Genre: Comedy/Drama/Fantasy/Sequel.
Studio:
Unknown.
Production Company:
Paramount Pictures.
Project Phase: Rumored.
Who's In It:
No one's committed, yet.
Who's Making It:
Eric Roth (Screenwriter?); Wendy Finerman (Producer).
Premise: After losing all the Bubba Gump shrimp money, Forrest takes on many more mis-adventures in order to support Little Forrest. These (may) include working as a janitor in a strip joint, wandering into the Iran-Contra scandal, bringing down the Berlin Wall, meeting Ronald Reagan, and tinkering with the formula for New Coke.
Release Date: 1999, with flashbacks to 1990, 1986, 1983...
Comments: As with all movies that make a lot of money (number 5 on the All Time Box Office leaders list with $330M domestic), what do you do? You make a sequel. This one, based on Winston Groom's novel of the same name, was written to exploit the success of Forrest Gump, the movie.
Groom, one of many writers not pleased with the film adaptation of his work, appears to have honed in on what the movie industry wants with his follow-up. Still, even though the fact that the Gump & Co. storyline 'fits' on the screen, Groom won't be adapting his novel into a screenplay.
Rumors: Tom Hanks said he won't reprise his role as the pea-brained Gump. Is Hanks one to give in to the temptations of the all mighty dollar? (Think Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 4.) We'll see.
Scoop Feedback:
[Flashbacks compiled by 'Ace'.]
Sept. 4, 1995... Snapped up by Paramount Pictures for a cool million, Groom's latest novel Gump & Co. not surprisingly reads like raw material for a movie script. Written entirely in Gump's grating, folksy jargon ("he was busy as a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest"), the book again puts our hapless hero on the fringes of history. [Originally appeared in the annals of People magazine.]
Feb. 6, 1997... The film will be made, but the screenplay has yet to be written. Eric Roth is expected to adapt it.
April 11, 1997... Tom Hanks has stated he WILL NOT return to portray his mentally retarded character that earned him another Oscar. [Thanks to Mike S.]
Nov. 28, 1997... From an avid fan and writer:
"I recently had the pleasure of meeting one Winston Groom, author of Forrest Gump (among other things), at a writer's conference. We spoke at length about 'Gump', and how I felt that the novel had made a wonderful transition onto film. He asked me if I had read the sequel, 'Gump & Co.', and I admitted I hadn't. He told me that Paramount was beginning the process of putting together the film version. According to Groom, Paramount wants all of the people that made the original a success to return: Eric Roth to pen the script, Robert Zemeckis to direct, and Tom Hanks to star. No word on if Gary Sinise would reprise his role as Lt. Dan (my favorite character in the film).
"After speaking with Groom, I went out and purchased 'Gump & Co.' I haven't read it yet, but the synopsis on the cover does outline the basics: Forrest loses all his Shrimp money and is forced to embark on a number of different adventures to support Forrest Jr. These include working as a janitor in a strip joint, playing professional football, and becoming a hog farmer. This is by no means what will appear in the movie, however; those who read 'Forrest Gump' know that the book is markedly different from the film (for example, in the novel, Jenny never died)." [We appreciate the conference notes Tom B.!]
January 26, 1998... John Hughes (director Uncle Buck, Weird Science) may be in line to make a sequel to the original classic. Tom Hanks will definitely not do a sequel, but Nicholas Cage and Jason Patric are serious possibles. Jason Patric? [Questioned, too, by 'Aperonio'.]
May 18, 1998... An anonymous scooper informs us that Wendy Finerman is producing this film (well, when it gets around to becoming a film...) [Anonymous.]
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