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I m David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick.
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Back when I was at school in Bethlehem, New Zealand, each year we d have to study a film in English class.
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We d watch it, and then we d endlessly discuss it, pulling apart the themes, characters, and story.
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At the end of the year we d have exams, and a big chunk of the English exam was writing about that movie.
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And there was one movie that really stuck with me.
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Forrest Gump was box office gold in 1994.
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It was the highest-grossing film in America that year, and it was a really big hit in New Zealand as well.
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It was a big hit everywhere.
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And I think Forrest Gump is one of the most American movies I ve ever seen, inserting the fictional character of Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks, into various historically important American moments.
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The film managed to sink into pop culture.
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I feel like most of us have probably heard this line either in the movie or quoted at us, usually sarcastically.
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My mama always said, life was like a box of chocolates.
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You never know what you re gonna get.
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Forrest Gump also did something not many films have ever done, something truly magical.
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It leapt out into real life.
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Because on any day of the week in America, you can stroll directly into a restaurant that wouldn t exist without Forrest Gump.
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The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
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You ever been on a real shrimp boat?
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No.
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But I ve been on a real big boat.
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For this episode, I want to learn about how the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company came to be, a real-life restaurant chain that wouldn t exist without a fictional character named Benjamin Bubba Blue.
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So, get ready to hear Bubba recite every shrimp style he knows.
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You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it.
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There s shrimp kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan-fried, deep-fried, stir-fried,
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There s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp.
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Because this is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company episode.
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Forrest Gump, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
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What a movie.
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I love that movie.
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Do you remember the first time that you saw Bubba Gump in Forrest Gump?
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I mean, I remember the first time I saw the movie.
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I was late in life.
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It wasn t when it came out.
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Really?
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You missed it when it came out?
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When did it come out?
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Ninety four.
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OK, because I was then I would have been six or seven.
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I m going to check that now.
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94?
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Yeah, it was 94.
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Okay, so I was just a wee baby just new to America.
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Just arrived.
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So I hadn t seen it yet.
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Yeah.
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I think I saw it in high school or something on TNT.
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Okay.
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Or TBS or whatever, you know, one of those.
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And I loved it.
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It s so smart.
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That movie is so clever.
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Yeah.
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And hilarious and sad.
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Yeah, I re-watched it about a week ago.
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And weirdly, I was then in Target.
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And you know how in America they have those commemorative magazines?
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They ll have a Taylor Swift special.
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It s almost like a book.
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God willing.
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But it s in a magazine.
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Yeah.
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They ve got one out at the moment for Forrest Gump.
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Oh.
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Because.
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Anniversary?
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Next year, 30th year anniversary.
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Shit.
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Yeah.
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No, this year.
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Oh, my math is so right.
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2024.
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Yeah, this year s the 30th.
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Wow.
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Our friend Jedediah, his dad famously trekked across the country.
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And so Forrest Gump is in some ways, some parts of it are based off of his dad.
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Say again?
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My friend Jedediah.
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Yeah.
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He s also been on Armchair Expert.
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His dad trekked across the country.
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Was that the character that Forrest was based on?
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Yes.
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Yes.
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What?
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Isn t that?
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I mean, he s not like, like, that s the only part that s mimicked.
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No, but that was what inspired that story.
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Yeah.
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I didn t know that.
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Isn t that funny?
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Have I met Jebediah?
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Well, it s Jedidiah.
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Jedidiah.
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Have I met Jedidiah?
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You haven t met Jebediah, no.
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Does he go by Jed?
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Yes, he does.
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Okay.
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You probably have met him.
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Holy shit, that s just an amazing, I didn t know this, my mind s blown.
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That was such a key part of that movie.
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Huge.
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Was Gump off running across America.
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I know, isn t that fun?
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Real quick, before we get into your doc, I want to say sorry I missed last week s episode.
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I missed Ren Faire.
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You missed Ren Faire?
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Yeah.
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You were out in the wild.
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It was drama.
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I was not well.
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I was engaged in a messy day.
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You had stuff going on.
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And so I missed it, but I really enjoyed listening to it.
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Oh, cool.
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And the Renaissance Faire experience.
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Whoa.
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Have you ever been to one?
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And it sort of made you want to go a little bit?
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It made me intrigued.
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I do think going with a group of friends would be quite entertaining, but I also think I would be so annoyed that they wouldn t meet me in reality.
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Yeah, it got so confusing.
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It s just hard to talk to people when they re pretending to be someone else.
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Well, especially when you re doing a podcast on America and they re refusing to acknowledge they re in America.
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I m stuck in England.
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It s very, it s like, it was very confusing for my brain.
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Yeah.
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And also, yeah, just so odd that America has taken that on as its big thing.
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Yeah.
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It s pretty interesting.
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Anyway, sad I missed it, but it was fun.
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My next question, have you been to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co?
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No.
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Is there any particular reason you sort of used to walk past, sort of you smelt the aroma of shrimp coming out?
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How do you feel about shrimp and seafood in general?
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Love shrimp and seafood.
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Ding, ding, ding.
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Had it last night at Kara, the lemon pasta with shrimp.
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That s the way to do it.
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It was good.
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Okay.
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So good.
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So, yes, I love shrimp.
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I like seafood.
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And I m sure there was a period of time where I really wanted to go there.
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But my parents were not ever indulging in that kind of campy food scene.
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I wanted to go to the Rainforest Cafe so bad.
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They wouldn t go there.
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They wouldn t go to Hard Rock Cafe.
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This is an episode probably like these types of, well, obviously this one.
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Yeah, absolutely.
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Yeah, it is a type of Americana.
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And your parents weren t having it.
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We re not engaging in that side of America.
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We re not doing it.
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But you know the trick now?
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Now you re an adult and you ve moved out of home.
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You are free when you walk past a Bubba Gump s.
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I could go in there.
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You can wander in and order a big mountain of shrimp.
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I could.
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And partake.
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It s an experience.
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Timing wise, I think I ve missed the window.
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I have zero interest.
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Okay.
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How about for the 30th anniversary, maybe watch Forrest Gump, get reinvigorated by the thrilling backstory of Bubba, and then partake in a big shrimp bucket with your friends.
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But look, I ll see if this doc convinces you.
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And of course we have to sort of rewind and start with where it all started, which was the movie.
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Before we can talk about the real Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, we need to talk about the fictional Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
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In the world of Forrest Gump, the movie, Forrest Gump graduates in 1966 and goes off to join the US Army, where he meets fellow recruit Bubba.
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Bubba s family knew everything there was to know about the shrimping business.
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I know everything there is to know about the shrimping business.
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Matter of fact, I m going into the shrimping business for myself after I get out of the Army.
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Unfortunately, Bubba never got to fulfill his shrimping dream.
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Forrest and Bubba are sent to Vietnam, where their platoon is ambushed.
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Forrest finds Bubba in bad shape, his guts are all hanging out, and Forrest heroically picks his friend up and runs as they re being bombed.
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They make it to the extraction point.
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Forrest is a good runner, but it s too late for Bubba.
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Hey Bubba.
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Hey Forrest.
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Forrest, what just happened?
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got shot.
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Bubba dies in Forrest s arms.
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And in 1974, Forrest Gump leaves the army and goes to play competitive ping-pong, earning enough money to buy a shrimping boat.
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One of his other war buddies, Lieutenant Dan, becomes Forrest s first mate.
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They catch a lot of shrimp, and the two men create the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
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Bubba Gump Shrimp.
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It s a household name.
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Hold on there, boy.
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Are you telling me you re the owner of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Corporation?
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Yes, sir.
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We got more money than David Crockett.
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And that s how the fictitious Bubba Gump Shrimp Company came to be.
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Now, I think it s fair to say as I reflect back on all this, that Forrest Gump is quite a weird movie, following this man with a fairly low IQ as he kind of fails upwards.
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I miss you, Jimmy.
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If there s anything you need, I won t be far away.
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Before I went further on this Bubba Gump journey, I wanted to know what Dave Chen thought.
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I ve been following Dave s movie review podcast, The Film Cast, for about a decade now, and I really like his take on movies.
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So I sent him an email simply asking him to brain dump on Forrest Gump, one of the biggest films of all time.
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What he sent back was so interesting, I m just gonna play the whole thing.
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Hey, David Ferrier, it s David Chen from decodingeverything.com.
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Robert Zemeckis  1994 film Forrest Gump is about an Alabama man who recounts his life story to various people at a bus stop.
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When I think of the movie Forrest Gump, three things come to mind.
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First of all, this isn t something people talk about that much anymore, but I do think Forrest Gump was groundbreaking when it came to visual effects.
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Forrest Gump is one of the first times I can remember watching a movie where visual effects were being applied to a non-futuristic or non-sci-fi situation.
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I m sure it was used in other films, but this was the one I remember.
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And I remember being in awe that Forrest Gump could interact with deceased presidents and even shake hands with them.
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I remember how they removed Gary Sinise s legs in the movie.
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They made this huge crowd during the scene between Forrest and Jenny at the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C.
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It was one of the first times I can remember visual effects being used to seemingly alter the fabric of reality itself.
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And that was notable for me.
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The second thing I want to mention about Forrest Gump.
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This movie was a phenomenon.
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It s actually hard to convey how much of a phenomenon it was because pop culture events rarely happen like this anymore.
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Forrest Gump was massively successful at the box office.
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It made almost $680 million in 1994 dollars.
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and it was second only to The Lion King that year, if not mistaken.
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It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and its soundtrack sold 12 million copies.
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It s estimated to have sold over 100 million tickets.
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It was not only critically praised, it was a cultural phenomenon.
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Everyone knew about it.
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Everyone was talking about it.
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There s so many phrases from the movie that wound their way into popular culture and into other works of art and also into the mouths of my classmates at school.
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You know, things like Run, Forrest Run, or Life s Like a Box of Chocolates.
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This movie definitely deserves its place in the pantheon of movies.
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But why was Forrest Gump so popular?
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What was Forrest Gump actually about?
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That brings me to my third point.
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Forrest Gump as a movie, like the story, the theme, is pretty weird.
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It has a pretty weird message in my opinion.
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Forrest Gump the character has an IQ of 75 and for most of the movie he s just kind of bumbling his way through life to enormous success.
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You d think that that story might make the movie ripe to be a satire, but the movie is incredibly dark at times.
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Forrest Gump s best friend dies in Vietnam.
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Lieutenant Dan s life takes a dark turn.
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The love of Forrest s life, Jenny, is the victim of various forms of abuse and terror throughout the entire film.
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It s a mishmash of tones that I don t think fully works.
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But at the end of the day, what Forrest Gump presents is an extremely enticing vision
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of the American dream.
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Think about what this movie is trying to say.
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It s not only that anyone can succeed, anyone can come from nothing.
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Like, we all understand that that is a component of the American dream.
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What Forrest Gump is saying goes beyond that.
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It s that you are more likely to succeed if you don t try, if you don t have ambition.
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Sure, Forrest is a good guy.
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He s nice to people.
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He does right by them.
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But think of all the people in Forrest s life who are trying to make something of themselves.
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Forrest s friend Bubba dreams of going into the shrimp business, dies tragically in an ambush.
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Jenny, a woman who wants to escape the cycles of violence that plague her life, instead she s beset by tragedy and dies of AIDS.
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Forrest Gump is not only a movie about a guy succeeding in everything, like the military or football or ping pong or business, it s about succeeding at those things while seemingly having no interest in success.
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And I think it s a very narcotizing idea that you can succeed without really trying.
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In fact, it might be better if you don t try.
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And as long as you have some good intentions, as long as you re like somewhat of a decent human, you might experience massive success in America.
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And I do think there s something about that idea that resonated back then and continues to resonate today.
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If you re a somewhat decent human, you might experience massive success in America.
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I think that s what Forrest Gump the movie boils down to, and in a way, maybe that s the story of the real Bubba Gump Shrimp Company too.
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Because back in the 90s, Anthony Zalesi was struggling.
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His seafood company Meridian Products was in bad shape.
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Then, like so many of us, he saw Forrest Gump.
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A year later, in 1995, he brought the rights to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company off Paramount Pictures and rebranded his shrimp.
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Suddenly, his shrimp were flying off the shelves.
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Not too long after, he joined forces with the Rusty Pelican restaurant chain and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company chain was born.
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The first one opened in Monterey, California in 1996.
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This is one of the first commercials, where Forrest Gump is played by someone who sort of looks like Tom Hanks, but definitely isn t Tom Hanks.
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Hello, my name s Forrest, Forrest Gump, and this here s my restaurant, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, and I m inviting you to come on in.
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The restaurant was a dream come true for Anthony Zalizzi, because like Bubba, he really loved fishing.
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I found an article from 2010 where Anthony s interviewed with his dad.
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For as long as I had any recollection, I was going to become a fisherman.
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The whole family was that way.
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When I turned 12, that s when my dad predetermined that I go fishing.
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Anyway, Anthony grew up to open the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, made a ton of money, and then made even more money when he sold it to Landry s Incorporated, from fishing with your dad to creating a shrimpy empire.
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It s the American dream, and Bubba would have been proud.
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Shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich.
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That s about it.
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Isn t that a beautiful story?
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One man s dream, his failing shrimp company, Bubba Gump comes along and sees that character and he s like, I can bring my company back to life.
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It s really beautiful.
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Sure.
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I liked that take on Forrest Gump.
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I think mostly I agree.
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Yeah, I like his observations.
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Dave always has a slightly interesting take on a classic.
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Yeah, I like that.
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I mean, I don t think it s necessarily saying it s better if you don t try.
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It s just... You can still succeed.
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You can still succeed.
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So I watched it a couple of weeks ago and I hadn t seen it since I was about 17 at school.
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And it is crazy how dark what happens to the characters around him.
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His friend gets blown up.
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His mom has to do favors with the teacher to get him into school.
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Jenny is abused and she s a kid and then she gets hate.
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It s crazy how dark it is.
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And he s there just being like, hey, just doing fine.
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Yeah, but to me, that s the world.
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The world is dark, the world is upsetting, and these are realities.
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And so to me, even though there s something satirical about it and it s odd and wacky, it s also very honest.
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These hard things are happening all around us at all times, and we all sort of bop around unaware.
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Yeah, and so many things are out of our control entirely.
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Yeah, I think it s so earnest.
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I think it feels like a satire sometimes, but it is just so from the heart.
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I mean, that feather drifting in at the beginning, I forgot about that.
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The film opens with, it follows this feather and it drifts in and falls on his shoe.
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And in the end there s a feather, it gets blown away again up into the air and you follow it through.
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It s so heartfelt and earnest.
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It s worth rewatching.
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Movies could do that back then.
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I feel like now, when things are hyper-earnest, we immediately bristle.
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We re too cynical.
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That s a fault of ours.
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I think we re worse off for watching things and being like, ew, it s too sweet.
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And this holds up.
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I was watching it thinking it would be a bit of a laugh fest because it s Forrest Gump.
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It s this thing.
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But it does hold up incredibly well.
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I recommend, for the 30th anniversary, everyone that s listening, go and watch Forrest Gump.
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But just remember, if you re watching with your kids, it is super dark.
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I forgot how bleak certain elements were, as Forrest just goes and does his thing.
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Do you think they re going to put it back in movie theaters?
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They should.
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Well, look, Lord of the Rings is currently spreading out everywhere in theaters because of an anniversary.
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Because of this episode of this show?
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Purely because of this show.
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But I mean, I assume it will pop up in some theaters because it was one of America s biggest films and it s so deeply American.
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I forgot that he met Elvis at one point when he s in his little like leg braces and that s how he teaches Elvis to dance and do a move, stuff like that.
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It s a funny fake.
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history of America.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, who retcons all these moments and yeah, the digital effects.
2
SPEAKER_01
And the smiley face.
2
SPEAKER_01
Oh, that s right.
2
SPEAKER_01
He like invents the smiley face.
2
SPEAKER_00
When I first watched it, I think a bit of that was lost on me in New Zealand.
2
SPEAKER_00
Those moments didn t mean as much, but sort of watching it now here in America, you re like, oh no, this is really a tour of American history through this very simple man just stumbling around.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, I love it.
2
SPEAKER_00
And there s some good moments between Genie and Forrest as well.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, Genie.
2
SPEAKER_00
What a Genie.
2
SPEAKER_01
Poor Jenny.
2
SPEAKER_01
She s so beautiful.
2
SPEAKER_01
She is.
2
SPEAKER_00
She was.
2
SPEAKER_00
Actually, when a friend was watching it with us, at the time, I thought Jenny was the most beautiful person I d ever seen.
2
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Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird.
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And what great timing for me as I try and get my cholesterol under control because I eat too many takeaways.
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Sorry to keep going on about my cholesterol, but I am really worried about it.
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I feel like when I m starving is when I make the worst decisions food wise.
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Oh, tell me about it.
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Well, look, the next part of the doc, you missed out on a very special outing that I m sure you re going to be very jealous of.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_01
Well, I wasn t invited to be clear.
2
SPEAKER_01
I m making that very clear.
2
SPEAKER_01
I didn t miss out.
2
SPEAKER_00
I think you were in New York for that.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I also think you probably, you wouldn t have wanted this.
2
SPEAKER_01
Let s hear it.
2
SPEAKER_00
I was very excited to dine at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company after thinking about it so much.
2
SPEAKER_00
And I knew the perfect date to take along.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay so Rob, you re a big fan of food and you ve taken me to some pretty beautiful dining establishments and so I thought it s time for me to return the favor.
2
SPEAKER_03
Where are you taking me?
2
SPEAKER_00
Just follow along here.
2
SPEAKER_00
It was about 6pm.
2
SPEAKER_00
I d picked Rob up and told him nothing more than I was about to impress him and his taste buds.
2
SPEAKER_00
We parked and I walked Rob to his mystery destination.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I know that you like trying new things, you re always up for an adventure, and so I have decided to bring you to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
2
SPEAKER_03
Oh boy.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m not sure I ve ever seen someone look quite so deflated, but I knew he d get into the Forrest Gump spirit when he got inside.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay, so we re looking up here, seeing a huge Bubba Gump sign.
2
SPEAKER_00
It looks sort of like a big shed, doesn t it?
2
SPEAKER_00
I mean, it looks fucking exciting.
2
SPEAKER_00
I m pumped.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s lots of lights.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s a big mast.
2
SPEAKER_00
There s a big mast shooting up into the sky.
2
SPEAKER_00
I shoom and oge to Bubba s fishing vessel.
2
SPEAKER_00
And as we learnt earlier, to Anthony s.
2
SPEAKER_00
And what are your feelings about shrimp specifically?
2
SPEAKER_00
Are you a shrimp man?
2
SPEAKER_00
I am not a shrimp man.
2
SPEAKER_03
I like oysters.
2
SPEAKER_03
Not particularly shrimp.
2
SPEAKER_00
Going inside, I m struck how big this place is.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s sprawling.
2
SPEAKER_00
There are different rooms, a lot of wood, and it all feels very nautical.
2
SPEAKER_00
So we re sort of slipping into a little booth now, and we are surrounded by Forrest Gump memorabilia.
2
SPEAKER_00
You can see that over there is Bubba Gump, you can see his framed portrait over there.
2
SPEAKER_00
The walls are covered in all things Forrest Gump, but made to look like they re real.
2
SPEAKER_00
So there are screenshots from the film that they ve printed and put into photo frames.
2
SPEAKER_00
If you didn t know the film, looking at the wall and seeing framed photos of Bubba everywhere in his army uniform on the wall, you d think a real man had died and this was a tribute to him.
2
SPEAKER_00
So, just quickly, do you recognise the photo of this kid up here?
2
SPEAKER_00
Is that Haley Joel Osment?
2
SPEAKER_00
Haley Joel Osment.
2
SPEAKER_00
So it was his first role in a film.
2
SPEAKER_00
Haley Joel Osment from Sixth Sense.
2
SPEAKER_00
His first thing was Forrest Gump.
2
SPEAKER_00
He played baby Forrest?
2
SPEAKER_00
He did.
2
SPEAKER_00
Little Forrest.
2
SPEAKER_00
A role which won the Child Star a Young Artist Award.
2
SPEAKER_00
Our server comes to take our order.
2
SPEAKER_00
Looking through the menu, there s a lot of shrimp.
2
SPEAKER_00
What s the most iconic meal that you have here?
2
SPEAKER_00
I see the shrimpers neck catch, this big bucket of shrimp.
2
SPEAKER_02
The most iconic ones, for sure this one.
2
SPEAKER_02
Super popular here.
2
SPEAKER_02
Everyone gets it, they rave about it.
2
SPEAKER_02
This one s good too, the Run Across America sampler, especially because of the way it s like...
2
SPEAKER_00
Because Forest ran across America.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, and the way it s styled and everything, a lot of people get it.
2
SPEAKER_02
This is a good one.
2
SPEAKER_02
When we get hired here in our class, they tell us about this one, how it s so good.
2
SPEAKER_02
And it s actually really good, the sauce.
2
SPEAKER_00
Shrimp New Orleans.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s super good.
2
SPEAKER_02
They use like a lot of butter to make it, but it s so good.
2
SPEAKER_00
What would you eat?
2
SPEAKER_00
If it was your last meal you re ever having here, what would you go out on?
2
SPEAKER_02
Oh, I always get the jambalaya.
2
SPEAKER_02
Always get the jambalaya with avocado.
2
SPEAKER_02
I add avocado to it.
2
SPEAKER_02
Or I always get the Texas chicken sandwich.
2
SPEAKER_02
So good, fried.
2
SPEAKER_00
I ended up getting the Run Across America sampler, which had a bit of everything, and half a bucket of shrimp.
2
SPEAKER_00
Rob was fearful of the shrimp and got some fried pickles.
2
SPEAKER_00
Oh, Jenny.
2
SPEAKER_00
Like Dave Chen mentioned earlier, like many of the characters in Forrest Gump, she met a tragic end.
2
SPEAKER_00
RIP Jenny.
2
SPEAKER_00
As we wait for our food, Rob and I discuss the uniqueness of this whole American experience.
2
SPEAKER_00
This is the only restaurant that exists in the world that has come from a movie.
2
SPEAKER_00
How do you like that trivia?
2
SPEAKER_03
That can t be true at all.
2
SPEAKER_00
Name another restaurant that only exists because of a film or TV show.
2
SPEAKER_03
I m gonna consult Google for this because I can t stand by that statement.
2
SPEAKER_00
I don t think it s factual.
2
SPEAKER_00
I think that s why this place is so iconic because it s just birthed from this very popular film from 94.
2
SPEAKER_03
Here we go.
2
SPEAKER_03
Alright, restaurants that only exist because of a movie.
2
SPEAKER_03
Bubba Gum is in there.
2
SPEAKER_03
You re gonna love this one.
2
SPEAKER_03
The Green Dragon Inn in New Zealand.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, in New Zealand, yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
The Lord of the Rings pub.
2
SPEAKER_00
So New Zealand and America have this in common.
2
SPEAKER_00
We both have restaurants that only exist because of a film.
2
SPEAKER_00
So America has Bubba Gump and New Zealand has Hobbiton.
2
SPEAKER_03
America has more than that.
2
SPEAKER_03
There s restaurants for Harry Potter, which it s... No!
2
SPEAKER_00
That and a theme park.
2
SPEAKER_00
That doesn t count.
2
SPEAKER_00
If you have to go to a theme park to go, that does not count.
2
SPEAKER_00
We keep arguing about Harry Potter and the Jurassic Park Café at Universal Studios.
2
SPEAKER_00
And the restaurant from Ratatouille that s at Disney.
2
SPEAKER_00
Look, none of that counts.
2
SPEAKER_00
Theme parks aren t reality.
2
SPEAKER_00
But Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
2
SPEAKER_00
exists in the real world.
2
SPEAKER_00
Then Rob hits me with his Googled facts.
2
SPEAKER_03
Beetle House.
2
SPEAKER_03
New York City has a restaurant after Beetlejuice.
2
SPEAKER_00
Okay, and that s not in the theme park.
2
SPEAKER_00
That s just out in the wild.
2
SPEAKER_03
Café Jack, based on Titanic.
2
SPEAKER_00
Where the fuck is Cafe Jack?
2
SPEAKER_03
I think Los Angeles.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, Los Angeles.
2
SPEAKER_03
This is actually blowing my mind.
2
SPEAKER_03
Los Pollos Hermanos from Breaking Bad.
2
SPEAKER_00
You re really showing me up here and it s very frustrating.
2
SPEAKER_00
He has a point.
2
SPEAKER_00
But I maintain that the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is the only restaurant chain that s come from a movie.
2
SPEAKER_00
The only chain that goes the hardest.
2
SPEAKER_00
Suddenly our food arrives.
2
SPEAKER_00
Buckets of shrimp.
2
SPEAKER_00
Towers of seafood.
2
SPEAKER_00
Yum.
2
SPEAKER_02
All right, you guys enjoy, okay?
2
SPEAKER_00
So these look very, very wet.
2
SPEAKER_00
Really good.
2
SPEAKER_00
Really good.
2
SPEAKER_00
Little crustacean straight in my mouth.
2
SPEAKER_00
Just some free shrimp ASMR for you there.
2
SPEAKER_00
What do you think of that sloppy shrimp?
2
SPEAKER_03
Seasoning s good.
2
SPEAKER_00
We eat and we slurp and eventually we re done.
2
SPEAKER_00
Our waitress, who loves Jenny, encourages us to watch Forrest Gump when we get home.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s a cute movie and everyone should watch it, at least once.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s on Netflix, so yeah, everyone should watch it.
2
SPEAKER_00
And Rob reflects on his date with me.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s always good to have a new experience in life, isn t it?
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I don t regret this, so.
2
SPEAKER_00
I really wanted to hear when I said I
3
SPEAKER_01
take you out to dinner is you saying, I don t regret this, it s the highest compliment I could ever wish for.
3
SPEAKER_01
We pay, we tip, and we exit through the gift shop, because this is America, where it seems almost every chain has merchandise you can buy, so of course this one isn t any different.
3
SPEAKER_01
Excuse me, really quickly, what s your most popular item that you sell in here?
3
SPEAKER_00
Most popular item?
3
SPEAKER_00
A lot of people love the Stupid is a Stupid does shirt.
3
SPEAKER_01
Classic quote.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, the box of chocolates is always a popular item.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, you sell the box of chocolates?
3
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, we do.
3
SPEAKER_01
And with those suggestions, well, Monica, it s your lucky day.
3
SPEAKER_01
So Monika, if you were to reach down next to you there, there ll be a little bag of gifts.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh my goodness, you guys brought me back for some cheek.
3
SPEAKER_04
Because you couldn t make it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Because I wasn t invited.
3
SPEAKER_01
You re in a different city and we wanted you to have
3
SPEAKER_04
Wow, a t-shirt.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh my gosh, a t-shirt.
3
SPEAKER_04
I m definitely going to wear a lot that says stupid is as stupid does.
3
SPEAKER_04
Hollywood, California.
3
SPEAKER_04
You know, I am such a sucker for merch though, that I bet if I had gone with you guys, I would have bought it.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s the big one.
3
SPEAKER_01
And it s got the smiley face on that Forrest invented.
3
SPEAKER_04
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_04
And then you guys got me.
3
SPEAKER_04
A box of chocolates!
3
SPEAKER_04
How cute.
3
SPEAKER_04
Assorted truffles, it says.
3
SPEAKER_04
Little truffs.
3
SPEAKER_04
Well, thank you.
3
SPEAKER_04
I appreciate it.
3
SPEAKER_04
And I m glad it wasn t a regret of yours, Rob.
3
SPEAKER_04
You kind of liked it.
3
SPEAKER_04
The taste, the seasoning.
3
SPEAKER_02
I had half of a shrimp.
3
SPEAKER_04
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_04
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_04
But is that your snobbery?
3
SPEAKER_04
Did you like it?
3
SPEAKER_01
Look, I was anxious because of the cholesterol problem.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh man.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s really like... It s changing my whole life at the moment.
3
SPEAKER_01
But no, I did enjoy it.
3
SPEAKER_01
I love the atmosphere.
3
SPEAKER_01
I love a ridiculous atmosphere and Bubba Gum has that.
3
SPEAKER_01
And the food, the seafood, it was absolutely fine.
3
SPEAKER_04
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_04
Jambalaya.
3
SPEAKER_04
Have I talked about it here or only on Synced?
3
SPEAKER_01
I haven t heard of Jambalaya.
3
SPEAKER_01
What is Jambalaya?
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh my god.
3
SPEAKER_04
I hate Jambalaya so... It s a restaurant?
3
SPEAKER_04
No, it s a dish.
3
SPEAKER_04
She brought it up.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, that s what she said.
3
SPEAKER_01
That was that word.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_01
Some sort of sandwich?
3
SPEAKER_01
No.
3
SPEAKER_04
No, it s kind of like rice and sausage and like vegetables and it s in a sauce.
3
SPEAKER_04
I hate it because my mom made it once when I was little and she sat at the like, I didn t want it and I refused to eat it.
3
SPEAKER_04
And she just sat at the table with me for what I think was eight hours until I ate four bites of it.
3
SPEAKER_04
So I am scarred from jam.
3
SPEAKER_01
Is it sloppy or dry?
3
SPEAKER_01
What s the texture of a.
3
SPEAKER_04
I think it s like half and half.
3
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, it can be, it s kind of stewy, but it depends on where you re getting it.
3
SPEAKER_04
All right.
3
SPEAKER_04
And I think my mom s was dry.
3
SPEAKER_01
Our hostess really recommended that, right?
3
SPEAKER_01
Our server was like, you ve got to have this.
3
SPEAKER_02
And then we did not order it, even though it came highly recommended from her.
3
SPEAKER_01
Another thing I ve just realized, it s called the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
3
SPEAKER_01
I thought it was company or is it corporation?
3
SPEAKER_01
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
3
SPEAKER_01
Because in New Zealand, you d say, I think of co as being company.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s company.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s company.
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
3
SPEAKER_01
Just doing a little fact checking myself there.
3
SPEAKER_01
I was also just reading some comments on the Forrest Gump trailer on YouTube.
3
SPEAKER_01
This person really likes it.
3
SPEAKER_01
Forrest is the most selfless character in cinema.
3
SPEAKER_01
He was a good son, a good husband, a good father, a good friend.
3
SPEAKER_01
He served his country and was a hero in Vietnam.
3
SPEAKER_01
This is so American.
3
SPEAKER_01
He did everything he physically could do to save his friend and never thought it might cost him his life.
3
SPEAKER_01
He gave Jenny his Medal of Honor because he got it doing what she said.
3
SPEAKER_01
He continued with his friend s dream business and became a millionaire.
3
SPEAKER_01
Nothing could bring Forrest down.
3
SPEAKER_01
Even after Jenny died, he was still the same person.
3
SPEAKER_01
Just the most genuine friend anyone could have.
3
SPEAKER_04
I like that.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s beautiful, isn t it?
3
SPEAKER_01
That is a beautiful read.
3
SPEAKER_04
It sure is.
3
SPEAKER_04
Did you guys go to the Santa Monica one?
3
SPEAKER_01
Nope.
3
SPEAKER_01
Universal Studios.
3
SPEAKER_01
City Walk.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh, City Walk.
3
SPEAKER_04
That s a specific vibe.
3
SPEAKER_01
It s a vibe.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_01
I mean, Rob probably knew he wasn t going to, like, a high-end place when we ended up at City Walk, but I still like to give him a little bit of a surprise.
3
SPEAKER_04
Sure.
3
SPEAKER_04
While you guys were doing that, I was in New York at a cute martini bar.
3
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_02
You sent a photo to me of Emma while we were walking to this.
3
SPEAKER_04
Yes.
3
SPEAKER_04
And then you sent back a picture of shrimp, which I thought was very funny.
3
SPEAKER_01
Now, another thing, I ve got a few little gifts here in the form of audio.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh.
3
SPEAKER_01
Your face lit up.
3
SPEAKER_01
In the form of audio?
3
SPEAKER_01
Got very sad again.
3
SPEAKER_01
I did one more interview for this story that I think is important.
3
SPEAKER_01
Tom Hanks?
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, you got Tom.
3
SPEAKER_01
Sorry, it s not Tom Hanks.
3
SPEAKER_01
But now you bring him up.
3
SPEAKER_01
If you want Tom Hanks, there is a really amazing podcast called Dead Eyes.
3
SPEAKER_01
And it s about a guy, Conor Ratliff.
3
SPEAKER_01
He s a comedian, but he s an actor as well.
3
SPEAKER_01
And back when Band of Brothers was made, he auditioned.
3
SPEAKER_01
Tom Hanks, obviously, directed some of that.
3
SPEAKER_01
And he got hired for the job.
3
SPEAKER_01
And at the time, you know, this was a high-end HBO show, Band of Brothers.
3
SPEAKER_01
He was so excited.
3
SPEAKER_01
And then he got fired.
3
SPEAKER_01
And the note that came back from the studio was that Tom Hanks had seen his tape and said he had dead eyes.
3
SPEAKER_04
No.
3
SPEAKER_01
And so this podcast is about Connor basically trying to find out how that had happened, how Tom Hanks saw the video, whether it was true that he had, because he does have like, I d say they re really beautiful eyes.
3
SPEAKER_01
They re big sort of, he s got these eyes, you know, and, but he really affected him in his career.
3
SPEAKER_01
And the podcast is actually really beautiful because he ends up talking to a lot of people about moments in their careers that have been just a big bummer and how that changed their lives.
3
SPEAKER_01
It runs for about three seasons and the final episode,
3
SPEAKER_01
he gets Tom Hanks.
3
SPEAKER_04
No way.
3
SPEAKER_01
And he talks about the whole thing, the Dead Eyes, the audition process, what really happened.
3
SPEAKER_01
Holy shit, this is so cool.
3
SPEAKER_01
And it s one of the most rewarding things.
3
SPEAKER_01
So if you want any Tom Hanks interview, Dead Eyes is honestly the one to go to.
3
SPEAKER_01
Well, we ve also interviewed him.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh, in here as well.
3
SPEAKER_01
But if you want three seasons of Tom Hanks related craziness, Dead Eyes is really beautiful.
3
SPEAKER_01
I love it.
3
SPEAKER_04
I m going to listen.
3
SPEAKER_01
Tom Hanks s Instagram is also very unusual.
3
SPEAKER_01
There s a theory on Reddit that he s like a serial killer, because he ll just take photos of weird objects on the ground, like a pair of socks.
3
SPEAKER_01
They re quite spooky, and it s kind of amazing.
3
SPEAKER_01
He s posting them, and it s... Look at Tom Hanks s account now.
3
SPEAKER_01
The internet s so stupid.
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, no, but I think he encourages it.
3
SPEAKER_01
You look at these photos, and it looks like he s out there doing some crazy shit.
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay, I m just going to pull up now Tom Hanks.
3
SPEAKER_01
Okay, there s a glove on a fence post with a quote under it.
3
SPEAKER_01
I lost my partner.
3
SPEAKER_01
I was walking in the park now alone.
3
SPEAKER_01
Alas, that s a haiku he wrote.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh my God.
3
SPEAKER_04
I don t see that.
3
SPEAKER_01
There s a glove sitting on a little fence.
3
SPEAKER_01
The date was March, 2023.
3
SPEAKER_02
You got to go pretty far to find these on the ground.
3
SPEAKER_01
They re really amusing.
3
SPEAKER_01
There s another one, a little bandana on the ground and his caption is, look, little lost bunny.
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SPEAKER_01
He s also signs everything Hanks, H-A-N-X, which I really like.
3
SPEAKER_01
A combination of sort of like Tom Hanks and Hanks.
3
SPEAKER_04
Oh, I like that.
3
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_04
He s working on his haikus.
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SPEAKER_04
I love it.
3
SPEAKER_01
So there s a whole theory on Reddit about what all these lost clothes mean that s posted all over his Instagram.
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SPEAKER_01
And it s very funny to me.
3
SPEAKER_01
This a little baby pacifier?
3
SPEAKER_01
Oh, I see the glove.
3
SPEAKER_01
You see, it s a vibe, right?
3
SPEAKER_01
It s funny.
3
SPEAKER_04
It is funny.
3
SPEAKER_04
Remember when he got COVID and we all thought he was going to die?
3
SPEAKER_04
Yep.
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SPEAKER_04
Everyone got really upset.
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SPEAKER_04
He was like the first celebrity to get it.
3
SPEAKER_01
That s right.
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SPEAKER_04
And we were freaking out.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, because he s like America s darling.
3
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
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SPEAKER_01
So he can t die.
3
SPEAKER_04
Absolutely not.
3
SPEAKER_01
OK, I tracked down the CEO of Bubba Gum Shrimp Company and I had a quick conversation with her.
3
SPEAKER_03
Well, you re going to find this pretty funny, but my name is Jenny.
3
SPEAKER_01
I m going to be honest that hadn t gotten past me and I imagine you get sick of people making that reference.
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SPEAKER_03
No, I kind of enjoy it.
3
SPEAKER_03
I get a lot of Jenae s, but I enjoy it.
3
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
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SPEAKER_03
So I am the COO of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
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SPEAKER_03
And, um, I guess we can say it s destiny.
3
SPEAKER_01
Do you actually, do you have a memory of the first time you watched Forest Gump?
3
SPEAKER_01
Because for me, I was a teenager in New Zealand.
3
SPEAKER_01
We studied it for English class and I must ve watched it about 20 times.
3
SPEAKER_03
Okay, this is gonna be a crazy story, but it is true.
3
SPEAKER_03
So I live here in LA and we vacation at the lake or river.
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SPEAKER_03
There s a location in Laughlin where we go to the lake there.
3
SPEAKER_03
And I was actually pregnant with my first daughter and I was watching Forrest Gump in our hotel room, getting ready for dinner.
3
SPEAKER_03
And it was filmed in Savannah, Georgia.
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SPEAKER_03
And I named my daughter Savannah because I loved the name.
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SPEAKER_03
And so it s so crazy because all these years later, my name s Jenny, and now I m running Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
3
SPEAKER_03
So, you know, sometimes you just got to go with it.
3
SPEAKER_01
I love this.
3
SPEAKER_01
And I m curious, in your years in hospitality, what makes this particular place unique?
4
SPEAKER_00
It s interesting.
4
SPEAKER_00
I ve worked for 30 years in the industry with different brands, of course, too.
4
SPEAKER_00
And Bubba Gump has, it s not just food.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s a little bit more of entertainment experience and the guests are very well invested.
4
SPEAKER_00
There s not guests that come in that don t take photos and don t grab souvenirs and they love trivia.
4
SPEAKER_00
So I feel like we re more than just food for a hungry belly.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, because I was talking to my colleague, Rob, as we were eating at Bubba Gump, and it is this really unique situation where, you know, outside of a theme park, we have got places themed after a much loved franchise.
4
SPEAKER_02
This is something that exists in the real world in multiple locations.
4
SPEAKER_02
So it s like this film has jumped out into real life and people do take a very personal ownership of that, right?
4
SPEAKER_00
And Forrest, I feel like, has reached multi-generations.
4
SPEAKER_00
A lot of people say, oh, the movie is going to be, you know, it s 30 year, our 30 year anniversary in July.
4
SPEAKER_00
And it s, you know, it s the new generation won t know.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I was like, it s so crazy.
4
SPEAKER_00
I was at the gym the other day and we were doing Lieutenant Dan s, you know, and all ages knew Lieutenant Dan s.
4
SPEAKER_00
And so it s kind of like the grandparents and the parents, it s a part of their, one of their favorite movies is
4
SPEAKER_00
You know, there s a few iconic movies that we all have just remembered in our years, if you will, and Forrest Gump s one of them.
4
SPEAKER_02
Actually, look, this is embarrassing.
4
SPEAKER_02
I hadn t clocked that it s going to be the 30th anniversary.
4
SPEAKER_02
Do you have anything planned or is it just going to be business as usual at Bubba Gump Shrimp?
4
SPEAKER_00
So a little bit of both.
4
SPEAKER_00
We are in partnership of a celebration that ll happen in July.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then it s the 30th year of the anniversary.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then obviously the restaurant followed a couple of years later.
4
SPEAKER_00
So we kind of have two things that we re celebrating there.
4
SPEAKER_00
But yeah, I mean, you know, 30 years in the restaurant industry, it s a tough go.
4
SPEAKER_00
And to keep guests, you know, invested and excited about us is really a huge accomplishment.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I imagine you get some pretty hardcore fans coming through there at times as well.
4
SPEAKER_00
You know, it s funny you say that.
4
SPEAKER_00
Last week, I got an invitation from our guests to their wedding because they were engaged at our location there in Santa Monica.
4
SPEAKER_00
And so, you know, I put it in our, we have a weekly meeting.
4
SPEAKER_00
I put it, you know, the picture, if you will, in the invitation in our weekly PowerPoint just to show how influential a dining experience or a memory can be.
4
SPEAKER_00
We call them kind of emotional souvenirs, right?
4
SPEAKER_00
You come in and you, remember when we were in Santa Monica on the pier or we were in Times Square?
4
SPEAKER_00
And so we try to be more than just a quick meal.
4
SPEAKER_00
We all eat every day, but we try to really have that souvenir, kind of the remember when.
4
SPEAKER_00
So that s what makes us a little different.
4
SPEAKER_00
I work really hard to not make us the same.
4
SPEAKER_02
I m curious if there are any rules with your staff.
4
SPEAKER_02
Does everyone have to have watched Forrest Gump?
4
SPEAKER_02
Is there any particular training?
4
SPEAKER_02
Is there a quiz about the film?
4
SPEAKER_02
Because obviously some customers will expect the staff to know the atmosphere of the film, right?
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I mean, trivia is a part of what we do.
4
SPEAKER_00
And guests are so upset if we, for some reason, miss them.
4
SPEAKER_00
And so obviously, there s a ton of training.
4
SPEAKER_00
But there s a ton of training.
4
SPEAKER_00
And if we miss it, the guest is upset.
4
SPEAKER_00
So there s all kinds of steps that are super important.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think the only other thing I d say is we, you know, the thing that stands out about Bubba is our community is great to us.
4
SPEAKER_00
And we d love to be great back with the community.
4
SPEAKER_00
Out of all the brands in my experience, we are definitely a part of, we call them shrimp possibilities.
4
SPEAKER_00
But we definitely try and give back to our community.
4
SPEAKER_00
We, you know, partner obviously with the Gary Sinise Foundation, Lt.
4
SPEAKER_00
Dan, right.
4
SPEAKER_00
But we are a part of, you know, people fighting cancer.
4
SPEAKER_00
And, you know, there s a lot of philanthropic things that the employees volunteer their time, the managers, myself, we all volunteer to give back because they take such good care of us too.
4
SPEAKER_00
And I feel like that is a, it was the, one of the first most impressive things when I started working with Bubba is how much they are committed to their communities.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s pretty cool because we re in tourist locations, but yet we re committed to the community.
4
SPEAKER_00
So that s pretty fun.
4
SPEAKER_02
Jenny, you ve been amazing.
4
SPEAKER_02
Thank you so much for your time.
4
SPEAKER_02
I should let you get back to running one of America s best restaurant chains.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thank you.
4
SPEAKER_00
It was awesome.
4
SPEAKER_00
Thank you for, thank you for the time today.
4
SPEAKER_02
Jenny was pretty cool.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I just, I really liked the fact she s called Jenny.
4
SPEAKER_02
I saw that and I died.
4
SPEAKER_01
I was about to make a joke right before is her name Jenny and was too stupid of a joke to make, but then it ended up being true.
4
SPEAKER_02
Also really liked the word shrimpossibles.
4
SPEAKER_01
Shrimpossibilities.
4
SPEAKER_01
So good.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s great.
4
SPEAKER_01
It is funny.
4
SPEAKER_01
Every company has vernacular like that.
4
SPEAKER_01
They have words that are very specific to the brand.
4
SPEAKER_02
We should get some with an armchair.
4
SPEAKER_02
We have all kinds of crazy stuff.
4
SPEAKER_01
We do, right?
4
SPEAKER_02
Ding, ding, ding, all that stuff.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s unique to here.
4
SPEAKER_01
A lot of it.
4
SPEAKER_02
I mean, Netflix has a whole language around their internal comms.
4
SPEAKER_02
That s a whole crazy land they ve got.
4
SPEAKER_02
Maths.
4
SPEAKER_01
Maths.
4
SPEAKER_02
Maths.
4
SPEAKER_01
Indeed.
4
SPEAKER_02
Unique to us.
4
SPEAKER_02
I ve got some bonus facts here.
4
SPEAKER_02
Great.
4
SPEAKER_02
There was a book sequel to Forrest Gump called Gump and Co.
4
SPEAKER_02
And so the original novel, Forrest Gump, was written in 1986.
4
SPEAKER_02
And one year after the movie came out, author Winston Groom wrote a sequel that had the protagonist or Shucksing his way through history from 82 to 95.
4
SPEAKER_02
And there s all sorts of American incidents that happened, but it did not get made into a movie.
4
SPEAKER_02
But if you really love Forrest Gump and you want more, read the book sequel.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do it.
4
SPEAKER_02
Chris Pratt was discovered while working as a waiter at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
4
SPEAKER_02
No way.
4
SPEAKER_02
He was 19 and that s where he got discovered.
4
SPEAKER_02
That s incredible.
4
SPEAKER_02
Another fact,
4
SPEAKER_02
I already mentioned that Haley Joel Osment s career was launched there and the Lieutenant Dan Band who I now want to go and see, he goes and raises money for American servicemen apparently in war vets.
4
SPEAKER_02
That s his big thing.
4
SPEAKER_01
Cool.
4
SPEAKER_02
So that s like another weird example of this movie coming into real life that I find really, really fascinating.
4
SPEAKER_01
Well, this was fun.
4
SPEAKER_01
I liked that you made it more Forrest Gump-y.
4
SPEAKER_02
Gotta have some Gump in there.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
You can t talk about Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
4
SPEAKER_02
without Forrest Gump.
4
SPEAKER_01
And you re right, it is so inherently American.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s the point of the movie.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
So it was a good deep dive.
4
SPEAKER_02
It s a history lesson.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s right.
4
SPEAKER_02
As well as a deeply beautiful film.
4
SPEAKER_01
And delicious shrimp possibility.
4
SPEAKER_02
And delicious shrimp possibility.
4
SPEAKER_02
I think we ve all become more American in this episode.
4
SPEAKER_01
You two definitely have.
4
SPEAKER_02
You two, you ve got a Bubba Gump t-shirt now you can wear.
4
SPEAKER_02
That s right.
4
SPEAKER_02
That s as American as it comes.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re right.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re right.
4
SPEAKER_01
20% more American, all of us.
4
SPEAKER_02
Beautiful.
4
SPEAKER_02
Bye.
4
SPEAKER_02
Enjoy the shrimp.