'FORREST GUMP'

                                      Screenplay by

                                        Eric Roth

                                   Based on a novel by

                                      Winston Groom

               

               EXT. A SAVANNAH STREET - DAY (1981)

               A feather floats through the air. The falling feather.

               A city, Savannah, is revealed in the background. The feather
               floats down toward the city below. The feather drops down
               toward the street below, as people walk past and cars drive
               by, and nearly lands on a man's shoulder.

               He walks across the street, causing the feather to be whisked
               back on its journey. The feather floats above a stopped car.
               The car drives off right as the feather floats down toward
               the street.

               The feather floats under a passing car, then is sent flying
               back up in the air. A MAN sits on a bus bench. The feather
               floats above the ground and finally lands on the man's
               mudsoaked shoe.

               The man reached down and picks up the feather. His name is
               FORREST GUMP. He looks at the feather oddly, moves aside a
               box of chocolates from an old suitcase, then opens the case.

               Inside the old suitcase are an assortment of clothes, a
               pingpong paddle, toothpaste and other personal items.

               Forrest pulls out a book titled 'Curious George,' then places
               the feather inside the book. Forrest closes the suitcase.

               Something in his eyes reveals that Forrest may not be all
               there.

               Forrest looks right as the sound of an arriving bus is heard.

               A bus pulls up. Forrest remains on the bus bench as the bus
               continues on.

               A BLACK WOMAN in a nurse's outfit steps up and sits down at
               the bus bench next to Forrest. The nurse begins to read a
               magazine as Forrest looks at her.

                                     FORREST
                         Hello. My name's Forrest Gump.

               He opens a box of chocolates and holds it out for the nurse.

                                     FORREST
                         You want a chocolate?

               The nurse shakes her head, a bit apprehensive about this
               strange man next to her.

                                     FORREST
                         I could eat about a million and a
                         half of these. My momma always said,
                         'Life was like a box of chocolates.
                         You never know what you're gonna
                         get.'

               Forrest eats a chocolate as he looks down at the nurse's
               shoes.

                                     FORREST
                         Those must be comfortable shoes.
                         I'll bet you could walk all day in
                         shoes like that and not feel a thing.
                         I wish I had shoes like that.

                                     BLACK WOMAN
                         My feet hurt.

                                     FORREST
                         Momma always says there's an awful
                         lot you could tell about a person by
                         their shoes. Where they're going.
                         Where they've been.

               The black woman stares at Forrest as he looks down at his
               own shoes.

                                     FORREST
                         I've worn lots of shoes. I bet if I
                         think about it real hard I could
                         remember my first pair of shoes.

               Forrest closes his eyes tightly.

                                     FORREST
                         Momma said they'd take my anywhere.

               INT. COUNTRY DOCTOR'S OFFICE - GREENBOW, ALABAMA - DAY
               (1951)

               A little boy closes his eyes tightly. It is young Forrest as
               he sits in a doctor's office.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         She said they was my magic shoes.

               Forrest has been fitted with orthopedic shoes and metal leg
               braces.

                                     DOCTOR
                         All right, Forrest, you can open
                         your eyes now. Let's take a little
                         walk around.

               The doctor sets Forrest down on its feet. Forrest walks around
               stiffly. Forrest's mother, MRS. GUMP, watches him as he clanks
               around the room awkwardly.

                                     DOCTOR
                         How do those feel? His legs are
                         strong, Mrs. Gump. As strong as I've
                         ever seen. But his back is as crooked
                         as a politician.

               Forrest walks foreground past the doctor and Mrs. Gump.

                                     DOCTOR
                         But we're gonna straighten him right
                         up now, won't we, Forrest?

               A loud thud is heard as, outside, Forrest falls.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Forrest!

               EXT. GREENBOW, ALABAMA

               Mrs. Gump and young Forrest walk across the street. Forrest
               walks stiffly next to his mother.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Now, when I was a baby, Momma named
                         me after the great Civil War hero,
                         General Nathan Bedford Forrest...

               EXT. RURAL ALABAMA

               A black and white photo of General Nathan Bedford Forrest.

               The photo turns into live action as the General dons a hooded
               sheet over his head.

               The General is in full Ku Klux Klan garb, including his horse.

               The General rides off, followed by a large group of Klan
               members dressed in full uniform.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         She said we was related to him in
                         some way. And, what he did was, he
                         started up this club called the Ku
                         Klux Klan. They'd all dress up in
                         their robes and their bedsheets and
                         act like a bunch of ghosts or spooks
                         or something. They'd even put
                         bedsheets on their horses and ride
                         around. And anyway, that's how I got
                         my name. Forrest Gump.

               EXT. GREENBOW

               Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk across the street.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Momma said that the Forrest part was
                         to remind me that sometimes we all
                         do things that, well, just don't
                         make no sense.

               Forrest stops suddenly as his brace gets stuck. Forrest's
               brace is caught in a gutter grate. Mrs. Gump bends down and
               tries to free Forrest. Two old cronies sit in front of a
               barber shop and watch.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Just wait, let me get it.

               Mrs. Gump struggles to pull the stuck brace from the grate.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Let me get it. Wait, get it this
                         way. Hold on.

               Forrest pulls his foot out of the grate.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         All right.

               Mrs. Gump helps Forrest up onto the sidewalk. She looks up
               and notices the two old man.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Oooh. All right. What are you all
                         staring at? Haven't you ever seen a
                         little boy with braces on his legs
                         before?

               Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the sidewalk past the two
               old men. Mrs. Gump holds tightly onto Forrest's hand.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Don't ever let anybody tell you
                         they're better than you, Forrest. If
                         God intended everybody to be the
                         same, he'd have given us all braces
                         on our legs.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Momma always had a way of explaining
                         things so I could understand them.

               EXT. OAK ALLEY/THE GUMP BOARDING HOUSE

               Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a dirt road. A row of
               mailboxes stands left.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         We lived about a quarter mile of
                         Route 17, about a half mile from the
                         town of Greenbow, Alabama. That's in
                         the county of Greenbow. Our house
                         had been in Momma's family since her
                         grandpa's grandpa's grandpa had come
                         across the ocean about a thousand
                         years ago. Something like that.

               Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along the Gump Boarding House
               driveway.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Since it was just me and Momma and
                         we had all these empty rooms, Momma
                         decided to let those rooms out. Mostly
                         to people passing through. Like from,
                         oh, Mobile, Montgomery, place like
                         that. That's how me and Mommy got
                         money. Mommy was a real smart lady.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Remember what I told you, Forrest.
                         You're no different than anybody
                         else is.

               Mrs. Gump heads Forrest to the porch. She bends down to look
               Forrest in the eye.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Did you hear what I said, Forrest?
                         You're the same as everybody else.
                         You are no different.

               INT. ELEMENTARY SCHOOL / PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE - DAY

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         Your boy's... different, Mrs. Gump.
                         Now, his I.Q. is seventy-five.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Well, we're all different, Mr.
                         Hancock.

               The principal sighs, then stands up.

               INT. HALLWAY

               Forrest sits outside the principal's office and waits.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         She wanted me to have the finest
                         education, so she took me to the
                         Greenbow County Central School. I
                         met the principal and all.

               The principal stands in front of Mrs. Gump. Forrest, sitting
               left, listens.

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         I want to show you something, Mrs.
                         Gump. Now, this is normal.

               The principal holds up a chart with a designations according
               to I.Q. and points to the center of the graph, labeled
               'Normal.' A red line below the normal area is labeled 'State
               Acceptance.' The principal points to the section below the
               acceptance line labeled 'Below.'

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         Forrest is right here. The state
                         requires a minimum I.Q. of eighty to
                         attend public school, Mrs. Gump.
                         He's gonna have to go to a special
                         school. Now, he'll be just fine.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         What does normal mean, anyway? He
                         might be a bit on the slow side, but
                         my boy Forrest is going to get the
                         same opportunities as everyone else.
                         He's not going to some special school
                         to learn to how to re-tread tires.
                         We're talking about five little points
                         here. There must be something can be
                         done.

               INT. HALLWAY

               Forrest sits outside the principal's office.

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         We're a progressive school system.
                         We don't want to see anybody left
                         behind.

               INT. PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         Is there a Mr. Gump, Mrs. Gump?

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         He's on vacation.

               EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE - NIGHT

               Forrest sits on a swing outside the house. Loud organic male
               grunts are heard coming from inside the house. Forrest sits
               on the swing as the grunts continue. The principal steps out
               of the Gump House and wipes the sweat from his face.

               Forrest is sitting on the porch.

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         Well, your momma sure does care about
                         your schooling, son. Mm-mm-mm.

               The principal wipes the sweat from his neck, then looks back
               at Forrest.

                                     PRINCIPAL
                         You don't say much, do you?

               Forrest grunts, imitating him. The principal, embarrassed,
               turns and walks away.

               INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE/FORREST'S BEDROOM

               Mrs. Gump reads from the book 'Curious George' as Forrest
               sits on the bed and listens.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Finally, he had to try it. It looked
                         easy, but, oh, what happened. First
                         there...

                                     FORREST
                         Momma, what's vacation mean?

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Vacation?

                                     FORREST
                         Where Daddy went?

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Vacation's when you go somewhere,
                         and you don't ever come back.

               Forrest lies down on his bed and looks up.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Anyway, I guess you could say me and
                         Momma was on our own.

               EXT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE - DAY

               A cab driver closes the trunk of the car as two women walk
               toward the house. A milkman steps down from the porch.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         But we didn't mind. Our house was
                         never empty. There was always folks
                         comin' and goin'.

                                     MRS. GUMP (V.O.)
                         Suppa.

               INT. GUMP BOARDING HOUSE

               Mrs. Gump steps forward and speaks to all the boarders.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         It's suppa, everyone. Forrest...

               A MAN WITH A CANE steps left across the hall.

                                     MAN WITH CANE
                         My, my. That sure looks special.

               Mrs. Gump looks into a sitting room and informs the boarders
               about dinner.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Gentlemen, would you care to join us
                         for supper? Hurry up and get it before
                         the flies do. I prefer you don't
                         smoke that cigar so close to mealtime.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         Sometimes we had so many people
                         stayin' with us that every room was
                         filled with travelers. You know,
                         folks livin' out of their suitcases,
                         and hat cases, and sample cases.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Well, you go ahead and start. I can't
                         find Forrest.

               Mrs. Gump walks up the stairs.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Forrest... Forrest...

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         One time a young man was staying
                         with us, and he had him a guitar
                         case.

               Mrs. Gump looks into Forrest's room. She hears singing coming
               from another room and walks over to a closed door. Mrs. Gump
               opens the door, revealing a young man with long sideburns as
               he plays the guitar and sings. Forrest holds onto a broom
               and dances oddly. The young man is ELVIS PRESLEY.

                                     ELVIS PRESLEY
                              (sings)
                         'Well, you ain't never caught a
                         rabbit, and you ain't no friend of
                         mine.'

               Forrest's legs rock back and forth to the guitar.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         Forrest! I told you not to bother
                         this nice young man.

                                     ELVIS
                         Oh, no, that's all right, ma'am. I
                         was just showin' him a thing or two
                         on the guitar here.

                                     MRS. GUMP
                         All right, but your supper's ready
                         if y'all want to eat.

                                     ELVIS
                         Yeah, that sounds good. Thank you,
                         ma'am.

               Mrs. Gump leaves and closes the door. Elvis sits back down.

               Forrest stands left, and looks himself in a mirror.

                                     ELVIS
                         Say, man, show me that crazy little
                         walk you just did there. Slow it
                         down some.

               Forrest begins to dance again as Elvis plays the guitar and
               sings.

                                     ELVIS
                              (sings)
                         'You ain't nothin' but a hound, hound
                         dog...'

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         I liked that guitar.

               Forrest dances as he watches himself in the mirror.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         It sounded good.

                                     ELVIS
                              (sings)
                         '...cryin' all the time'

               Forrest rocks up and down on his braced legs, then begins to
               step.

                                     ELVIS
                              (sings)
                         'You ain't nothin' but a hound dog...'

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                         I started moving around to the music,
                         swinging my hips. This one night me
                         and Momma...

               EXT. GREENBOW - NIGHT

               Mrs. Gump and Forrest walk along a sidewalk. A television
               inside a store window reveals Elvis Presley as he performs
               'Houng Dog' on a stage.

                                     FORREST (V.O.)
                     &nb