Forrest Gump's Shrimp Storyline Led To One Of Hollywood's Grossest Mistakes

Who could forget the shrimpin' storyline in "Forrest Gump?" It's one of those sneaky subplots that resurfaces from time to time, delivering some of the sweetest and funniest moments in Robert Zemeckis' classic. Naturally, that's mainly due to Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise's wonderful chemistry together, but also to the authenticity with which the scenes on the boat (and the sea) have been executed. It turns out, according to the oral history of the film published by Garden & Gun in 2024, that the immense amount of shrimp Forrest and Lt. Dan pull out of the water and drop on the boat was as real as it gets. No CGI there, thankfully.

According to the Gay Fish Company's receipts, Paramount had bought 4,984 pounds of shrimp, forty-five baskets of ice, and a used shovel from them on September 7, 1993, for $15,125.30. A week later, they placed another order for 1,141 pounds (at a nickel more per pound) and more gear, for $11,814.80. But as the owner of the company, Charles Gay, recalled, after using those shrimps in the movie, the studio seemed a little cheap when they asked him to resell the already rotting product to make some of the money back they spent on them. He said:

"It was a good-sized order, all right. They were using our shrimp boats, so it made sense. They were pretty cheap, though. They wanted me to sell the shrimp after they used them to get some money back, I guess, so I sent the shrimp to a cat food place. They called and said, 'Charles, what in the hell did you send us? This stuff is rotten.'"

Winston Groom, the author of the 1986 novel the film is based on, had a dear friend called George Radcliff to whom he dedicated his book, alongside his other childhood buddy, Jimbo Meador — both of them being real-life inspirations. Radcliff lived an exciting life, as it's detailed in Mobile Bay Magazine, including that he knew Willie Nelson, hung out with John Wayne, and challenged Paul McCartney to an arm-wrestling contest. Given his larger-than-life persona, he was a huge inspiration for Groom when creating some of the most memorable events in Gump's life — like meeting Elvis Presley, Presidents Nixon and John F. Kennedy — as well as coming up with the Bubba Gump Shrimp plotline.

After his boisterous and full-speed youth, Radcliff calmed down enough to buy a boat and spend most of his time out on the sea, shrimpin'. A much more laid-back lifestyle compared to his younger years. As his daughter recalled in an interview, "He bought this shrimp boat called the Baghdad. He thought it was awesome. Then he just wanted to shrimp around Mobile Bay all the time."

In addition to Meador's knowledge and love for shrimp, that's where the shrimping storyline in "Forrest Gump" originated from, which eventually had its own influence and impact when businessman Anthony Zolezzi bought the rights to use the name Bubba Gump Shrimp from Paramount Pictures to revive his seafood company. It turned out to be a successful move, so much so that Zolezzi and his friends also licensed the name to open an actual restaurant called Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. in 1996. In no time, the place became so popular that they turned it into a franchise and eventually sold it to Landry's, Inc. in 2010 for an undisclosed amount (via Smoky Mountains). Today, the restaurant chain counts over 30 branches worldwide.