Forrest Gump comes to IU Kokomo
February 23, 2006
KOKOMO, Ind.—Bill Murray was considered for the title role. Dave Chappelle and David Alan Grier turned down the chance to play Bubba. And, Sally Fields is only 10 years older than the actor who played her son in the movie.
That actor was Tom Hanks, and the movie that compared life to “a box of chocolates” was 1994’s Forrest Gump. Indiana University Kokomo will present the film on Thursday and Friday, March 2 and 3, at 7 p.m. in Kresge Auditorium. Rated PG-13, the movie is 142 minutes long. Admission is free and open to the public.
Using actual news footage from the 1950s–1980s, director Robert Zemeckis places the not-so-bright, but always decent, Forrest into notable moments in recent U.S. history. In comic and touching encounters, Forrest earns the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, phones in the Watergate break-in, plays ping-pong in Red China, and tries to help his life-long love Jenny.
Writing for the San Francisco Chronicle, critic Edward Guthmann called Forrest Gump a “gentle fantasy about love and trust . . . suggesting that one man can leave his stamp––through blunders, serendipity, and simple good will—on history.”
Forrest Gump is the fifth of six Academy Award®-winning movies being presented at IU Kokomo this academic year, in recognition of the campus’ six decades of existence.
Persons without campus parking passes should follow the signs for special event parking for this movie.
