The Spirit of Beaufort
Remembering Forrest Gump
story by ERIN WALLACE photos courtesy of THE SPIRIT OF BEAUFORT
I can’t help but think that when Forrest Gump said, “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get,” he was indirectly talking to the small yet memorable town of Beaufort. Our town could not possibly realize the totality of what they were getting themselves into all those years ago when our quaint community became the backdrop for the film Forrest Gump. Even though most of this Academy Award-winning classic was set in Alabama, a substantial portion of the filming did, in fact, occur in Beaufort. In its time, Forrest Gump was a massive success at the box office! It even became the top-grossing film in the United States released that year and earned over $678.2 million worldwide during its theatrical debut, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 1994. It doesn’t end there, as the soundtrack sold over 12 million copies. Today, it still reigns as one of the best movies of all time, with movie characters that will win you over time and time again as you visit them in your memories, no matter where life takes you.
If you are a fan of Beaufort and Forrest Gump, well, I have good news for you; at the Beaufort International Film Festival (BIFF), for the first time ever this month, The Spirit of Beaufort: Remembering Forrest Gump will premiere! The highly esteemed BIFF directors/presidents Ron and Rebecca Tucker, alongside the extremely talented filmmaker Daniel Stanislawski and lovely executive producer Irene Goodnight, are the ones responsible for this long-anticipated production. To be more specific, Daniel created this documentary film and produced it together with the Tuckers and Irene; yet another humble brag to tuck into the back-pocket success of Beaufort as 3 of the 4 producers call the Lowcountry home. Now, the real question is, how can one remember Forrest Gump exactly? I’m glad you asked, it is imperative to note that this is a 90-minute documentary featuring interviews with residents who had unique behind-the-scenes roles. Daniel writes, “The documentary film is a form of observation of the inhabitants of the City of Beaufort, South Carolina, who in the 1990s directly or indirectly participated in the production of the film Forrest Gump and how this cult production personally influenced these people.”
This most certainly is a documentary you won’t want to miss. It starts with the dream of a Polish man (Daniel) whose all-time favorite movie is Forrest Gump. While in Poland, Daniel stumbles upon a Beaufortonian article about Forrest Gump and how it came to be. This article mentions the town’s local shop, The Chocolate Tree (featured in Forrest Gump, who also sends Tom Hanks his favorite chocolate every year as a gift), and Irene Goodnight, who sings in Forrest Gump. Surprisingly enough, it was right there at that moment that Daniel’s idea to create this documentary was born, and he immediately made contact with Irene Goodnight. Thus, Daniel and Irene would go on to write to each other for a long span of time until Daniel officially hopped on over to Beaufort many times over four years crafting the film, all while transporting his film equipment from Poland to the USA each time he traveled; what determination! Fun fact: The two have worked together before, as Daniel shot two music videos of Irene in Beaufort.
Furthermore, I asked Daniel what the best part of making this film was, and for him, it was interviewing people, which makes sense as the inhabitants of Beaufort are a special bunch. All these individuals deeply impacted the legendary movie Forrest Gump, and their memories and emotions from all those years ago will be honored for the first time—out in the open—for the world to hear and see during the BIFF. Even though this is Daniel’s first feature-length film, he is incredibly proud that he decided to undergo such a complicated project. From start to finish, Daniel pushed on with perseverance. He never once thought about quitting and reiterates that he could never have done it without the help of his team. Daniel says, “I’m very grateful to the people here in Beaufort who helped me a lot with this film, helped me make my dream come true. Special thanks to some fantastic and special people: Ron Tucker, Rebecca Hood Tucker, Irene Goodnight, Paul Dengler, and Pernando Whitehead. Thank you very much.”
Regarding specific contributions toward the film, the Tuckers worked together as a team with Irene and Daniel to offer input on what their research on the film revealed when the BIFF celebrated the 20th anniversary of the film in 2014. At that time, the Tuckers honored Academy Award-winning film editor Arthur Schmidt with an award at the BIFF. When the time came for interviews for The Spirit of Beaufort, Ron and Rebecca shared and facilitated the meeting of the location manager Mary Morgan Kerlagon; SC film project director Dan Rogers; local dentist Dr. Gerald Cummings; Teresa Denton, who played Lt. Dan’s fiancé in the movie; Juan Singleton, who was a reporter at WJWJ (the call letters for the local tv station) at the time and played a reporter in the film; and sound man Jonathan Gaynor, who provided copies of the original storyboard. These connections are impressive and speak volumes about the relational nature the Tuckers have nurtured around our special little town. Overall, BIFF wouldn’t be where they are today success-wise if it wasn’t for the Tuckers’ tremendous efforts on stage and behind the scenes.
All this being said, The Spirit of Beaufort has been four years in the making. What started in 2020 finished at the perfect time, with the new year in tow since it’s the 30th anniversary of Forrest Gump. This was definitely no coincidence and something you will want to see at the BIFF! Run on over to www.beaufortfilmfestival.com for more information. The Beaufort Film Society is beyond excited to announce that renowned actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan) will be honored with the Pat Conroy Lifetime Achievement Award scheduled for February 20-25. Ron Tucker, BIFF president, mentions, “We are honored to have Gary Sinise back in Beaufort, where the character of Lt. Dan first appeared nearly 30 years ago. His body of work as an artist and humanitarian is worthy of celebration.”
Up and down the Lowcountry, Forrest Gump’s tracks can be identified, whether it’s at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort campus, which was magically transformed into Gump Medical Center through the use of CGI or the scenes of Forrest cutting grass that were filmed at the Basil Green Complex. Now, we can’t forget the running scene where Forrest is interviewed by the press, which was shot on our very own Woods Memorial Bridge. A “Mississippi River” sign was added to the bridge to clear up any confusion. As Bubba says, “Shrimp is the fruit of the sea…” and this “fruit” was seen on the dock and boathouse on Coosaw Island, owned by Stan and Marie Lawson, which was in turn modified into Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. And, of course, those indelible shrimp boat scenes were shot along Lucy Creek on Lady’s Island.
Also, all the shrimp caught after the hurricane scene belonged to Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island, a family-owned shrimp company around these parts that has served the Lowcountry for more than 70 years. Are you proud of your fellow Beaufort folks yet? A couple more Beaufort moments to identify in the movie (out of many more not mentioned in this piece) is the scene of Forrest running through Vietnam while under fire, which happened to be filmed on Hunting and Fripp islands. Especially of note, the spot where Forrest dropped off the wounded soldiers was the lagoon on Hunting Island. Lastly, the Gump family home set was built along the Combahee River near Yemassee. Sadly, though, the home was hastily built and not up to code, so it was torn down not soon after filming.
The spirit of Beaufort is interwoven throughout all the stories of the people of this town, passed on from generation to generation. Forrest Gump was most assuredly a catalyst for the worldwide awareness of the beauty of Beaufort, but let it be known that the spirit of Beaufort existed far before we all did. Granted, this town has never been the same since Forrest Gump, and thank goodness for that.
