“We can’t afford it, you’re not going to do it”: the legendary scene Tom Hanks paid for himself
It’s not a position every actor is fortunate enough to find themselves in, but Tom Hanks had the financial clout to put his hands into his own pockets and fund a scene the studio told him it either didn’t have the money to pay for or wasn’t keen on investing in.
Not only did it reinforce the star’s belief in the project, but it was a decision that paid massive dividends. In fact, there was plenty of irony to be found, with Hanks making a great deal more money from the film in question after the boardroom had opted to reach a compromise instead of footing the bill.
It was hardly a small-scale independent production, either, but a crowd-pleaser with a substantial $55 million budget. There was plenty of money on the line, but apparently, Paramount didn’t think it was worth digging around behind the back of the couch to find the extra pennies.
The leading man got the last laugh when his investment netted him tens of millions of dollars after the fact, and to think, if it weren’t for Hanks deciding the financial risk was worth the potential reward, Forrest Gump would have never featured the iconic sequence where the title character embarks on a cross-country run that thrusts him into the national spotlight.
It’s not only one of the most famous scenes in the film; it’s one of the most famous scenes of Hanks’ entire career. Forrest Gump was a cultural juggernaut that devoured the box office and dominated the Academy Awards, and more than 30 years later, people are still gripped by the desire to scream, “Run, Forrest, run” whenever they see somebody gliding past them at a light jog.
“The studio said, ‘We can’t afford it, you’re not going to do it,'” Hanks revealed to Graham Bensinger. “And Bob said, ‘It’s too important a part of the movie just to cut. We can make this work’. And they said, ‘No, you can’t.'” As it turned out, they could, but not without the star and director Robert Zemeckis whipping out their wallets.
The filmmaker informed him, “This run is going to cost X amount of dollars,” with Hanks admitting “it wasn’t cheap.” Still, he agreed, with Zemeckis making the arrangement: “You and I are going to split that amount, and we’re going to give it back to them,” Hanks was told. “We’ll give you the money back, but you guys are going to have to share the profits a little bit more.”
The top brass at Paramount agreed, presumably unaware that Forrest Gump would earn $678 million at the box office. As a result of the agreement between the two parties over how to redistribute the cost of the running scene, Hanks’ percentages of the profits were increased, and he ultimately walked away from the ‘Best Picture’ winner an estimated $60 million richer.
