Forrest Gump (1994) - 17 questions

Question: In the scene where Forrest is talking to Bubba's grave, he says, "for saying, "I just love playing ping pong with my Flexolite ping pong paddle" which everyone knows isn't true, but momma said it's just a little white lie so it wouldn't hurt nobody." He also told his mom that he only like using his paddle. What type of paddle did Forrest actually use?

Question: Forrest reveals (in the Voice-Over) that Jenny was taken from her father's home and sent to live with her grandmother. He indirectly indicates that Jenny was sexually abused by her father. My question is who would have reported the abuse to the police so that Jenny could be removed from the situation? And where would her sisters have gone assuming they were also sent away and, like Jenny, were minors?

Answer: It's never explained. Perhaps the grandmother or a teacher reported the abuse. It's possible the abuse was never reported, maybe Jenny simply asked her grandmother if she could move in with her. Maybe there was no proof that the other girls were being abused, or they didn't want to leave, or they were moved to foster families or other relatives.

Question: These are Multiple questions (need help with a project); if you can answer all of them, that would be great, if you have the time. If not, just one or two would be fine. Thank you! 1. Was Forrest Gump's IQ really 75? 2. Did the braces on his legs fall off/tear or did he have them on at all? 3. Longest continual run? 4. Inventor/ gave the guy the idea for the smiley face. 5. V. War - what dates? 6. Is Bubba Gump shrimp really real? 7. Is he really named after Gen. Nathat Forrest (the leader of the KKK?) 8. Is the house that he lived in real? Route 17 Greenbow, Alabama? 9. Greenbow County Central School - real or fake? 10. Was Elvis Presley really at their house and did he "steal" Forrest's dance? 11. Was Forrest enrolled at Alabama State? 12. When Forrest joins the Army, is Bubba real? 13. The guns in the movie look newer than the time peroid. What guns were really used in the movie, compared to the war? 14. Did Bubba die in the war? 15. The Army really had a Ping Pong team? 16. Did Forrest's mom die of cancer or what? Thank you very much if you can answer these.

Answer: You do realize that this is a fictional movie, not a biography, right? 1. According to the film, his school tested IQ was 75. 2. The braces broke off because they weren't meant to be used in that manner (bent-leg running). 3. He says it in the movie "3 years, 2 months, 14 days, and 16 hours". 4. The smiley face thing was fake. The real smiley face was invented in 1963 for an insurance company by Harvey Ball. This was before Forrest went on his run. 5. Forrest was in Vietnam from 1968-69, including time spent recovering. 6. Yes. It is a restaurant chain that began after the movie came out. 7. Yes, according to the film. 8. Yes and no. The building was a set home (fully built) and was built in Savannah, GA. 9. No. Greenbow is not a real city or county in Alabama. 10. According to the film - yes. 11. No, he was went to the University of Alabama. 12. Fictional character. 13. They were using M-16s, first introduced in Vietnam and the M1911 pistol, used in the Army until 1985. 14. Yes, as seen in the movie. 15. No. He was assigned to the Special Services Division, which had the job of entertaining troops. Later, he was part of the All-American Ping Pong team, part of the Ping Pong Diplomacy era with China in the 1970's. 16. Yes, she died of cancer.

Question: Was there any proof other than Jenny's word that her child was Forrest's child?

Answer: It is implied in many ways, such as the manner in which they sit in front of the TV when they first meet and they way they physically resemble each other. Beyond that, Jenny had never lied to Forrest before and there was no reason to doubt her.

Question: Was anything actually wrong with Forrest mentally (such as slight mental retardation)? Is is possible that he was "normal" but had just been sheltered, hadn't socialized with any kids at a normal age, etc.?

Answer: Gump is stated, in the book at least (can't honestly remember about the film) to have an IQ of around 75. While IQ ranges are somewhat subjective, this would usually be considered to indicate a mild or borderline mental deficiency. It also certainly wouldn't have helped that he's been relatively sheltered.

Question: Does young Forrest start school a couple of years later than the other children shown on the bus? He appears to be older than five or six, the age when most kids go to kindergarten and first grade.

Answer: He starts some time later than the other children, since the principal won't let him in school until he sleeps with his mother. We're not told how much time passes before this happens, so it could be a year or more.

Question: When I read the cast list for this movie, I have noticed that Presidents Lyndon Johnson and John F. Kennedy are "playing themselves" in this movie, even though they are dead. How did the editors managed to put Tom Hanks near the actual Predsident?

Answer: Tom Hanks was inserted into actual footage of the presidents, replacing real persons who were there at the time. Computer editing was then used to modify the presidents' mouth movements to match dialog that was recorded by voice doubles for the film.

Question: By the buses, when Jenny's boyfriend apologizes for hitting her and mentions "that lying S.O.B. Johnson", who is the Johnson he is referring to?

Answer: Johnson refers to Lyndon Johnson, the US President.

Question: In the hotel, when Forrest calls about the flashlights in the room across the hotel keeping him awake, what is going on with the people in that room? I'm guessing it's not really a power outage, because if it was, Forrest wouldn't be able to use the phone.

Answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watergate_scandal - The Watergate Scandal. Burglars broke into the Democratic National Committee Headquarters at the Watergate Hotel. The implication is that Forrest is why they were caught. Also, in 1972, you didn't need electricity to power phones. You still don't unless the phone is cordless.

Question: What does Jenny die of? And is it mentioned anywhere in the film at all?

Answer: She dies of AIDS. They do not say AIDS in the movie, becasue she does not know what it is at the time. She just says she has some new disease, but they don't know what it is.

Question: I thought i recognised the woman that pushes Forrest in line for the Vietnam veteran demonstration as a cameo of Sandra Bullock, and the woman Jenny as a hippie is playing guitar with (before the guy asks them to go to SF) as a cameo of Lisa Kudrow. Anyone knows whether this is correct?

Answer: They are not listed on IMDB as such. Also by 1994, Sandra Bullock's only memorable appearance was Demolition Man (her real popularity started with Speed in 1994), and Lisa Kudrow was only known for the waitress on "Mad About You" - a minor role. Neither would have been a likely choice for a "cameo" role, yet at the same time would probably have charged too much for an extra/walk-on.

Question: How exactly do the producers "remove" Gary Sinise's legs? Is it through computer imaging, or does Gary bend his legs, creating the illusion of amputation?

Answer: Mostly by computer - they wrapped his legs in "blue screen" fabric, then the computer replaced that color with shots of the same scene taken without his legs.

Question: When Forrest is introducing the members of his Platoon in Vietnam all of the character names are the names of cities, he then tells where each solider is from but their hometown is different then their nick name. (for example "Dallas from Phoenix") why would each person have a name of a city as their name?

Answer: This is just a bit of incidental humor. For example: Dallas is the young man's real name. Why would his parents name him Dallas if he was from Phoenix? Same with Cleveland.

Question: When Forrest and Bubba are talking in Vietnam before and after Bubba says "I wanna go home" after getting shot. There is purple smoke coming from behind them into the camera shot. What is this smoke?

Answer: Just a smoke grenade. They used color smoke grenades in Vietnam as a signal to evacuation helicopters to show exactly where the troops were.

Question: Is there any significant reason why Forrest Gump wears blue in almost every scene (when he's not in uniform)?

Answer: Maybe it was Forrest's favorite color? Or sometimes the director of a movie does that to set a mood throughout.

Question: In Vietnam when Forrest is introducing the other men in his group telling their names and where they are from, all the soldiers names are names of cities. This was obviously done on purpose but why?

Answer: When people from different places are put togther into groups they usually giver eachother nicknames, this is particularly true in the military, and a lot of times your nickmane would just be where you are from, if you do not have some other characteristic, or your name does not rhyme or sound like some other word.

Question: What is the "million dollar wound" Forrest says he he got while rescuing Lt.Dan?

Answer: He's refering to being shot in the butt. They called it a million dollar wound because it didn't do any real permanent damage, but the solider would still be taken to a hospital and sent home from Vietnam. It was a great relief to get a million dollar wound rather than be killed or permanently maimed.