Your Story’s Heart Holds it All Together

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Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump

In a post on ScreenCraft, Al Horner shares his interview with Eric Roth, screenwriter of  Munich, Dune, A Star Is Born, and Killers of the Flower Moon. Although his award-winning script for Forrest Gump has multiple story veins – Civil Rights, the war in Vietnam, Forrest’s trek through America – one thread held them all together: the hero’s relationship with Jenny. During the interview, Roth explains how he made Forrest’s romance with childhood friend Jenny Curran the anchor of his script.

“She’s all he really wants. It’s quite simple that way,” Roth says. “It allowed the story to be a little crazy, the purity of his motivation. He loves his mother. He loves his country. But mostly, he wants to be with Jenny, to do right by Jenny.”