:37:52,727
for Forrest Gump.
765
00:37:52,770 --> 00:37:55,273
And for Best Picture,
of course...
766
00:37:55,356 --> 00:37:59,986
Forrest Gump! Wendy Finerman,
Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey.
767
00:38:00,069 --> 00:38:03,698
That night, with all of us there
and celebrating,
768
00:38:03,781 --> 00:38:05,408
it actually wasn't any different
769
00:38:05,491 --> 00:38:06,575
than when it began.
770
00:38:06,659 --> 00:38:09,036
Nine years ago, I met a very special man
771
00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:12,123
who has since taken me
on an amazing journey.
772
00:38:12,957 --> 00:38:16,043
There were many people
who gave him gifts along the way.
773
00:38:16,127 --> 00:38:18,963
Eric Roth, you gave Forrest a soul.
774
00:38:19,964 --> 00:38:23,342
Tom Hanks, you gave Forrest a heart.
775
00:38:23,426 --> 00:38:26,220
And, Bob Zemeckis,
you gave Forrest a vision.
776
00:38:26,304 --> 00:38:28,472
And the giving
didn't stop there.
777
00:38:28,556 --> 00:38:31,726
Michael Humphreys gave Forrest a voice,
778
00:38:31,809 --> 00:38:35,313
and Kevin Jones, well,
he gave Forrest a read.
779
00:38:35,396 --> 00:38:37,940
Michelle Manning gave Forrest some cover,
780
00:38:38,024 --> 00:38:42,903
but it was Wendy who gave Forrest
the greatest gift of all, a chance.
781
00:38:42,987 --> 00:38:48,451
Wendy is a dynamo.
She moves a hundred miles an hour.
782
00:38:48,534 --> 00:38:53,122
The kind of dynamo that had
to move mountains to get the film made.
783
00:38:53,205 --> 00:38:55,958
She was like a dog with a bone
with the script. There's no question.
784
00:38:56,042 --> 00:38:59,420
You gotta give Wendy tremendous
amount of credit for all that work,
785
00:38:59,503 --> 00:39:03,466
pushing that ball up the hill,
this crazy idea of Forrest Gump for years.
786
00:39:03,549 --> 00:39:08,846
She knew somewhere
in this collected, broken mess
787
00:39:09,722 --> 00:39:13,893
was a huge life-affirming idea
for a movie.
788
00:39:13,976 --> 00:39:16,687
My parents always said
dreams can come true.
789
00:39:16,771 --> 00:39:19,315
And to my own children, if you doubt it,
790
00:39:19,398 --> 00:39:23,027
please remember tonight,
because I always will. Thank you.
791
00:39:23,819 --> 00:39:27,073
Although he may not
have picked up an Oscar himself,
792
00:39:27,156 --> 00:39:29,784
Gary Sinise, well, he won an award, too.
793
00:39:29,867 --> 00:39:32,870
An award that, in some ways,
was even more meaningful.
794
00:39:32,953 --> 00:39:36,415
In August of 1994,
I got a call from
795
00:39:36,499 --> 00:39:39,043
the Disabled American Veterans
organization.
796
00:39:39,126 --> 00:39:42,880
They wanted to give me
an award for playing a disabled veteran.
797
00:39:42,963 --> 00:39:45,508
And I showed up
at the national convention,
798
00:39:45,591 --> 00:39:46,926
walked out on stage,
799
00:39:47,009 --> 00:39:51,931
and I looked out in the ballroom there,
and it was wounded veterans.
800
00:39:53,641 --> 00:40:00,064
And it was such a powerful moment,
and it manifested itself into a new focus
801
00:40:00,147 --> 00:40:04,110
on doing what I can to help
the men and women who serve our country.
802
00:40:05,069 --> 00:40:09,281
After Forrest Gump, Gary began
working closely with wounded veterans,
803
00:40:09,365 --> 00:40:11,909
eventually creating
the Gary Sinise Foundation.
804
00:40:12,785 --> 00:40:15,996
The Gary Sinise Foundation serves
and honors the needs
805
00:40:16,080 --> 00:40:18,624
of the men and women
who serve our country.
806
00:40:19,583 --> 00:40:22,169
Gary's sensitive portrayal
of Lt. Dan
807
00:40:22,253 --> 00:40:26,298
shed light on the lifelong struggles
that many veterans face.
808
00:40:27,633 --> 00:40:30,094
Veterans like Josue Barron.
809
00:40:30,886 --> 00:40:34,390
In October 2010,
I was deployed to Afghanistan
810
00:40:34,473 --> 00:40:39,854
where I stepped on a landmine
and lost my left leg and my left eye.
811
00:40:39,937 --> 00:40:44,733
After I got injured, I wanted to be strong
and never complain about something,
812
00:40:44,817 --> 00:40:46,902
but it was just eating me inside.
813
00:40:46,986 --> 00:40:49,572
And this is who Lieutenant Dan is.
814
00:40:49,655 --> 00:40:54,160
This tough guy who didn't really
wanna show a lot of feelings,
815
00:40:54,243 --> 00:40:57,121
but you can tell
that he was going through something.
816
00:40:57,204 --> 00:40:58,456
Happy New Year, Gump.
817
00:40:58,539 --> 00:41:01,667
But I think it's more effective
if you just let it out,
818
00:41:01,750 --> 00:41:05,337
communicate with people, and let
somebody know what you're going through.
819
00:41:05,421 --> 00:41:09,717
That's exactly what Josue did.
He reached out for help.
820
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,595
I had applied for the program,
and here I am.
821
00:41:12,678 --> 00:41:15,681
Getting a house built
by the Gary Sinise Foundation.
822
00:41:15,764 --> 00:41:17,892
Josue, he's a wonderful guy.
823
00:41:17,975 --> 00:41:20,019
He sacrificed for his country.
824
00:41:20,102 --> 00:41:21,645
We're grateful to him for that,
825
00:41:21,729 --> 00:41:23,856
and we want to do something
to give back to him.
826
00:41:23,939 --> 00:41:27,443
If Gary Sinise would've never took
that role in Forrest Gump
827
00:41:27,526 --> 00:41:29,320
as a war veteran and amputee,
828
00:41:29,403 --> 00:41:32,490
I don't think I'd be here today
getting a house built
829
00:41:32,573 --> 00:41:39,455
by somebody who understands
the need of a person like me.
830
00:41:47,296 --> 00:41:48,380
My bus is here.
831
00:41:48,464 --> 00:41:52,510
On its surface,
Forrest Gump is the story of one man
832
00:41:52,593 --> 00:41:54,386
who touches the lives of many.
833
00:41:54,470 --> 00:41:58,182
But Forrest Gump's journey
across time and plenty of distance
834
00:41:58,265 --> 00:42:00,434
reflects something a little deeper.
835
00:42:00,518 --> 00:42:03,145
There's so much
in the movie that resonates
836
00:42:03,229 --> 00:42:06,357
with such a variety of individuals.
837
00:42:06,440 --> 00:42:07,983
That was my destiny!
838
00:42:08,067 --> 00:42:12,029
The disabled American veteran,
the mother-son relationship.
839
00:42:12,112 --> 00:42:15,324
Don't ever let anybody tell you
they're better than you, Forrest.
840
00:42:15,407 --> 00:42:19,036
The struggle that Jenny goes through
in her whole life.
841
00:42:19,119 --> 00:42:21,372
In fact, in this story
about one man...
842
00:42:21,455 --> 00:42:22,581
Jenny!
843
00:42:22,665 --> 00:42:25,376
...well, there's something for everyone.
844
00:42:25,459 --> 00:42:30,047
Forrest's journey brings
a humanity, a warmth.
845
00:42:30,130 --> 00:42:32,091
I will miss you, Forrest.
846
00:42:32,174 --> 00:42:33,968
It's the story of a generation of people.
847
00:42:34,802 --> 00:42:36,220
It's funny.
I gotta pee.
848
00:42:36,303 --> 00:42:38,973
It's heartbreaking.
It is America.
849
00:42:39,598 --> 00:42:42,393
I think it's really about
the great parts of America.
850
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:49,066
This is about the conflicts that we have,
but there's a heart that follows through,
851
00:42:49,149 --> 00:42:52,111
and that's why Forrest says,
852
00:42:52,194 --> 00:42:53,862
"I may not be a smart man..."
853
00:42:54,905 --> 00:42:56,740
But I know what love is.
854
00:42:57,324 --> 00:43:00,452
For a movie that began deep
in a box of scripts
855
00:43:00,536 --> 00:43:04,123
and ended a box office hit
and a cultural icon,
856
00:43:04,206 --> 00:43:06,709
there's really only one thing left to say.
857
00:43:07,334 --> 00:43:09,420
That's all I have to say about that.
858
00:43:09,503 --> 00:43:10,921
Or maybe there's two things.
859
00:43:11,005 --> 00:43:14,842
Thank you, Forrest. 'Cause that's all
I have to say about that.
860
00:43:15,305 --> 00:44:15,573
74464
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