The romantic, comedy-drama, ‘Forrest Gump’ is a 1994 film based on the novel of the same name, written by Winston Groom. The movie does, however, end up straying quite a bit from the novel. The film follows several decades in Forrest’s life that find him accidentally being involved in many huge, historical events. Forrest is an Alabama native who is somewhat slow-witted and naive, but is very athletic, specifically with running. The film stars Tom Hanks as the title character, Sally Field, Robin Wright, and Gary Sinise and was directed by Robert Zemeckis. ‘Forrest Gump’ received critical acclaim and was a huge commercial success as well, becoming the highest grossing film in North America in 1994. Though the majority of the film is set in Alabama, most of the filming was done in South Carolina among other places, which included Savannah, Georgia.
During ‘Forrest Gump’, the story of Forrest’s life is being told. Forrest, himself is the one telling his story to anyone who will listen to him. The film starts out with a floating feather which can be seen drifting by the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savannah, before it finally rests at the park bench where Forrest tells his story to the various strangers that end up sitting next to him throughout the film. This bench, which is considered one of the most iconic props in film history, was erected by the crew of the movie at the Chippewa Square bus stop in Savannah. Chippewa Square is located in the center of Savannah’s downtown historic district and is named for the Battle of Chippewa in the War of 1812. In one of the American Film Institute’s lists, 100 years…100 Quotes, what is, perhaps the most famous quote from ‘Forrest Gump’ was said by Forrest at this park bench in Chippewa Square during the film. The quote, “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” was ranked at 40 on the list. The bench that was filmed in ‘Forrest Gump’ can now be seen in the Savannah History Museum, though its park location is still a popular tourist attraction.
‘Forrest Gump’ won a slew of awards including six Academy Awards for categories such as, Best Picture, Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. It was also nominated for seven Golden Globes where it won three for, Best Actor-Drama, Best Picture-Drama and Best Director-Drama. In December of 2011, ‘Forrest Gump’ was selected to be preserved in the Library of Congress’ National Film Registry.
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