Script
Forrest Gump
Log Line
The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal and other historical events unfold from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, whose only desire is to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Synopsis
In 1981, at a bus stop in Savannah, a man named Forrest Gump recounts his life story to strangers who happen to sit next to him on the bench. As a boy in 1956, Forrest has an IQ of 75 and is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine. He lives in Greenbow, Alabama with his mother, who runs a boarding house and encourages him to live beyond his disabilities. Among their temporary tenants is a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for Forrest and incorporates the boy's jerky dance movements into his performances. On his first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best friends. Bullied because of his leg braces and dimwittedness, Forrest flees from a group of children, but when his braces break off, he is revealed to be a fast runner. With this talent, he receives a football scholarship at the University of Alabama in 1962, where he is coached by Bear Bryant, becomes a top kick returner, is named to the All-American team, and meets President John F. Kennedy at the White House. In his first year at college, he witnesses Governor George Wallace's Stand in the Schoolhouse Door and returns a dropped book to Vivian Malone Jones, one of the students admitted over state resistance. After graduating from college in 1966, Forrest enlists in the U.S. Army. During basic training, he befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford Blue (nicknamed "Bubba"), who convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. Later that year, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta region under Lieutenant Dan Taylor. After months of routine operations, their platoon is ambushed while on patrol, and several members of the platoon are killed in action, including Bubba. Forrest saves several wounded platoonmates and Lieutenant Dan, who loses both his legs. Taylor is embittered to have been saved by Forrest; he would rather have died in combat like his ancestors before him, but he is returned to the United States. Forrest is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson. At an anti-war March on the Pentagon rally, Forrest meets Abbie Hoffman and briefly reunites with Jenny, who has become a drug-addicted hippie and anti-war activist. He also develops a talent for ping-pong and becomes a sports celebrity competing against Chinese teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show. He appears to influence Lennon's song, "Imagine". Forrest spends 1972 New Year's Eve in New York City with Lieutenant Dan, who has become an alcoholic, still bitter about his disability and the government's apathy towards Vietnam veterans. Forrest's ping-pong success eventually leads to a meeting with President Richard Nixon. He is given a room in the Watergate complex, where he unwittingly exposes the Watergate scandal. Discharged from the army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre, fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull in huge amounts of shrimp and create the profitable Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Dan invests his money in early tech companies on the stock market, which Forrest mistakes for "some kind of fruit company", and the two become millionaires. Forrest gives half of his earnings to Bubba's family for having inspired the shrimping venture. Forrest returns home to his mother and cares for her during her terminal illness from cancer. In 1976, Jenny – recovering from years of drugs and abuse – returns to visit Forrest. He proposes to her, and that night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love, though she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running "for no particular reason" and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming famous for another feat before returning to Greenbow. In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her. Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their young son, whom she named Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an "unknown virus". The three move back to Greenbow and Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The film ends with Forrest sending his son off on his first day of school.
Character Descriptions
Forrest Gump, (Early 40's), Caucasion
Forrest Gump is the protagonist, a mentally and physically challenged young man, whose mother raised him to believe that he is no different than anyone else. His mental limitations are often charming to the people around him, and he finds himself accidentally in historically significant situations time and time again, from the integration of the University of Alabama to the night of the Watergate scandal. Forrest is gentle and kindhearted, showing affection and love to his childhood friend, Jenny Curran. He is devoted to her and wants to protect her from danger, even though she struggles with some horrible demons.
Jenny Curran, (Early 40's), Caucasion
Jenny Curran is Forrest's only friend from childhood, a beautiful girl with a troubled biography. She is very kind to Forrest and encourages him to protect himself from the bullies at their school. She also struggles with being raised in a household where her father sexually abuses her. She has big dreams of becoming a famous folk singer and follows her free-spirited heart far away from Greenbow, becoming a hippie and then a druggie disco dancer, until she finally settles down and heals from years of addiction. She tragically dies from an unknown virus (presumably HIV) at the end of the film.
Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue, (late 20's), African American
Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue is Forrest's best friend from his time in the military. Bubba is a black man from the bayou whose one true dream is to have a shrimping boat. After he dies during the Vietnam War, Forrest becomes determined to buy a shrimping boat in Bubba's honor.
Filming Locations
EXT. A NEW ORLEANS STREET, THE PRESENT - DAY (Page 1)
Forrest Gump and a woman sitting on a park bench
INT. A DOCTORS OFFICE, GREENBOW MISSISSIPPI, 1952 - DAY (Page 2)
Young Forrest gets fitted for his leg braces
Props
Feather, Bus Bench, Shopping Bag w Random items, Box of assorted chocholates(Page 1)
EXT. A NEW ORLEANS STREET, THE PRESENT - DAY
Wall Calander 1952, Orthopedic Shoes, metal leg brace, young womans hat(Page 3)
INT. A DOCTORS OFFICE, GREENBOW MISSISSIPPI, 1952 - DAY
Wardrobe
Dirty Clothes, Work Boots, Nurses Uniform, Nurse Shoes, (Page 1)
EXT. A NEW ORLEANS STREET, THE PRESENT - DAY
Young boys clothes, Young woman plain coat (Page 3)
INT. A DOCTORS OFFICE, GREENBOW MISSISSIPPI, 1952 - DAY