Random Crazy Behind-the-Scenes Facts About Forrest Gump (20 items)

(#19) Forrest and Bubba Were Placed in the Same Platoon Because of Their Low IQ

During the Vietnam War, the US Army allowed soldiers with low IQs to enlist, as long as all mentally challenged men were placed in the same platoon. In the original script, this practice was put into effect; every soldier in Forrest's platoon had a low IQ. However, the US Army has since discontinued this practice, and objected to how it was depicted in Forrest Gump script. The military's whining worked, and script changes were made so Forrest and Bubba were the only soldiers with low IQs in their platoon.
(#13) Robert Zemeckis Used Norman Rockwell As Inspiration

Perhaps no painter in history captured Americana better than Norman Rockwell. Forrest Gump takes place in the fictional town of Greenbow, AL. In the novel from which the film is adapted, Forrest grows up in Mobile, AL. The movie and the book are very different, and the filmmakers wanted to create a town more in the spirit of the characters than any existing place.
The scenes of Forrest's childhood were shot in Vanville, SC, which has a small town feel and is aesthetically similar to Rockwell's work. Zemeckis revealed he used Rockwell's art as a guide in creating Greenbow. The scene in the film when young Forrest is sitting outside the principal's office while his mother talks to the principal was inspired by Rockwell's The Young Lady with the Shiner.
(#9) John Travolta Turned Down the Role of Forrest Gump

John Travolta was the first choice to play the titular character. He said no, and wasn't the only one to turn down the role that earned Tom Hanks his second straight Oscar for Best Actor (he won the year before for Philadelphia.) Both Bill Murray and Chevy Chase also passed on Gump. Travolta would go on to say passing on the part was a major mistake.
Despite the Gump gaff, Travolta accepted the role of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction, which was released the same year as Forrest Gump. The role re-launched Travolta's career and earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
(#16) Tom Hanks Improvised "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump."

Forrest first meets Bubba on the bus before the pair embark on their stint in the military. Bubba says to Gump, "My given name is Benjamin Buford Blue. But people call me Bubba, just like one of them old redneck boys. Can you believe that?"
Forrest then introduces himself. "My name is Forrest Gump. People call me Forrest Gump." The iconic line was not in the script, but Zemeckis liked it so much he kept it.
(#4) Tupac Shakur Auditioned for the Role of Bubba

Tupac Shakur will always be first and foremost remembered as one of the great hip hop artists, but he was also a successful actor. Before Forrest Gump was released in 1994, Tupac appeared in Juice, Poetic Justice, and Above the Rim. The rapper's wife, Keisha Morris, told UPROXX she and Tupac went to see Forrest Gump on their first date.

"We went to the Chelsea Movie Theater to see Forrest Gump and then we ate dinner around the corner in an Italian restaurant." She added, "He wanted to see Forrest Gump because he read for the part of Bubba."
(#7) Tom Hanks Had Scripted Lines When His Microphone Turns Off

Forrest Gump is asked to share his experiences in Vietnam in front of a sea of people in Washington DC, during an anti-war protest. He approaches the microphone, but someone pulls the plug, and his words aren't heard. The man standing next to him on stage hears him, and is deeply moved. So what did Forrest say?
According to Hanks, he said, "Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."