Good day, Peter Helly here, welcome to you Ain't Seen Nothing Yet? The Movie Podcast, where our chat to a movie lover about a classic or beloved movie they haven't quite got around to watching until now. And today's guest comedian Tanya Hennessy.
Fun wax on wax, I do wish we could chat light and girl, but I'm having an old friend for dinner.
Happening right now.
You don't see nothing new.
Tanya Hennessy has worked at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a stage manager. She also worked at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival as a stage manager. One day she thought, fuck it, I reckon, I could have a crack at this because she launched herself a radio career, beginning in Newcastle The Griff the Woman with the Camera. But it's been online where the Tanya Hennessy Express is really gathered momentum.
Tanya's bandless energy and tireless work ethic on top of being bloody funny, has seen her build her own fan base a quarter of a million followers on Insta and counting an author. A comedian appearing on Hughes Do we have a problem? Drunk History? And of course I'm a celebrity, Get me out of here. You can also hear Tenure on her very own podcast, I can't stop with Tanya Hennessy and Steph Tisdall.
Why I'm Toni Hersey awkwardly? And you know what my favorite three films are? Actually I could do more than three.
Sister Act two, High School Musical two and not like this Choice and blow.
I've left pieces of my heart here and there, and now there's almost not enough to stay alive.
And up until Wednesday this week or Wednesday. Wait, that's for you, Pete. I had never seen Forrest Gump.
Hello, my name's Forrest. Forrest Gump.
Do you want a chocolate?
I could eat about a million and a half of these.
My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates.
You never know what you're going to get, well, depending on your taste in chocolates. Forrest Gump may have been given a Carab Turkish delight at birth. Born with a bent spine, a lower Q, and an absent father, Forrest, played by Oscar Winning Tom Hanks, is guided through adolescence by his homegrown wisdom spinning mum, Missus Gump played by
Sally Field. Forest Gump is as much an examination of America as it is about our protagonist as he floats through life, occasionally impacting world shaping events from Elvis's pelvic thrust through the Nixon's Watergate downfall. Another Robert Zamecha's classic from the pen of the legendary screenwriter Eric Roth, a winner of six Oscars. Tanya Hennessy, did you enjoy this box of chocolates?
I don't believe. I've never seen it before. And you know what, even when I went to watch it, I was like, ah, you know, like I was actually quite labored about it because I put it off obviously so long, because I obviously wasn't interested, and I was like, oh, I better watch this. Peter will kill me if I don't.
You had pdmitted to it.
Yes, I bloody loved it. It was fucking amazing. I was weeping, it was It's long. It's fucking long. And you know what's so funny, all those quotable things like laugh is like abuts chocolates and runs run. I've been saying my whole life, trying to you know, be cool and trying to know what I'm talking about, never seeing the film, and they actually dropped those quotes really close to the very you know topp show, and then the whole way through you're sort of waiting for more quotes.
But you, like you said in your intro, it's so historically based. It's sort of like Forest Gump was there for every single historical moment in US history from the sixties to seventies. It was I was like, who wrote this fucking masterpiece?
Well, it was Eric Roth, who is one of the legendary Hollywood screenwriters. He's written, amongst other things, The Horse Whisper and The Inside Ale Munich, The Curious Case of Beadamin Button, A Star is Born more recently, and if you love Citizen k And he wrote mank, which is currently on Netflix, about the writing of Citizen Kan. He also wrote sixty five epps of House of Cards. He is an absolute man in control of his craft. Yes,
so he is awesome. I'm so relieved that you responded to Forrest Gump and I had the same feeling of rewatching. I haven't watched it for a long time, so I was like, am I go you enjoy this as much as I remembered that I saw this in London in nineteen ninety four, I was traveling by myself. I was overseas for about nine months and I saw two films in that time. I saw Forest Gump and I saw three four Weddings and a Funeral, And I literally wrote home about this is when I was writing letters. This
is how long ago it was. It wasn't email. I wrote home about Forest Gump. I wrote to my friend Sarah and said, Sarah, you got to see this movie. I think it comes out in Australia in six months time, but you gotta see Forest Gump. And I only saw it because I was kind of curious as to see what Tom Hanks did after Philadelphia. He won the Oscar year before he wins the Oscar again for Forrest Gump.
So I was just curious and was just like, there's no other film I can think that's quite like for Us Gump.
Yeah, and you know, like Sally Field is, oh god, the second I was like, I didn't know Sally Field was in this. You know, she's just so nostalgic. I don't know she you know from I guess Missus Doubtfire. Growing up, I was like, you know, a bit like Robin Williams has that sort of fatherly and maternal energy.
But like when it came out, I was in year three, So if I hadn't watched it when I was a kid, I wouldn't have understood just how deeply laid and complex and fabulous this film is and how amazing is I've never seen Tom Hanks be so young, because I've always just known him as like an older guy. I was like, oh my god, Tom Hanks is young in this it is. I just can't believe that I haven't seen it. I'm actually like kind of embarrassed that I hadn't seen it.
Up until this point, this has been a feature of the podcast, basically people being hughsy last week was embarrassing. He had never seen Pretty in Pink. So you are okay, you are safe. This is a safe space and we'll come back.
Classic, isn't it.
It's such a question.
It's like, how embarrassed, And I'm such a I watched films three, four films a week.
Yeah yeah, well, I mean this is what this podcast is about. There, we all have. Even I am a movie lover, and I embrace it. I I getting toxicated by the thought of watching, you know, movies, and literally sometimes too but I was really happy with the way this film held up for me, at least watching it or these years later.
I'm deeper meaning in it as well.
John Lennon, well, absolutely that and just you know so many other things which we will get to because there are so many things to unpack about Forrest Gut. But you have certainly hit the ground running with your three your films. This may come as a shock. I'm not sure if we've had listen, sister did you say Sister Act two? Right? Okay, let's start. Let's start there, sister act. We may have had a sister act somewhere, or may have got a special mention, but certainly Sister Act two.
Back in the habit is.
That the it is Lauren what's her last name? Lauren Hill?
And I love I love surprising because I don't ask, I guess what the films are, so I'm just responding in the moment. And I love when I'm surprised, and usually I am surprised, but I'm deeply surprised in a way. Mark Humphrey's a couple of weeks ago had hook Adam's Family Values and both Inger I.
Did, I've not listened to that one but I should because now I feel like I'm a Marc Camfrey stand because I fucking love hook. But I can't watch it ever since Robin died, I can't watch it. I almost can't watch any of the films he's been in.
I'm a bit traumatized, right, Okay, Okay, well, thank me. Rob Williams isn't in Sister Act too, so that will always be safe viewing it. For you, what do you love about Sister Act two that that maybe elevates it over Sister Act?
Okay, all right, So there's this quote in it that I actually have in my second book, I like, blew it up. It's so embarrassing. It says, if you wake up and this is what Sister Mary Clarence, who's uh will be Goldberg, says to Lauren Hill's character, who's like, oh, do I be a singer, Ror Doway, you know, be an academic or do I go, you know, do my schooling and blah blah blah, And she goes, if you wake up every day thinking about singing, the girl, you've
got to be a singer. And for me, as a kid growing up very eccentric and different and you know, performative, I didn't have that person, and I felt like will Be Goldberg in that moment was speaking to me. She was but like, you know, if you're going to be an idiot, you can't think of anything else when you wake up. You should be a professional idiot. And I was like, I hear you will be Yes. The soundtrack's wild,
it's like nineties like, and the singing is incredible. I think like the Journey of all the Kids is really incredible. I don't know, I just love I love that movie. I can watch it over and over again.
So do you love Sister Act and then this blew your mind even further? Or did you see Sister Act two first and then go back and watch Sister Act?
Or yeah, so Sister Act too? And then I remember I'd be a kid and pretend to be sick so I could get it on VHS like a weekly for two bucks from Video Easy, so I could watch Sister Act too, because I was like, oh my god, look at this nun teaching these people house. I don't know, I just I think it's very nostalgic as well.
So the sen I'm mu sure I ever have seen Sister Act too. I've seen Sister act and it was a huge movie when it came out, and that's basically correct me. If I'm wrong, would be Goldberg. Has she committed the crime? Is she hiding? Is she hiding the nuns? She's hiding in the nuns with the nuns? And then where does this di act to go?
So she's still in hiding from some I think it's like a drug gang, which is of course I kind of live for. And the nuns are trying to resper
resurrector school. So they go teach in a high school and she gets the music class Sister Mary Clarence, and all the kids are like, we don't want to be doing there as well hard aus you know, we were to fight people and you know it's just not They don't want to be at school, and she's like, well, we're going to start a choir because I reckon all of you guys have a voice, and wouldn't you know it, they all have a voice and could all sing an
eight part harmony and dance unbelievably. And then they go to a competition with other high schools to compete and that's their school wins for being different and original, which again that theme speaks to me because I've always been a bit of a weirdo and to see a weirdo win that sort of theme, really, you know, is invigorating for me.
And that is that a theme that runs through High School Musical too. I have not seen any of the high school musicals.
That's because you're a normal person.
Well, a lot of people have seen High School Musical. And I'm sure high School Musical too. What elevates High School Musical two over the original?
So, Pete, you got to know, I'm not like as jen Z. I'm like a Milentium. I'm thirty five. Yeah. High School Musical came out when I was twenty five. I was like, I just it's so dumb and so naff, but it's just a really good story told with stupid song and dance. Kenny Ortagers the choreographer and the director, and he was like Michael Jackson's director, and he did he did High School Musical, He's done the Descendants movies,
he's done he did Beaches. He's sort of like a bit of anything that man touches turns to gold kind of guy. And to be honest, it's in there because it's just a bit. It's easy to watch because I like to do three things at once. So it's a movie I can watch and be on my phone at the same time.
There are cinema Roger Ebert is rolling in his grave if he's listening to this. You're not supposed to be on your phone, but I know you may once you've watched you watched movies a certain amount of times, of course, you know you can, you know, have them one in the background. And this podcast we've explored many times the idea of like flicking finding a movie and going, okay, well I need to sit down and watch the rest of this movie, and as you do, of course, you know, be on your phone.
Do some comfort watch stuff like do you comfort watch TV?
Absolutely? Like you know, when I think, whenever I sit down and watch something, it's it's a choice I'm making. Am I comfort watching or am I finding something something new? You know? Is it a comfort watch? If I'm with my wife? Is whatever? One of our big go tos is the American President? Oh right, like fla, well, no, that's it's it's Michael Douglas and that bending like it's a romantic comedy, so it's it's Aaron Sorkin wrote that and it's it's a really smart, uh you know, kind
of romantic comedy. You know, it's it's I should watch that. Yeah, it's it's it's a really it's a really good one. It's funny because you see Michael Douglas is the American President and Martin Sheen is the vice president. And it's kind of if you're a West fan, Oh, it's right. You know, it's like saying Bartlet as the vice president.
That's interesting. You know what I comfort watch mean Girls, but also I'll come foot watch Silence of the Lamb.
Oh. Wow, have you misunderstood what comfort means?
No?
But I feel like it's like it's comfortable because I know the plot, I know the story, and I'm just really obsessed with Jodie Foster.
Yeah.
Great, and the character of Hannibal Lecter. You know, like I've watched the whole series and then I've watched Hannibal the TV series. I'm really obsessed with him being a cannibal. And like I always think, if the option came up to eat human flesh, would I eat it? I don't know. Maybe, you know there's tribes. I got my hair done once thuse shit normally when they wash and dry your hair or do your shampoo your hair, they talk about like, oh,
the weather's different our COVID. This woman goes to me, I got to tell you something, thinking about getting my whole face tattooed. And I was like why and she's like, oh, it's speaking type in New Guinea. And I was like, oh cool, yeah for me. She's like yeah, but I either get my whole face or nothing. And I was like, oh okay. She's like yeah, my tribe's still like cannibal realistic. And I was like, okay, she's doing my hair and she's like, yeah, you know, Japanese people taste like pork.
And I was like, okay, wow, she's currently dating Army Hammer.
Yeah she is. Imagine. The whole time I was thinking, like in this tribe is the penis? Like the best part?
Well, you did. I'm a celebrity. You probably have eaten penis? You know, I did you eat penis in arm a celebrity? Yeah?
I ate almost anything that was not a trial that was just boredom. I did eate penis. It wasn't because the thing is when you're in there, when you get those trans it's actually really exciting because you're like, oh, sustenance.
Yeah, so what was? What was? Do you remember the worst thing you ate?
I ate this maggot larvae. Oh, and that was really tough.
And then.
They blindfold you and put you back in a van to go back to the cab and you just want to mint, but they won't give you a mint, so you like, do I have to wait five hours to get this taste out of my mouth? It's pretty tough.
Like, yeah, I'm not sure how we got cannibalism and penises from high school musical too, But.
About cannibalism, I know, have you?
One of my favorite songs is the Great Australian Song from the band Weddings Parties. Anything called a Tale they Won't Believe, and it's about it's about escapees from a penal colony in Tasmania back in the day and they all basically eat each other and yeah, a tale they won't believe. Check it out. It's an epic Hey Blow, Johnny Depp, I love True Crime.
I love this film. He is unbelievable. He goes from like a child right the way through to I guess the end of his life. If you've not seen Blow, you have. It's inconceivably good. I like Blood Diamond as well. I don't like that tex sense he does as a South African. It's just not great. It's as good as one. But Blow is I just I just love the historical elements to it. I love how many decades it moves through. I think all the performances are amazing. Penelope Cruise, Jesus crap.
It was the first time I think I kind of saw Penelope Cruise. I might be Ryan, you may have made a couple of films in that, you know, broke out of South America before that, but yeah, I do remember being her, being struck by her in that film.
And Rachel Griffiths is Johnny Dere's mom in it, and I I really so. Rachel Griffiths loves Steph who I do a podcast with, loves Christian Hull, who's one of my best friends. And I'm like, Rachel, you know why exists because I exist on both of their platforms. Can you please like just follow me so I can fangirl you for being honestly just so iconic in fucking Blow. She's great and Muriel's wedding and everything else she's done.
But blow blew my mind. And if you don't know what it's about, it's about like cocaine smuggling and how cocaine came from Columbia to the States and just how impactful it was. What's what's the guy's name, the drug lord's name, bablo As. Yes, so it's about George Young who was basically one of the biggest drug lords or ever. I don't mind a story about a drug or any sort of crime because I'm just I would never do it.
Yeah, And they provide a lovely escapies and they usually they usually tense, they're exciting. You know, it's it's something you know you wouldn't wish upon, you know, your own family and friends, but you're happy to see how the people go through it. And I love a crime film. Good Fellas is one of my all time folks, I mean the Godfather's part. Yeah, I feel like they're they're above crime in a way. They've got something a whole
lot of other things going on in their worlds. But they are three surprising selections, all good films, not taking not taking anything away from them. This is an open, free, judgment free space. But thank you for those And you cannot.
Say, it's a judgment free zone with that ton of the podcast. Okay, Also, I can see you on zoom.
So what's what's interesting is when Mark Coumphy's coming to those three films, somebody on Twitter kind of went him a little bit and said, I can't believe you had Adam's family values in This is travesty and he and he was like, well, hang on, these are the films that I like, you know, and and I jumped in a you know I start from because it's like, yeah, these are just whatever the films you like, of the films you like, and this is one.
Sweet we had reasons as well.
Like exactly, and I love that you have Sister Act two in there based on something that you have taken from that film and taken with you for the rest of your life.
Yeah, I love a sequel. Greece too, love it. I hate Greece one.
No, you don't hate Greece one.
I don't hate it. I don't hate it. I don't hate it. It's fine. But I've watched Grease Too and know the song so much more to Grease too, like FIFA in those pleasan pants.
Yes, I can't bring myself to watch Greece two because a lot of people are like that, Yeah, because I've only seen one other film more than I've seen Greece, and that's Star Wars and.
Oh pete, I've never seen Star Wars.
Oh well, back on next week's beat, you did a punch on on Star Wars. But there are surprisingly more people when I ask around about what movie would you like to watch? Star Wars has come up more than you would think. I think it's because you know, it's arguably the biggest film of all time, and you know if you've seen it. If you haven't, you.
Know, But I've watched all the Family Guy parodies, so I feel like I know it well.
I feel like with Star Wars there's no other film that you would without seeing it, you would be loaded with references, like you said, with Forrest Gump, you know, Box of Chocolates, you know, Run for Us, Run and there's a couple there. But with Star Wars, you would know, you would know, like you would know what Darth Vader looks like. You know, Luke Skywalker, is that the hero? You know Princess Laya and her you know her hair?
Three?
Yeah, yeah, absolutely, all right, let's get on with it. There is a film from nineteen ninety four, We Are Heated Discuss It won six Oscars, Who's directed by Robert Zonmechis, and it is an absolute classic. And I the only thing I heard from you this week was that you bowled your eyes out. Yeah. Yeah, so it does get you and I I remember seeing this when I was younger. I think I was twenty one, and it really it
really hit me in all of the right places. So you knew Box of chocolates and you run, Forest Run. I imagine you knew you knew the voice that Forrest had. How did you find the voice?
Loved it, I actually thought, And I'm really funny with accents, Like I love Nicole Kidman, but she does come in out of an accent, but I'm obsessed with her.
I'm obsessed with.
Nicole Kidman, like like I actually interviewed her once, and I'm sure you've interviewed her multiple times, but I just
stared at her in like adoration. But his accent is like floorless, and I love I love how it starts with him just telling his story and you don't sort of know why he's telling this stranger, but you get the type of person he is straight away, and I think watching it now, I understand that he probably you know, is on an autism spectrum or I'm not one hundred percent sure, but he's so consistent in his delivery of this persona that commitment to the character driven through the
script is what makes it. His performance really drives that, like you know what I mean, Yeah.
I think I think over the years and I haven't seen it for a long time, but you know, I saw this. I watched it this week, but I thought, you know, if I was, you know, reminisce on past oscar winners and Tom Hanks winning it for Forrest Gump, I'm not sure if I would have gone, Yeah, he absolutely deserved that. But watching it again and being reminded how good he is, Like he said, the accent alone is flawless, but just his like he could have been in the wrong hands, and I guess I can tell you.
John Travola was offered this, he knocked it back. Bill Murray knocked it back, Chevy Chase was. I can't imagine any of them, but Tom Hanks knocks it out of the part. There are so many little moments and big moments where when he's not talking as well, which is I think he's Yeah, the beauty for moments.
It's really nuanced in his performance. It's the way he stands, Tom Hanks, It's Forrest Gump, the way he stands, the way he hears things, the way he listens and engages and reacts. All of that makes this such a complexly holistic character and all these wonderful things that happened to him along the way you can actually go because I think on paper, you go, this is ridiculous, but when you see his performance it actually makes sense.
Well that's that's a really good it's a really good point because when you I think, make a movie or any kind of performance, it could be on stage or you can go anywhere. And that's a great thing about art. We can take you any bit where, but you have to build your world and the culture around it, and then if you get those things right, then you can go anywhere. I'm sure we've all seen things on stage or the movies where you can't wait, WHOA that didn't
make sense. Everything has to make sense, and Robertson, Mekis and Eric Ruth have done a great job in making this world make We don't question that Forrest has, you know, has has inspired Elvis, has had all these white house meetings and become a ping pong champion. We just go yes, yes, why it is absurd.
It's absurd as a script, but the performance justifies it. It really doesn't. And there's this beautiful line in there, you know, when he's talking to the sergeant Dan and he goes, do you know what it's like to lose your legs or to not know how to use your legs? And he just bluntly goes yes. And that's a wonderful line and such a great indication of the persona and person that he is. He's so logical and matter of fact, but kind and warm.
Yeah. You mentioned autism earlier, and there has been debate whether he is autistic or not. They didn't raise it in the script because autism wasn't really on the you know, on everybody's radar in the nineteen sixties and seventies. I haven't heard the filmmaker's comment or confirm whether he is autistic or not. The other way of looking at it is, you know, he may be, and he made me both.
It's a great advert for you know, being a Buddhist because he is just completely in the moment that you know, it's a great advertisement for being in the moment, and you know and that you know, that's what makes him so good in the army, because you know, the lieutenant kind of responds to him, calls him a genius because he just says, I'll do whatever you want me to do this sir.
You know, it's very pragmatic approach. He's like, they told me to do this, so I'll just do it. He doesn't get me his own way, he sort of thing. It's very logical. I tell you, Jenny annoyed me the entirest show. I was like, Jenny, get your shit together, mate, But you can see her trauma, and I think knowing her damage and her trauma that you saw early on, you did it was all justified. Her action and behavior was all justified. But I was just like, love Forest, like he loves you.
I know, Oh yeah, I feel And we might come back to Jenny because I think there's a fair bit of discuss with Jenny. Yeah, we mon't go through the characters, because there's some great characters in this week, but I don't want to go back to the very same fact, the very first thing we see with the feather. What did you think of the feather? What did you make of it? Did you have any thoughts on what it meant?
Well, you know, I don't know if we should go to the end as well, because obviously that theme is repeated. I was like, this made gave the imagery of that it's anyone's story and wherever the feather falls is the story we're going to hear. And I love that this story could have happened to anyone. Anyone could be extraordinary. Everyone has brilliant stories to tell, and everyone has a worthy story to hear, which I love the I love people like the thing I missed about being on radio
is getting on air and hearing people's stories. Yeah, people are fucking amazing. So hearing I felt like the feather, Yeah, what did you take?
My take was exactly the same thing where I mean, destiny and chance gets spoken about a lot in this film. So yes, I think I think the feather is that, and it's that random nature of and also the lands at forest's feet. This is the man that is you know, could be over would be overlooked by most people who walk past him on the street. In fact, when he's trying to make conversation to people at the bus stop.
They don't want to engage with him. Like, so the fact that this feather has given, you know, Forrest's a chance to kind of share his story. I think, such a beautiful thing. So you know, was it a chance or was it you know, was a destiny?
So good? I feel like I'm in Uni. But like there's that that element where the lady's not talking, the nurse isn't speaking to him at the beginning, and I go, oh, sometimes I've been that person when I've perceived someone is crazy and not. But you know, like I've been like, oh, i' mean doing my own thing. I'm fucking on my phone and someone talks to you and you're a bit like yeah, sure, And I thought, I can't do that anymore because what if I miss out on this brilliant moment and this story.
You know, like that's actually it brought some awareness to myself.
Yeah, but the bar is going to be really high that you're going to go five minutes and you're like, you're not Forest Gump. You're just a dude telling me about how he masturbates at home.
So horror movies great, story though, thank you so much. Put that on the podcast that in the next book. But besides that, No, but like, don't you reckon any time you engage with somebody that you normally wouldn't you always get a story at Oh?
Absolutely? And I and I sometimes do it more of a summer because I have more time, you know, and I kind of put my defenses down a little bit. Sometimes I do walk around kind of you know, feeling like I hope I can just get in and mapp here. And when you do, it's and sometimes it's like I'll I'm up with people that I know, like the people that I know might have new friends over am I. I have a little bit of a setting where I'm like, I think I've met all the good people that I
need to meet. I have enough nice people in my life. I think I've met all the nice people. I think I think I met them all. Yeah, and then people constantly you know, surprised.
They're the best. Like that excites me, Like, I don't know, That's why I do half the dumb stuff I do. I went to like a hugging circle once, okay, please, there's just like a bunch of women hugging with their periods and crystals in a circle, and I just because I was like, I need to know what this is like and hugging a stranger for a long time, you know, what does it feel like? And who are these people? And why are they here?
Yeah?
What's missing? Or what are they getting that we're missing?
Yeah?
You know, like because I done radio in every small town ever like I you know, I was Miss Warwick show girl, you know, and all those people you wouldn't I wouldn't ordinarily meet, So any chance I can meet someone extraordinary and extraordinary is such an interesting word because some people think extraordinaries, you know Johnny Depp, but some people think extraordinary is the guy who works at were Worth doing night packing and.
Has absolutely absolutely I just want to go back to the voice ago. I forgot to mention it earlier. That was behind the scenes thing. Tom Hanks was a bit reluctant to go full kind of Southern accent, and Roberts Mechus was keen for him to do it, and then he was only convinced because he heard because he thought the way it was picture him that he might that
doing it. That Thick may have been taking the piss, but then he met the young actor Michael kind of Humphriyes, who played Young Forrest, and that's exactly how he spoke. So he just went ah, which I think is a really nice stories. Is like here, you know, like in Tom's mind, he probably hadn't met someone who has spoken that with that thicken accent. But then you meet somebody from the area where you, you know, you were supposed to be from, You're like, okay, well it makes sense now,
you know, it makes sense much. I felt like it was a parody, but now that okay, this is that if it will speak as wrong, if he loves I'm nothing, I'll thank you Alledge for just fun d andy.
So that little kid wasn't putting.
On an accent, no that that apparently that's how he speaks.
He was a great kid, and it would have been very difficult in those leg braces to perform and have that sort of physical limitation.
Yeah, yeah, he was. He was really good. He was really I mean the movie just like you said that, it kind of starts obviously with young Forest, and then
there's moves pretty you know quickly. You know, I think it's a right amount of time to set up you know, the Jenny and the and the young Forest, and also that's that, you know, like we see Forrest as his really sweet kind of character, and if it was just about Forest, it would be quite you know, I think Sakker and you know, to sit through all of it,
but he's just surrounded by these really interesting characters. And he's praying in the corn field with his one and only friend, one and only friend Jenny, whose father is abusing. Oh I'm beknownst to Forrest, but she's praying to be a bird so you can fly away. And like that's really kind of heavy stuff. You know, it's really full on.
And then when you talk about think about that feather, you wonder is there and probably is a correlation there. And the way that Forest describes these people are so innocent, but you know as an adult what he's saying, you know, his la as child Forrest, he says, oh, you know, Jenny's father hugs and kisses.
Her a lot, and you yeah.
He touches her a lot or whatever, and you just know that it's it's a really abusive, awful relationship.
And the lot comes back to that famous line, which I think we ordered kind of sometimes we make fun of which is actually fine once it's out, you know, it becomes a thing sometimes. But life is like a box of chocolates, you know, and they've all been given. Jenny's the chocolates Jenny was given it was really, you know, a shitty box of chocolates, you know. And and as
was Forrest. But Forrest has been able to make something, you know, through the resilience and and yeah, which was taught to him by his mum, and having to go through those you know, those early hardships and to have the support of a you know, a great friend. I always say, you only need one great friend, you know, and he has that and the power of listening and being in the moment kind of you know, he never
gets never gets mad, like like he gets sad. You know, there are times when he's sad, but I don't quite remember being mad.
He never gets really super down. On the fact that he was bullied and you know, they were like run, but he wasn't sad about it. He was just like, oh, I've just got to run. Was very sort of very manufact very sort of this is what I have to do. I liked that character trait because I'm I mean, you
write TV as well more successfully the night. But I'm writing at the moment, and trying to write a three D character, especially somebody who's not yourself, you know, or adjacent to yourself, is really hard to get in their brain as to why they would do something, why they wouldn't do something. And that character element of Forest not being sad, just going about things matter of fact, that is such augh, It's so good. Yeah, a genius writer is there, the mom sleeping with the teacher, by the way.
I know, I know, And you mentioned you mentioned your love of Rachel Griffiths in Blow with Johnny Depp, who played Johnny Depp's mother. I imagine the age difference between Rachel Griffiths and Johnny Depp's not particularly much. And in this Sally Field he's only ten years older than Tom Hanks and in fact played his lover in a movie
called Punchline in the Yes, yes, but it works. You know they've aged her up obviously that it doesn't work, aging her up and she has to kind of they need someone who could go Forrest doesn't really age, you know, outside of the big jump from being young Forest to Tom Hanks. But missus Gump only we never find had a name. This is missus Gump. She needs to age in a different way because she's in a different part of her life.
It's interesting how she never finds a lover or that's never discussed. I guess that's not the a storyline. But I didn't find that interesting in that era as well. But what about when Forrest goes to the army. I always found like his decision to go to the army kind of strange.
Yes, so why did he go? In the end, I'm trying to remember too.
I just felt like going, huh oh, was it in the Army now?
Yeah? Yeah, I think it's his mom.
I think his mom gave him the directive.
Yeah, I'm blanking on the moment where he decided to go. Did he just ended up there? I mean, I like the scenes in the Army certainly, I liked I really loved that moment where he's in Vietnam and then it's raining and it stops and the sun comes out and you think, ah, and then the gunfire starts, and it's like that kind of almost sums up what happens in
this movie over and over again. And I know I was reading a lot of veterans have actually kind of like loved this scene as far as like this one scene is quite accurate in the way felt to them.
And you know what's interesting, Like, you know, my pop fought in not Vietnam, maybe it was Cambodia. I'm not one hundred sent sure, but he actually had extreme PTSD and Forrest doesn't have PTSD. He doesn't seem particularly traumatized. After like the presence of this character and the respect that Tom Hanks has given. Oh fuck is it?
God?
Damn it? I just I guess I'm so jealous because I'm like, God, I want to write something that's good and I don't know why overwell, you know, but when he's has this relationship with Bubba and it's so beautiful and pure and Bubba's addiction to shrimp, I was just like kind of related to him because I was like, I love ham and any ham adjacent meal. So I was like, yes, Baba, with your weird shrimp ideas and how many different ways you could eat shrimp? That went over eight scenes.
It's very funny. The film's very funny as well. There are some really funny moments. I completely forgot about the premature ejaculation scene.
Yes, I'm going about that too, shit and in the door.
That like one of the funniest things if you can get it right on screen. One of the funniest jokes you can pull is the revere of the person you
didn't know was in the room. Yes, this is done at a very high level in that scene where one, it's not just that Forrest's primaturely ejaculated after Jenny puts his hand on her breast, but it's also this long, reasonally long, deep and meaningful conversation they've had before, and then you just you pan down and their roommate, Jenny's roommate, is wide eyed and awake and kind of slightly terrified.
I had many moments like that at Union because I lived in a dorm.
Were you Jenny Forrest or the one in bed.
Always the one in bed, always just being like, oh my god, Wow. I slept in a queen bed once. Well it was me and two boys going for it, and I was like, I had to pretend to be asleep, and I was like, Jesus, when will this end? And I was like thirty one, nineteen, I was ninety, I was pretty but I still remember the bed moving. So anyway, anyway.
Anyway, so let's talk. Let's talk about those those three characters, the three you know, pivotal characters who join forres at various parts of his journey. Well, it's really interesting because I think this movie, as I mentioned in the introduction, is a lot of it's about America, and we see, you know, it's a lovely way to you know, to reminisce or learn about what was going on in America
during these couple of decades. And I think these before I go to the characters, did you have a moment like one of the it's almost the original deep faking of these scenes, and they've done it such a high I thought they actually stood up really well.
And like, because obviously I didn't watch it back in the day, I'm watching it with a twenty twenty one lens, going how the fuck did they do that?
Yeah?
But also at the beginning, like obviously I got Elvis reference at the top, but then there was a few sort of like political moments where he was meeting the president and I don't know who all those different presidents are, ye uh, And what else the references were in there?
John there was John Lennon on the on the Tonight show where he basically inspired him the right imagine.
That's so funny at the end with the ship happens and it's fucking genius and just uh, there's there were so many presidential moments where you know, he shows the bum with the bullet.
Yeah, so there was I think there was with Nixon, and then there was I think the Reagan's assassination. I think was shown the uh he met he met JFK. That's why I think he.
Yes, And I love how he does these asides at the end, which is probably laid over with just sort of like b roll and he's like, I never did hear whatever happened to that guy? But I think he got shot?
Yeah, Well with the with the JFK one, he said, it's a nice line. He said. He says, one day that man was shot and I heard later on that man was shot while he was driving in his car. And then a year later his brother was shot. And he said, it must be really hard to be brothers.
That's what he said. That's right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I love those sort of like seemingly offhanded things that you go ah yeah, and again his nonchalant yeah way of sort of saying it like I think this is what happened, and then moves on because it's just a bit of a it is a throwaway, but it's so like historically important and when you know how he sort of ends up in that line and ends up making that speech and they unplugged and Jenny is there. Like the way
they did that is amazing. I don't know how they filmed and created that well.
I think they kind of obviously there's a bit of CGI used. I think they kind of there was a crowd of a certain amount of people and then they just moved them around the square and basically eventually they get, you know, enough plates to fill in posts. They did right. It was interesting because Forrest is making his speech and he gets the senior member of the military or pulls
out the plugs and we can't hear what he's saying. Originally, so Robischus wanted a speech in there, and Eric Roth was trying to write one and he just could not find the right well, at least I think he was happy, happy enough, but Robert Zamechis wasn't happy. And then he tried to get Billy Crystial to help out with it, and then he tried to get Robin Williams to help
out and this nothing kind of was working. But I can tell you, according to Tom Hanks, what actually Forrest does actually say yes, And he says, sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mummers without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's what he says.
Oh gosh, that and then he goes and that's all I have to say about that.
Which is a lovely tag for a lot of those thoughts that he has. Doesn't want to expand on. But these three characters, Lieutenant Dan, Jenny and Baba. I think we said this is a much about America than there's just about Forest. And I think if you what's interesting
is what those three characters want. And we speaking about in these podcasts about you know, if you're writing your protagonists will they will want something, but that's not necessarily what they need, you know what we'll find out at the end what they need and that's what they should get, but they have to learn that that's actually what they need. What they want is what they need. And so Lieutenant and I think what these the wants of Lieutenant Dan, Jenny and Baba kind of represent a lot of the
desires of the American public. Lieutenant Dan wants wants to be a hero, you know, and it's kind of an America's attitude towards heroism and how they look at their heroes and his idea of being a hero. He is dying in the field.
And she really wanted that, didn't he.
He really wanted it and got pissed off with you know, Forrest was saving his life. Jenny wants fame, you know, she wants fame. America is famously obsessed with fame.
And I thought they might have done a Charles Manson thing in there. I was waiting for it because of all the hippy stuff. And she was in la or in Calibion. Oh, is she going to go to Charles Man's going to.
Hang out with Sharon Stone and Baba. Baba is the enterprising, you know that you're searching for that big idea, that business.
You know, American dream the money.
Yes, And it's funny. Forrest ends up with everything. Fist ends up getting the Congressional Medal for bravery because sh forgot about Because what he does, he's true bravery. He keeps on going back in and back in and back in. Uh, he ends up being a table tennis champion and being famous and meeting all these presents and going to the White House. I love it when he says I got
to go to the White House again. And then and he ends up with the Bubba Shrimp and making all this money and and and you know, and then investing in Apple.
That that bit is a really good little nugget there. But I tell you because I've been to the States a lot, and I've always seen Bubba Shrimp or Bubbah Bubba Gump and been like, oh cool, like and then I was watching with my boyfriend and he'd seen it and I was like, he goes, oh, my name is Bubba. And the minute he said Bubba, I was like, fuck, is he a shrimp guy? I was like, is this a documentary? Tom was like no, it's a like a have you you noticed like all of the like no,
But like my immediate thought was, oh my god. So that was a really bizarre thing because I literally did think, oh, is this a document.
Well what's interesting is Bubba Shrimp, Like the movie has no rights over Bubba stream. They managed to get away with that with that kind of paying any royalties or anything, and which.
I probably did a favor, right, Yeah.
Yeah, absolutely absolutely, So okay, let's talk about let's talk about Jenny. You had a colder reaction to Jenny.
I couldn't figure out her intention because you know that that ejaculation story with the girl in the room. I was like, what, why is just is she trying like what is what does she want? Is she trying to be like, let me give you this as a token experience? Is it let me give you this because I love you? Was it romantic? What was it clinical? I couldn't figure out.
My read on that moment was almost both of your first I guess is there where it was a little bit of like, I'm giving you this experience, like Jenny, Jenny is experience. She would know that Forrest hasn't experienced that, and she and she loves she loves him. I don't think it's a romantic love at that stage, and I'm not completely sure if it ever was completely romantic, but she there's a part of her that that I loved him so was happy to give him that experience.
That's my Yeah, I guess then you know, because she keeps coming in and out, and it's so lovely when they see each other again. And then she goes and then she comes back. But the whole time I was like, just stay with him, you know, like he's a multimillionaire and she's got that house, and she's obviously not. She's here, there and everywhere, probably because she's had a very difficult childhood, very traumatized. She's looking for something that she can't find.
I was like, you found it with this man. But obviously, just because of how she is, inherently she couldn't stay. Like I get it. But as an audience you're like, come on, well you want to end with a doose sort of thing. But it couldn't.
Yeah, because she you know, she has had an abusive father. So the psychology I imagine of people who have gone through that is to somehow and for some reasons I don't understand, maybe be attracted to people who also inflict pain on them. So she continues continually finds bad men to hang out with. And that's the tragedy of it, that that she has this salt of the earth man who would do anything for her and sometimes goes above
and beyond doing things for her. But I think that's the tragedy of the relationship in a way that you know, even when she was young, like she can never have this conversation with Forrest. She can never say, my father's abusing me, even as an don't because Forrest may not understand that, and she doesn't want to burden him with that.
And also there's beautiful dialogue there that can only come from kids, and it's through Forrest's lens and he goes Jenny doesn't like to go home much. She likes to stay here, and you just know, you know, it's so tragically beautifully articulated through a child's you know, lens. But I think for me, you know that last bit where she finally comes home and they're sort of you know, dancing, and he says it's the best part of his life.
And I have moved towards the end of the film, sorry, it's like, you know, they do have sex, and you're like, stay daddy, you mother?
I know. So so I was going to ask you, I had written down to ask what did you think when like Jenny came home like suitcase in hand, and did you think, Okay, she's here, just stay?
I was like it felt like the Notebook, you know, when Ali comes back and she's like, I'm committing to this life with you that hot guy, and I felt like sign Seal delivered. I'm ready for my Disney endy.
Yeah yeah yeah. And then so then Forrest confesses his love and I think asks her to marry him, and he has that beautiful line I know what. Yeah, I maybe I may be stupid, but I know what love is. And and then Jenny thinks on that and then they get it on.
Yes, I thought it might have been more awkward.
Yeah, Forrest, he knows his way around him. I see this his first time. It was way less awkward than mine.
Same.
I mean, he was older, so maybe maybe we didn't see those scenes where he was looking at pornaggs or you know, I don't know, but he worked it out, he adapted. Yeah.
I thought it was like kind of comfortable. And then in that comfort, you could understand why she left the next day.
I know, you say it's sneaking out and jumping into the cab and she says, you know the guy and the taxi driver says, were you running to and she's like, I'm not running, but you are.
She was, but it's that like like I don't want to live this normal life for her as well, She's like like I think there's a lot going on for that character, Like I don't I don't want this, like I want more, but this scares me. This perfect life is scary.
Yeah, you know, and all the things are happening to all these other characters, like it's all good good fortune really outside of his unrequited love for Jenny, it's all good fortune for Forest. He reminds me. I spoke that Adam Christie about Ferris Buelle and how Ferris Buele is such a like weird film because the protagonist there's no there's nothing happening. He just floats through the film and nothing bad happens to him. It happens the Cameron, you know,
that was the Rooney you know in Forrest Gump. Really not much happens to Forest, like outside of being amazing and great things happening to him and with no real agency like y.
And then like Barba dies, Oh that was harrowing. I was so sad about that. You know, he's like all of these and go through these journeys and he's sort of like hmm, I'm just going about my life. It's sort of like fuck and I wish I could have that level of disinterest or it's sort of like I guess presentness that where he's But he's not even agent for change either.
No, absolutely, he really is for the most part floating, floating through like a father that perhaps we should point out. Robin Wright is fantastic as as Jenny. Other people considered for the role you'd be You can imagine this in your own time. Jodie Foster, Jy Foster, Nicole Kidman as well, I should have shut now and Demi Moore were three oh wow for that role. How so Jenny goes goes away, Forrest goes on his run.
That was like the most difficult part for me to watch was like I hate running, I hate sweating, and watching the fact that this man run all this he did three years of running. I was like, this is a personal hell. Even just watching it, I was like, oh, but but then it like parkening back to his old self and what do you think the purpose of the run was for him to clear his head? Yeah?
I think I think so. Yeah, I think it was as too. He running was what gave him comfort, Like running, he was he was Jenny was always running away, but he was kind of always running too, So it's it's the first time he's like running almost aimlessly. You know, often he's running away from Jenny. I've been running away from like situations. Forrest runs away from people when they're throwing rocks at him, and he runs away from from bombs and and and so I guess they both do
run away from things. But but I think in this situation he was just it's it's it's what gave him purpose, I think in life. And I think he's imagine it's a connection with that.
And the money, because obviously at this point, this man's potentially a billionaire, got shares in Apple owns, Bubba Gump, doesn't need to work. He's finished on the shrimp thing with old mate, which I love those scenes of Sergeant Dan and seeing the both sides of him.
Yeah, that was.
He was a really great performer, and I really believed him.
I think it's the first time i'd seen Gary sonice and he's fantastic.
Actually, what else has he he done? I've actually never seen him or Jenny again, or maybe I have.
You've seen Jenny. Jenny's Robin Wright. Well, she was a more recently House of Cards, the wife of Kevin Spacey rest in Peace, but she formerly married to Sean Pan. She actually did a film recently with Here in Australia with Naomi Watts, which is about two ladies of their age who sleep with each other's sons, which was which is quite.
It sounds like an American pie like sixteen.
Well, it was like an artie. It was like a yeah, but it was like an artie.
Ye.
It wasn't stifless mamas such as it was a more artie.
Oh god, I'm so my generation, how embarrassing.
For us, But she was. She was in one of her first breakout roles was The Princess Bride. Why okay, Yeah, they mentioned many times on this she was in Moneyball. She was Moneyball the girl on the Dragon Tatoo, the American version.
Oh man, I know who she is.
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely do. She is awesome and just one of the most beautiful women on the planet's.
Oh the body Jesus Christ.
And so and then we get to U. He gets a message and this is where the movie kind of starts. It's what he's waiting for. He's got a message to see Jenny and he will always be at Jenny's beck and call, and he fun he.
Finds out it is interesting again, isn't it, Because he goes, he doesn't go, no, fuck, you've hurt me too much.
Yeah.
Most characters would push back on that and go, no, fuck, you've hurt me. Just run for three years. Yeah, yeah, I can't do this anymore. And he realizes he doesn't have that, which is where Yeah.
Absolutely, And when he's told that, you know, you know the bus you're going it only goes like one or two stops. This is three blocks away. He gets up and he runs to her, always running to Jenny, and we find out that Forest Gump has given birth to the boy who will eventually see dead people Hailey Joel Osmond.
What a gorgeous child grew into a.
Gorgeous and his delivery of like I think three or four words where he's hell little mister Gump is just is so perfect and you can see why they tapped him on the shoulder for the sixth sense like that, just that little performance we're casting, you know, trying to find a child at the moment for how to say married, and it's it's really tough you know, and we got really lucky with our our Chloe played by Vivian Turner, extraordinarily lucky with her. But they're hard to find and.
Showiz, you know, American kids, So like, how do you going you want? What accent? Do you want? Do you want? You want jazzy? You want Latin? Like those? It's sort of that, it's hard. I'd imagine you're sort of what that type of child? Do you die?
Yeah, you want to kind of have a reasoning natural performance and and Haley Joel osmond as it's very funny too when he started let's have a listen. Actually, when when Jenny gives Forrest Gump the news that he is, in fact the father.
His name's Forrest, like me, I named him after his daddy.
He got a daddy named Forrest too. M hm, you're his.
Daddy, Forest, Kay, Forrest, look at me, Look at me, Forrest. There's nothing you need to do. Okay, you didn't do anything wrong.
Okay.
Isn't he beautiful?
It's the most beautiful thing I've ever said.
Mh.
But is he's smart?
He's very smart.
He's one of the smartest in his class.
H Yeah, it's okay, go talk to him.
That's the moment, isn't it? For me? That was the moment when he said is he mhm? Is he smart? And that the whole move. That was the moment that got me and.
Almos got me. Just listened to the bloody audio.
And it's like, that's and that's where you win your Oscar in scenes. I mean, you have to be good for the entire movie, but I think we all realize that there are scenes that can win you an Oscar and you need, you know, sometimes one scene, but often a handful of scenes. And Tom Hanks has it in this but that's one of them, and we'll listen to another one in a moment. But that moment when he
realizes his he puts it together. I mean, it's very funny when he you know, he says, you know, somebody else could Forest Gump.
And then to go from that to like this to this war in this like forty seconds is beautiful writing and a beautiful performance in that. You know, Oh god, Ah, I don't know why. I don't know why HiT's being triggers me so much, And I think it's because you're like, Jenny, why did you not tell him earlier? Why this point.
Yeah, Yeah, well I think, you know, I think everybody has that feeling. And I spoke to Hughes he you know, quite genuinely about it, when he's pretty in pink about the ducky character and pretty in pink about being being overlooked, you know, and usually really responded to that. And he spoke about the idea of being put in the friend zone, and like, you know, he really connected to that movie,
into that and to that character for that reason. And I think it's a universal experience, you know, unless you probably Robin Wright or Ryan Gosling, and I'm sure even they have been put into the friend zone weirdly. So you understand that this like this loyalty that you hope if you, if you show that and if you have that will one day be reciprocated.
Uh.
And you know, I guess you know in some way it is because you know, they have this child together, but it's still not I don't think as much as Forrest loves having his son, you know, I'm sure he would have loved to have more time with Jenny obviously. Yeah.
I think that the reason she did tell him then, as and You're right, like as much as us watching it go, oh, they should be together. That Jenny wasn't in love with him. Yes, she loved it, but she wasn't in love with him. And she's such an enigmatic, passionate sexual being that it just wasn't it. But she knew she was going to die, and she knew that she needed to introduce the baby to Forrest sooner rather than later. Yeah, And I think that's probably the driving force, and that's the why.
So why do you think that? Why do you think Jenny did not you know, this is a very big thing. She's had a child, his child, and not told him about it.
And also I'm trying to conceive of the moment, right, do you know how hard it is to have a baby after one tribe and trying for two years. I fucking ovulate this stick in here, this temperature gauge in here, and this hormone, and this woman has sex one time. She just happened to be ovulating that day and happened to conceive a child. Like fuck, I was like, Jenny, bloody, blissful human being.
I mean, I don't I've never thought this and I don't believe this, but I mean, you could make an argument, maybe maybe Jenny wanted a baby, and maybe you know, I've never actually thought about this until now. Maybe she this was she took an opportunity because it wasn't love, you know, true, but maybe you know this was you know, a plan I think, not not a long held plan, but maybe one conceived in a moment. And but she's like that.
You see her every she's got a different job, every time, in a different clothing. She's a different person. Every time you go to Jenny, she's a different person.
Yeah, yeah, absolutely different. And she leaves her very next morning. Like I'm starting to think perhaps there might be I don't know he has any podcasts at gmail dot com. Let us know if you think Jenny may have slept with Forrest for the sole purpose of having a baby and maybe of fun and also maybe to give him some love, you know, But why give him that love and then sneak out the next day and not not contact him for three years.
Well here's the other point. Maybe it's not Forrest's baby, but she knows that he will look after the baby when because she's obviously got this diagnosis which I is it is it HIV?
So yes, no, it's actually hepsy and that's that's mad because I always you know, I think we all assume it's HIV, and because that was, you know, the big then going around that was not really treatable for a long time, and you know, so it killed so many people as as he but HIV was is the big story and this movie is dealing.
With particularly in the States as well. Yeah, and the big things.
Yeah, so I always assumed it was HIV, but reading up, apparently it's been confirmed it was hepsie, that she died from intravenous drug use.
Of course, actually doesn't that that makes you so sad when she's doing the heroine you're like.
No, Jack, no, come on Jenny. But okay, So then Jenny dies and it's another.
You know, it's like double whammy. And now he's fucking a alone, I know.
And that is the tragic because Bubba's you know, Bubba's dead, Missus, Gumpy's mom's dead, Jenny's now dead. Lieutenant Dan is still on the scene thankfully and gets.
The no, that's true, that's true.
But still have one friend who's not really around, like he's living where he's living. He's still pretty heartbreaking. And then this gives another moment for Tom Hanks to put all his wears out there and show us exactly how good he is. And it's a heartbreaking moment. And also I think ties the feather, the notion of the feather, into this beautiful speech at Jenny's grave.
I don't know if Mama with the rad or if it's Lieutenant Dan. I don't know if we each have a destiny or if we're all just floating around accidental, like on a breeze. But I think maybe it's both, maybe both that happened, and at the same time, I miss you Jen.
Yeah, it's a heartbreaker, There's no doubt about it. There's no doubt about it. We're going to finish with some fun facts about the.
Film Weeping and this podcast. Tante are going to cry for forty.
I'm going to go to that hug circle that you spoke about later on tonight. Those ladies, Hey Baba, some other people who were asked to play Bubba but turned it down. Ice Cube turned it down because, in his words, didn't want to play an idiot. Maybe misreading yeuch that don't held up.
No, probably wouldn't have held up. Then that's pretty rude.
Dave Chappelle said no, he didn't think it was gone. The film was going to work, said no, since has regretted it. Funny enough, Warner Brothers let go of the rights for this film in the late eighties. I think it was it's based on a film by Winston Groom. Warner Brothers let go of the rights because they had to choose between this and another movie. They end up making good executive decision, which is an action movie which was shithouse and nobody really remembers, so, oh.
My god, who made that decision?
Bad move? The Winston Groom only had one person he wanted to play Forrest Gump, and it wasn't Tom Hanks. It was John Goodman from Roseanne and many many great films. Because in the book, Forrest Gump's much bigger. He's much more like a big, friendly giant type. And in the fields like, there's a lot more things. I think they changed some of the things that Forrest does in history.
In the book, he actually goes into space, he smokes weed, he works with Raquel Welch, he confronts Cannibal's funnily enough, No, so it seems a bit maybe darker, perhaps, but I think they made some pretty good decisions.
Knowing that he was meant to be stock here makes sense with the Vietnam bit where he went and got like all those soldiers. Yeah, oh that is a bit weird. You're like, how he's randomly strong also with.
This strength, yeah, come from There has been a sequel written, and it was almost close to getting done called I think Gump and Co. I think it was called. And some of the things that were gonna be involved in that film was the Diana was going to be involved, O. J. Simpson, the Berlin Wall, suddenly do Facebook. Forrest Gump was going to lead the Navy seal somehow inter fining some of bin laden.
Brilliant.
And then nine eleven happened, and and so some of these things may have even been happened, like I think probably a mixture of before and after nine eleven, but nine to eleven kind of it was shelved and it's never it's never quite got back on track. I'm not listening. I don't think and fame last words. Sometimes you know,
you think, you know, what's a good idea. I remember when Dancing with the Star started and I said, oh, that dancing show that'll be over in three weeks and it's become one of the biggest worldwide.
It's I think they're on like season thirty or something.
In like eighty countries, so, you know, and I love it when I love it when a movie that sounds like they not needed or ridiculous comes out and they actually hit it out of the park.
Yeah, like Greece Too, Like Grease Too is.
A perfect example.
Tania Hennessy, No, you know, Frozen too. I feel like, you know, like Frozen are so good. The sequels like you don't need it?
Yeah. Yeah, and this is coming from someone who loves their sequels live.
Yeah, but I have terrible tastes. I look forward to the abusive tweets. To be fair, I got terrible taste, but you know, I go betweet a low brow at a high brow.
That's great. There was also another scene they shot for the original film where involved Martin Luther King, and they did take it out. They kind of felt like it was maybe in bad taste. I don't think they'll do anything obviously disrespectful, but they kind of thought it could have easily been misconstrued and they took that out. So so that's that's it. I think they're all the fun facts I have in regards to into this film. But the other fun fact, the voice of Elvis was played
by Kurt Russell. That was Kurt Russell. He was great, Yeah, he was. And because he's played Elvis in one of two films I think A Thousand Miles from Graceland and I think another film as well. So wow. Oh, one more fun fact. Eric Roth, who the genius screenwriter, like he over wrote the first script so much because he knew there was going to be some fantastical elements to the film and he wrote it. And I'm glad they didn't go with this. I'm glad Robert Amkas, you know,
put us up to this. He wrote it. So whenever Jenny was on, like you saw Jenny, she had actual angel wings.
Oh no, no, no, yeah.
Like you know, oh wait, you know, like, do not edit yourself in the first few drafts, you know, just go for it. But I'm glad there was a script editor or Roberts and Mechas who put us up to that. And also Lieutenant Dan always had like a rain cloud over his head.
Oh no, no, that's like a completely different film.
It's a very different vibe. And you know, like I said, if if you're writing, don't don't edit yourself in the early drafts. But there are reasons why these things get get shelved eventually. It's like when we talk about other actors who may have played yeah, a role, Like we say, we can't imagine Chevy Chevy Chase as Forrest Gump. Now it is really hard to imagine that because I think Tom Hanks is a fast, superior actor than Chevy Chase, as great as he as he is in Fletch and
you know, as Clark w Griswold. But we don't know, We don't know, you know, we only can tell what we you know, what we what's creating, what's on the screen. You know, that's what we're given. And that's the thing. Sometimes when you're putting a show together and you're in the edit suite and you might you know, the old
Killer your darlink. You might go, I love this scene, and somebody will point out to you, yeah, but the audience that at this stage doesn't know that scene exists, so they won't miss it, which sometimes can grab my goat a little bit because it's like, yeah, they just because they don't know, it doesn't mean, they don't need to know, you know, but so true, But there is you know, I always feel good when I when I do an edit and I make tough decisions, and obviously
there's some great decisions made on Forest Gump in nineteen ninety four. So before I let you go there, you did mention something I mentioned at the start of in your introduction that you were stage managing the Edinburgh Bridge Festival and the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Did you did you? Were you stage managing anyone we know?
So?
I stage managed four acts. One was Sam, Sam Simmons and Dave Quirk. I was looking love davek alexab two. Who else did I do? Damian Damian.
Callan ann Oh Callanan yeh, yep, yep. Damien's great made a great film a couple of years ago.
He was so lovely to work with. And I also worked with a Chinese comedian who did his set completely in Mandarin, which was very difficult for me to do the lighting and sound. Also, one night he took me out for dinner and people kept giving him flowers, and then he asked me if he could dress me up and take me to the casino, and if I could clean his house. Wow, it was so weird. But yeah, it was really weird.
Like I was staged in Melbourne or Edinburgh.
Melbourne, Melbourne. I was actually a stage manager, so that Sam Simmons and Dave Quirk did together and Ronnie Chang was actually in it, but he just he was doing raw that year. He was actually on stage in a box. The set was all cardboard boxes and Ronni Chang was in a box. He was on stage for forty minutes, ran through the audience and that was the end. And so I know Ronnie Chang and have known Ronnie Chang since like well before he was like rot oh trag. I knew him being nude in a box in Dave
Quirk and Sam Simmons comedy show. But you know what was so weird. So I was twenty seven, I'm thirty five now. Last year I did chuse If You Have a Problem, and I was sat next to Sam Simmons and I don't think he liked it. No, no, no, he's very funny, Like I was crying laughing. He's wit is oh lightning quick. But he was like have I gone up or have you gone down? How's this worked out? I'm like, no, I'm just desperate for work and we'll
take it wherever it's available. But the reason I was working on it was to watch stand ups over and over again. Oh and Asher Asher t eleven.
Ah, yes, it's great.
Yeah. And I just watched these shows over and over again, and every single person in my venue that you won won an award, and I was like, I'm going to watch these people and then I'm going to figure out what they do and what they don't do, and then I'm going to put it into what I do. And it turns out that doesn't work. You've just got to do you.
Yeah, absolutely, and you don't know until you get on stage and you kind of get those hours up and absolutely.
Remember I still don't have hours up. Pete. I mean I think I'm more of a Hamish Blake than a Peter Hellier, if you know what I mean.
Well, I mean I wish I was more of a Hamish Blake than the Peter Heller sometimes. I it's funny. I did a gig recently in Darwin as my first gig since he had a French festival last year because of the pandemic, and it was in front of two and a half thousand people. And it wasn't just me on the bill. There was huge Eater's Tripod, Denise the one, Denise Scott.
I love Denise Scott.
Yeah, always a joy. It's so so funny. And I was second last time, so you had to wait around a bit, and I was doting to get a little in the US. And I remember saying to Akmel, yeah, I just I'm a bit towy, and I'm going to do some new stuff and and and I sudden I have doubts whether I should do new stuff. And he just said, just remember it's not just about the jokes. It's about your connection with the audience, you know. And and I was like, yeah, that's right, Actually it is.
And I just went out and I kind of and I, you know, I reminded myself that I've been doing this for you know, twenty five years. I have Plan B, I have a plan ce il. So you just went out, have fun, connected with the audience, had a great time. And it was a thousand people.
Though that's like that's yeah, that's a lot.
Yeah, it's great. But it's it's easy to play the two and a half thousand, and it is to play too you know twelve. Yeah in a room.
Hey, I tell you stage manager of the Edinbur Fringe. First of all, we performed once to an audience of one, right, and it was me. I was the stage manager, right. I had to laugh and it was awful for that comedian.
Yeah, I remember Lowly days. I had a rule I think no no less than six I think that was, and I was about to cancel. I've never canceled a show. I was at the councelor and like another six walked in, so I was like, okay, I can perform the twelve, that's all right.
You know what, Well, that year that I did at a refringe festival, I saw Hannah Gadsby flying her own show, firing her own show, and she's huge in Australia, but you know, sort of just getting up. This was like two thousand and nine. So to see Hannah Gatsby on the street flying her own show. I went in and it was probably like twelve people in there. This bitch
performed like it was a fucking stadium. And I learned so many lessons from Hannah Gadsby that night in two thousand and nine in this venue, and I thought to myself, you've taught me every fucking lesson I need to learn. You need to perform like it's the last time you're ever going to perform, and give this audience everything because they deserve it. That taught me a lot about being a performer, and I'll never forget that. And I hope one day get to tell her that story.
Absolutely, I'm sure. I'm sure you will, and it's a good lesson. I always had to remind myself sometimes I might be driving into a gig and think, you know, for whatever reason, I'm tired or there's something else on my mind, and I have to remind myself that there are people in the audience to have organized babysitters. Yes I have, that they've chosen my show above other shows.
And it just it's that those thoughts that it kind of focuses you pretty quickly, and all of a sudden, I'm so super pumped to be there and to get out, and I've been super pumped to talk to you. Tanya Hennessy, thank you so much for watching this film.
Oh my god, I'm so glad I did it. Honestly, it's maybe it's going above high school musical two.
Oh, there we go. It's no great compliment. I hope this Robinson Mecas and Tom Hanks and Eric Roth, I really do. But thank you so much. Keep doing what you're doing. You're an absolute delight. And yeah, we love you and thank.
You, oh my god, pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on the pot.
That was a whole lot of farm with Tanya Hannessey. Find her on Instagram. She is a content machine and she's full of joy and positivity. That's what I love about Tanya. And that was just like I was relieved that she liked Forest Gump, because you know, it could be a movie that if the wrong person watched it, they possibly could have hated. I don't know how you could, but you know some people. Forest doesn't speak to everyone, so I'm glad it spoke to Tanya. I want to
thank you all for listening. Please rate us and give us a rating on iTunes. I recommend five stars and leave a review. It all helps get the show out there. And rate and review and like and tell your friends. The old fashioned word of mouth still counts. Yasny podcast at gmail dot com is where you can find me. I want to thank I had a lot of people both on Twitter, on my Instagram page, and on the email let me know I met a great reaction from
the Mark Humphrey's episode. A couple of weeks back when we did Grease, and I was speaking about the Anette character. There's a character called a Nette that's referred to twice, once by Kanicki and once by Rizzo. Kanicki says, nobody has jugs like Annett's. And we discussed that there may be a character within the Grease world at Rydale High that was named Annette, but we never see. Okay, so
you've all guys, you've all come to the party. Gary Stevens got in touch, Paula, Michelle got in touch, Donna got in touch, and Donna. I like Donna. Donna's very simp simple. She said, biggest breast in the Mouseketeers, Annette, and she put a link in Wikipedia link Annette fun of Cello. Fun of Cello. Maybe appropriate for somebody with a large breast. Fun at Cello. And she was a legend who was a big part of the Disney family
and the Mickey Mouse Club. She was a huge star of the time, and that's why and Net is referred to and her memories, So thank you everyone who got in touch about that. He's another one, just a random one from Rebecca. Rebecca got in touch. Hi, Pete. Sorry to fangirl you, but I'm a long standing admira of your work and I've just found this podcast. Welcome to our little family, Rebecca. I've been listened to Mark Humphries with Greece and Tony Martin's Top Gun and loved it
so much. I laughed so hard, bloody hilarious, a similar age to you, Pete. I really appreciate your size and comments on how we used to access films and media with VHS tapes and how much more exclusive viewing films used to be before our current world of twenty four hour access to content and films online. We used to value a movie at the cinemas, so I'm sure they had much greater impact on us and our psyche, particularly
in our formative years. I adored your reflections on Greece, for instance, and how the eleven year old you interpreted or more like misinterpreted some of the plot and dialogue. And hey, you find it funny as you now realize what it was all about. Yes, I learned what a condom was by watching Greece, and I misunderstood it completely, and she's recommended some people. Julia Morris. I've spent a Julia about coming on. She'll come on at some point.
Annabel Crab, Lawrence Mooney, Hammi Splake, mc malloy, Rob Sich. I have spoken to Rob about hopefully he comes on. Tim mentioned Josh Zepp's great idea, James Valentine, Jonathan Green, Mischelle Laurie, Adam Richard, Charles Frethurs, Carlson, Tim Ferguson, Jane Carrow, Adam Zoar, and Gretel Colleen. Thank you so much. Beck can also give me this great mental exercise when I try and come up with my top three favorite movies so hard and changes day to day. Thanksgiving me such
joy in humor in these podcasts and everything else you do. Beck, Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. I am endeavoring never reply to all the emails or if not read them on this there's one more email actually I want to read that that's actually quite important and quite touching.
You may Rema. We did an extra episode between series one and series two inspired by one of our listeners, Anile Warren, who was going through some chemotherapy and she had really was an early adopter of the podcast, and she got in touch with me and I have a heartwarming message from ANALYI and I'm gonna read it now. She got in touch with me on my son's birthday to twenty eighth of December last year, and she said, Hi, Pete,
just thought I would share some good news. I have had surgery to remove my cancer and it was successful. Recovery is tough, but there is so much good to focus on. Only two more rounds of chemo and then I can feel normal again. I hope you had a much deserved, RESTful Christmas break surrounded by loved ones, kind regards andly thank you so much for getting in touch. I hadn't heard anything for a little while. I had thought of you, and I was a little concerned, but
I'm so glad to get that message. So please keep in touch and to all of you again. Yesny podcast at gmail dot com, Cassaway Studios, Jake Myies is the man who helps put all this together, and he's done a great job. If you're getting a podcast up, Castawaystudios dot com dot au is where you need to go to fulfill all your podcast Needs and Desires and Dreams. Next week on the show we have our very first returning guests. This is a man who appeared on series one.
If you ain't seen Nothing yet, you know him from rose Haven, which just announced a series five is coming exciting news. Luke McGregor joined us I think maybe episode two of the podcast, and he watched The Godfather and he vowed to watch The Godfather Part two. Next week we do it with Luke mad Dog McGregor in the studio. If you ain't seen Nothing yet, check out Godfather Part two if you haven't seen it during the week and
join us on this very podcast until next time. Bye bye, And so we leave old Pete safe and soult and to our friends of the radio audience, we've been a pleasant good night.