Forrest Gump: Transforming a book into a Blockbuster
• Estimated Vs Actual box office revenue: $276 – 337MM Vs $330MM
99% events in Forrest Gump are borrowed from 3 mythological tales
Forrest Gump is a 1994 movie inspired from a novel by Winston Groom. In the movie, Eric Roth explores basic human desires of Acceptance, Status and Accumulation. He builds a story around the idea of a man with low IQ influencing several decades of American history. Mythosis uses 3 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie
1. Mythological tales reveal the invisible plot structure of any story
1A. 99% of the events are borrowed from 3 mythological tales
Forrest’s quest is driven by the desire to be accepted by a loved one and mirrors the tale of Theseus from Greek mythology. Just as Theseus wants King Aegeus to accept him as his son, Forrest wants Jenny to marry him.
Jenny's quest is driven by the desire to collect & own and mirrors the tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Jenny sacrifice even their loved ones to further their ambition.
Lt Dan’s quest is driven by the desire for respect and mirrors the tale of Joseph from Abrahamic mythology. Both Joseph & Lt Dan achieve success despite being victims of misfortune.
Detailed mirroring of each character to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
1B. 32 mythological tales are the source of all stories, even the untold ones
Human beings are driven by 16 fundamental desires. Every desire, whether encountering fulfilment or unfulfillment, gives rise to two distinct quests. Thus, a spectrum of 32 unique quests mirrors every human desire.
We have discovered mythological tales from across civilizations that uniquely portray each one of these 32 human quests. While each mythological tale stands as a distinct quest, the true magic unfolds when these tales are combined. This synergy is evident in the epics of Odyssey and Ramayan, where various universal quests seamlessly intertwine.
Combining any five tales from the 32, generates a staggering 24 million unique story plots. The possibilities explode to an astounding 650 million by combining six tales!
Forrest Gump's unique plot structure is #1,109 that emerges from interweaving the tales of Theseus, Valmiki & Joseph.
2. Potential of Forrest Gump's plot structure: $276 – 337MM
2A. Evaluation of Forrest Gump's plot structure
An analysis of Blockbuster, Hit & Flop plots has led to the discovery of Mythosis Code. The Code reveals the story principles shared by all Blockbusters. We use the Code to estimate a story’s potential.
All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Forrest Gump has three universal quests of Acceptance, Accumulation & Status.
In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Forrest mirrors the universal quest of Acceptance. Lt Dan mirrors the quest of Status & Jenny mirrors the quest of Accumulation.
Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Forrest’s character borrows 40% of the universal quest of Acceptance. Lt Dan borrows 36% of the quest of Status. Jenny’s character borrows 56% of the quest of Accumulation.
Blockbusters interweave different quests to create a tight plot structure. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Forrest Gump’s quest interweaving score is 0.67 and is above par. An example of interweaving the quests of Forrest & Jenny:
2B. Plot structure is the most important but least understood element of storytelling
Any plot structure that borrows events from at least 3 mythological tales has high resonance. In our own lives, each one of us identifies with at least one quest to fulfil a basic human desire. The more quests woven into a story, the wider its appeal. The nature of mythological tales used, makes the plot structure fresh & unique. Besides, appealing to a larger audience size the interweaving of various human desires creates a unique and original story.
Interweaving mythological tales makes the plot structure cohesive. Stories become seamless when characters are woven with each other through their quests and not merely by relationships.
Characters are consistent when they mirror a single mythological tale. Characters pursuing more than one quest appear confusing due to their divergent desires.
Borrowing 35% or more events from each mythological tale strengthens both the plot structure & character. The plot structure becomes flat when characters borrow less than the threshold. Each mythological tale has multiple twists & turns hence no forced injection is required. Characters become layered & complex when their journey is deep.
2C. Measuring the revenue potential of Forrest Gump's plot structure
We have created an algorithm by assigning weights to the principles of The Mythosis Code. The algorithm calculates the potency of a story’s plot structure and estimates its corresponding audience appeal. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Forrest Gump’s script potential score is 0.88 and the movie will appeal to 25.21 – 30.81% of the population. Our estimate of the movie’s revenues from its audience appeal is $276 – 337MM the domestic market. The movie grossed $330MM.
3. The ideal plot structure of Forrest Gump
We have identified 32 universal quests that represent every human desire. These quests are the superset of thousands of stories across cultures that reflect our collective subconscious. Each quest has a structured sequence of events divided into 5 major arcs.
We map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale (universal quest) which reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. The ideal Plot Structure is constructed by plugging these gaps with the missing events from the tale. These events strengthen both the journey of characters as well as the weaving of quests without altering the story.
Quest 1: Forrest mirrors the universal quest for Acceptance
Forrest’s desire for Acceptance stems from the need for approval by others. The tale of Theseus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Acceptance.
Quest 2: Jenny mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Jenny’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect & own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
Quest 3: Lt Dan mirrors the universal quest for Status
Lt Dan’s desire for Status stems from the need for social standing & respect. The tale of Joseph from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Status.
Tags:1994, Acceptance, Accumulation, Box office, Character development, Eric Roth, Joseph, Mythology, Paramount Pictures, Robert Zemeckis, Script, Status, Story plot, The Tisch Company, Theseus, Valmiki
