The story of Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. began in 1996, debuting on Cannery Row in Monterey, California, as the first and only (even to this day) casual restaurant chain based on a motion picture property.
A steadily working television actor beginning in the 1980s, Mykelti Williamson gained widespread recognition with his role as sweet, simple, shrimp enthusiast Bubba Blue in the Academy Award-winning movie "Forrest Gump" (1994).
Forrest Gump (1994) - Bubba on Shrimp Scene | Movieclips
Is Bubba Gump Based on a true story?
Bubba Gump Shrimp began as a fictional company from Forrest Gump, but in 1995, Anthony Zolezzi bought the rights to the name Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. from Paramount Pictures. Zolezzi hoped to use the name to revive his struggling seafood company, Meridian Products.
While the film's eponymous character is never explicitly diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Forrest Gump's triumph over his mental and physical setbacks pays homage to individuals who struggle with any kind of intellectual, developmental, or mental disorder.
Perhaps best remembered for his touching performance as "Bubba" opposite Tom Hanks in the Academy Award-winning Forrest Gump (1994), Mykelti Williamson is one of the most sought-after actors in Hollywood, who has been steadily honing his craft since he first began acting professionally at the age of 18.
On the bus going to boot camp, Forrest met Benjamin Buford Blue, a young black man from Bayou La Batre, Alabama, who went by the nickname "Bubba". Bubba told Forrest about his family history of cooking shrimp and how he had planned to buy his own shrimping boat after getting out of the army.
In real life, Tom Hanks doesn't own the chain restaurant in any way, but he does have an interesting connection to the Times Square location. Before the building was a shrimp lover's paradise, it was his first bank when he lived in New York City in 1979.
Quite simply, Jenny does not feel she deserves to be loved — at least, not in the way that Forrest is ready to love her. This can also explain why Jenny repeatedly runs away from Forrest. With her total lack of self-esteem, Jenny feels that she needs to abandon Forrest in order to protect him.
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. has been around since 1996, two years after the movie's release. It's the only restaurant that has its inception purely in a motion picture. And now, with 34 restaurants worldwide, it's become a bit of an icon, as well–at tourist destinations from Cali to Tokyo.
The fictitious town of 'Greenbow, Alabama', where the young Gump grows up, is Varnville, on Route 68 about 35 miles northwest of Beaufort. Many of the main street shops dressed for the movie have elected to retain the Gump look.
Bubba : Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried.
Forrest again reunites with Jenny, who has quit abusing drugs and turned her life around. Jenny then introduces him to her young son, Forrest Gump Jr., revealing that Forrest is his father. Initially shocked at the revelation, Forrest starts to bond with his son.
They specifically looked at Groom's descriptions of Gump's interactions with his world and other people, comparing those to the DSM-IV criterion for a medical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, ASD. They concluded that Gump meets the requirements.
Who was supposed to be Forrest Gump before Tom Hanks?
Although this '90s classic has become synonymous with Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump nearly starred another Hollywood icon. John Travolta was director Robert Zemeckis's initial choice for the main part.
Bubba, a Southern Black man with Autism-spectrum disorder, appears in the most substantially fleshed out historical event in Forrest Gump: the Vietnam War.
Forrest asks Jenny and Forrest Jr. to live with him, and Jenny proposes to Forrest. The two marry in the backyard. After some time of living together as a family, Jenny dies at age 32. Her illness is never explicitly stated, though screenwriter Eric Roth confirmed in a 2019 interview that she died of AIDS.
During a Vietcong ambush, Lieutenant Dan is badly wounded, but Forrest ignores the command to leave him behind and instead saves his life. Lieutenant Dan's injuries result in the amputation of his legs, and he sees Forrest's heroic act as him being robbed of fulfilling his destiny.
One of the few details the movie does reveal about Forrest Gump's run is that it lasts for almost three-and-a-quarter years (exact time: three years, two months, 14 days, and 16 hours) before calling it quits.
Although the historical events in Forrest Gump are very real, Forrest is not — however, the character was directly inspired by a handful of real people. The first is Sammy Lee Davis, a real-life veteran of the Vietnam War whose story is decidedly similar to Forrest's.
While Forrest Gump uses real historical events as a way to introduce Forrest and his acquaintances as products of America's turbulent narrative, many of the factual occurrences were adjusted to account for Forrest's inclusion and dramatic effect.
