Tom Hanks Did not Think Forrest Gump Park Bench Scenes Were Necessary
Tom Hanks reveals that he initially didn’t believe the now-iconic park bench scenes in Forrest Gump were necessary. Released in 1994, Robert Zemeckis’ Forrest Gump is now extensively viewed as one of the defining films of Hanks’ profession, even winning the Best Picture Oscar in 1995. The film narrates the trip of the big-hearted Forrest Gump, a guy with an intelligence of 75 that experiences the signature events of the 1970s and also 1960s– including whatever from the Vietnam War to the Watergate rumor– all while trying to rejoin with his childhood years sweetie. The movie was a hit with audiences and also doubters and also went on to make over $678 million at the box office.
Forrest Gump takes place across two major timelines, with the timeline in the present seeing Hanks’ titular character resting on a park bench as well as telling his eventful life story to anybody that will certainly pay attention. Gump holds a box of chocolates in his lap for the park bench scenes, eventually uttering the now-famous line, “My Mama always claimed, ‘life resembles a box of delicious chocolates, you never ever which one you’re gon na obtain’.” In addition to Hanks, Forrest Gump features a standout supporting cast, consisting of the likes of Sally Field, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, as well as Mykelti Williamson.
In a brand-new meeting with CinemaBlend, Hanks reveals that he initially had not been aboard with Forrest Gump’s park bench scenes. The actor clarifies that he didn’t believe target markets would certainly be interested in scenes with Gump merely resting on a bench talking with complete strangers. Hanks stated that, at the time, it had not been clear exactly how the series would suit the story in a significant method. Look into his complete comment listed below:
I will certainly tell you, in Forrest Gump, all the things that we fired on the park bench in Savannah, Georgia, we were simply shooting straw for a possible narrative item of it. As well as I claimed to Bob, ‘Is anyone going to care concerning this nut sitting on a? Bob says, ‘I don’t know, it’s a minefield, Tom, it’s a minefield.
Evidently, Zemeckis was right concerning the park bench scenes, due to the fact that these are often the initial scenes that come to mind for lots of when thinking about Forrest Gump. The park bench scenes likewise feature greatly in the movie’s advertising and marketing, with the Forrest Gump poster seeing Hanks’ personality resting on the bench before a white background. From Hanks’ summary, nevertheless, it seems that Zemeckis hadn’t formally chose how these now beloved park bench scenes would certainly suit the overall story, so Hanks’ reluctance at the time is understandable.
Although many now believe that Pulp Fiction or The Shawshank Redemption were more deserving of winning Best Picture at the Oscars that year, Forrest Gump continues to be an ageless traditional movie for plenty of viewers. It’s hard to visualize the movie without the park bench scenes, given Gump’s narration eventually raises the whole story and assists audiences see essential historical events via the protagonist’s eyes. Hanks may not have assumed that the park bench scenes were necessary initially glimpse, yet Forrest Gump is all the better for Zemeckis stepping in to make sure the scenes had a place in the last cut.
