Many scenes of the movie were shot in Savannah, Georgia. Filming also took place in South Carolina, on Fripp Island and Hunting Island. This gave the film a historical and realistic look. Hunting Island was used for many of the film’s war scenes. Today, Hunting Island is one of the most popular state parks in South Carolina, welcoming more than a million visitors each year.
Ocean Creek Golf Course on Fripp Island was used as a backdrop for some of the Vietnam war scenes. Forrest Gump, Bubba, and Lieutenant Dan marched through the Fripp Island maritime forest, with mountains digitally added in the background.
Emotional Scenes
The film is quite the tearjerker and apparently, Tom Hanks often became emotional while playing the role of Forrest. The actor even admitted to crying during the scene where LT Dan, with his titanium legs, first introduces Forrest to his wife. You can't really blame the guy. The film is an epic journey filled with just about every human emotion.
Even producer Wendy Finerman remarked on it. In an interview, she said "I don't want to sound like a bad version of 'the child within'. But the childlike innocence of Forrest Gump is what we all once had. It's an emotional journey. You laugh and cry. It does what movies are supposed to do: make you feel alive."
An Oscar-Worthy Performance
Tom Hanks won an Oscar in 1994 for his performance in Forrest Gump. Besides that, Forrest Gump won five other Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Visual Effects, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing.
The film was also nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and won three of them, including Best Actor-Motion Picture Drama, Best Director-Motion Picture, and Best Motion Picture-Drama. The film won various other awards as well.
A Successful Flop
Despite the movie’s eventual profit of $678 million, in the year it was released it was not monetarily successful. Even with such a profitable revenue, the film was called a "successful failure." This was largely due to the high paycheques of both the director and the lead actor, and ultimately even more crippling price tag, the distribution fees.
This ultimately resulted in a $62 million loss for Paramount Pictures. And that was with a $55 million budget. Some people say distribution fees were far too greedy and pocketed more than necessary. Sometimes, with a film this good, everyone wants a piece of the pie.
Many Meanings
The film begins with a feather floating through the air. There are many interpretations as to what this could mean. Some saw it as a symbol for Forrests's kind and wandering nature that is likened to a floating feather that is at at mercy of the wind.
This take can even be emphasized in his line about the chocolates "you never know what you're gonna get."However you see it, it's one of the most powerful and thought-provoking scenes in cinema history and it really sets the tone for the whole film.