Forrest Gump is a 1994 American drama directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as Forrest, a kind-hearted man from Alabama whose life carries him through several major moments in twentieth-century American history. The film follows Forrest from his childhood in the fictional town of Greenbow through college football, the Vietnam War, the shrimping business, national fame and his lifelong love for Jenny. Blending comedy, melodrama, historical fantasy and digital effects, the film became one of the defining Hollywood successes of the 1990s and won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor.
The film was shot across several parts of the United States, but its strongest geographical identity comes from Georgia and South Carolina. The famous bench scenes were filmed in Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia, where Forrest tells his life story to strangers waiting for the bus. Much of Greenbow, Alabama was created in and around Beaufort, Yemassee and Varnville in South Carolina, while Hunting Island and Fripp Island helped stand in for Vietnam. The film also uses Washington, D.C. for the Lincoln Memorial sequence, Monument Valley for one of Forrest’s cross-country running scenes, and additional locations in places such as North Carolina, Maine, Montana, Arizona, California and Utah. Altogether, Forrest Gump builds its story as a journey through American landscapes: small Southern towns, coastal islands, war zones, national monuments, desert roads and city squares, all tied together by Forrest’s movement through history.
Santa Monica Pier
Santa Monica Pier appears in numerous productions, including The Sting, Forrest Gump, Ruthless People, Cellular, Iron Man, Her, Modern Family, and Seinfeld.
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