Where Was Forrest Gump Filmed? Tom Hanks Classic's Filming Locations Explained

Summary The iconic bench scene in Forrest Gump was filmed in Savannah, Georgia.

The Greenbow, Alabama scenes were actually filmed in Yemassee and Beaufort, South Carolina.

The Vietnam War scenes were also captured in South Carolina, and Forrest's run across America ends at Monument Valley.

Forrest Gump tells the story of Forrest Gump's eventful life as he grows up in Alabama, fights in the Vietnam War, runs across the country, and more, and just like Tom Hanks' character, the cast and crew traveled to many locations to film the 1994 comedy-drama. Given that the important moments in Forrest's life occur in several different cities and places, it makes sense why the production was spread across the United States. However, despite Forrest Gump relying heavily on on-location filming, principal photography only lasted about five months, beginning in August 1993 and ending in December.

Forrest Gump won six Oscars — Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Actor (Tom Hanks), Best Adapted Screenplay (Eric Roth), Best Film Editing (Arthur Schmidt), and Best Visual Effects (Ken Ralston, George Murphy, Allen Hall and Stephen Rosenbaum).

In the years since its premiere, Forrest Gump has become a classic. Of course, the 1994 comedy-drama received a lot of praise from critics and audiences alike upon its release and was a box office success as it grossed $678.2 million against a budget of $55 million. However, it has stood the test of time, with many still quoting Forrest Gump's famous lines and repeatedly rewatching Forrest Gump 30 years later. It all began, though, when the cast and crew set out to film the comedy-drama in late 1993.

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Chippewa Square, Savannah, Georgia

The Bench Where Forrest Tells His Life Story To Strangers

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Perhaps the most iconic Forrest Gump location can be found during the bench scenes. Robert Zemeckis' 1994 film begins with Tom Hanks as Forrest sitting on a bench at a bus stop. While waiting for his bus to come, Forrest talks to strangers and spills his entire life story up to that point to them (even if they don't want to hear it). The entirety of Forrest Gump is framed around the bench scenes as it flashes to different parts of his life.

A replica of the Forrest Gump bench used in the film can be found at the Savannah History Museum, while the original bench is reportedly kept in Paramount Studios in Los Angeles.

Given its importance in the movie, many fans have traveled to Chippewa Square in Savannah, Georgia, where the bench scenes were filmed. Unfortunately, the bench was a fiberglass prop that the production crew made for Forrest Gump. So, it is no longer in the square, but the James Oglethorpe Monument (which can be seen behind Forrest in the movie) is still there. Regardless, Chippewa Square is undoubtedly the most popular destination for those wanting to travel to the Forrest Gump locations.

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Yemassee and Beaufort, South Carolina

Forrest's Fictional Hometown Of Greenbow, Alabama

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Forrest and Jenny (played by Robin Wright in the Forrest Gump cast) grow up in the small town of Greenbow, Alabama, in the comedy-drama. However, Greenbow is a fictional city, and these scenes weren't even captured in Alabama. Instead, the cast and crew traveled to Yemassee and Beaufort in South Carolina to shoot all the sequences that take place in Greenbow. When young Forrest Gump's braces break off while running from bullies, or when Forrest and Jenny pray in a cornfield while fleeing from her father, all those scenes (and more) were filmed in the towns of Yemassee and Beaufort.

Forrest and Jenny's homes were constructed for the film and torn down after production. Meanwhile, the large oak tree where Forrest and Jenny seek refuge and where Forrest later buries Jenny is located at Plum Hill in Yemassee, South Carolina.

Weingart Stadium, Monterey Park, California

Although Forrest is often teased and bullied in Forrest Gump, things turn around when he receives a football scholarship to the University of Alabama. While some scenes featuring Forrest on the field being coached by real-life figure Bear Bryant are in Forrest Gump, they weren't actually shot on the University of Alabama's campus. Instead, the production crew utilized Weingart Stadium at East Los Angeles College in Monterey Park, California. The stadium had a small crowd of extras, but special effects were used to fill up all the seats and make it look like Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Hunting Island & Fripp Island, South Carolina

Vietnam War

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According to Smithsonian Magazine, the Forrest Gump crew members recreated the terrain of Vietnam on Hunting Island and Fripp Island in South Carolina. As fans will recall, Forrest enlists in the United States Army and is later sent overseas to fight in the Vietnam War alongside his friend Bubba in the middle of the Robert Zemeckis movie. However, all the war scenes were captured in South Carolina, which was seemingly a favorite location for the production crew.

Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, Washington, D.C.

Anti-War Protest Where Forrest & Jenny Reunite

Forrest Gump contains many historical events, including the anti-war March on the Pentagon rally on October 21, 1967. After Forrest returns from the Vietnam War and receives the Medal of Honor, he's walking around Washington, D.C. when he stumbles upon the protest and is accidentally given the mic across from the Washington Monument at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Jenny, who is at the rally, runs through the pool and screams Forrest's name. The childhood friends embrace and reunite for the first time since Forrest left for the war.

Forrest Gump Cast Role Tom Hanks Forrest Gump Robin Wright Jenny Curran Sally Fields Forrest's Mother Gary Sinise Lieutenant Dan Taylor Mykelti Williamson Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue Haley Joel Osment Forrest Gump Jr. Michael Conner Humphreys Young Forrest Hanna R. Hall Young Jenny

Stoney Creek Presbyterian Chapel, McPhersonville, South Carolina

Bubba's Family's Church

Forrest starts his shrimp company in Forrest Gump, but Forrest and Lieutenant Dan can't seem to have any luck catching any shrimp. So, Gary Sinise's character suggests that Forrest pray for them to find shrimp, and he takes that advice to heart. Forrest attends Four Square Baptist Church and sings in the church choir, and the church that Tom Hanks filmed at was Stoney Creek Presbyterian Chapel in McPhersonville, South Carolina.

Marshall Point Lighthouse, Maine

Forrest's Run Across America

Later on in Forrest Gump's timeline, Forrest spontaneously decides to go for a run, and he doesn't stop. He ends up running across the country, meaning that the production crew had to pick out several locations to show Forrest's journey. One of the places that Forrest runs to is the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine. He travels all the way to the end of the dock before turning around to continue running throughout the United States.

Related The Forrest Gump Novel Was Very Different (Every Change Explained) Forrest Gump was based on a novel, and that novel was a very different story when compared to the film. Here are all of the major changes.

Monument Valley, Utah and Arizona

Forrest Decides To Stop Running

Eventually, Forrest's run across America has to come to an end in the 1994 comedy-drama. After a group of people join him on his run, Forrest stops in the middle of U.S. Route 163 in Monument Valley (which encompasses both Utah and Arizona). He turns around and tells them, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now," and starts walking back to Alabama. Monument Valley is a popular filming location as several movies have used it besides Forrest Gump, including Stagecoach, Once Upon a Time in the West, Back to the Future III, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, and more.

Forrest Gump Where to Watch *Availability in US stream

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buy Not available Not available Not available In this iconic piece of American film history, the presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, the events of the Vietnam war, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75. Director Robert Zemeckis Release Date July 6, 1994 Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures Writers Eric Roth Cast Robin Wright , Sally Field Mykelti Williamson , Gary Sinise , Tom Hanks Runtime 142 minutes Expand

Source: Smithsonian Magazine