Always at the forefront of technological advancement, Robert Zemeckis' new cinematic event Here is set to open theatrically on November 1, 2024. A sprawling family film set over multiple generations, the entire movie is shot from a single fixed camera angle in the corner of a suburban home, allowing viewers to peer into Richard (Tom Hanks) and Margaret Young's (Robin Wright) family lives like a fly on the wall as years and decades pass.
Of course, considering the main actors involved in Zemeckis' new movie, it's impossible not to wonder if and how Here relates to Forrest Gump, the most famous and acclaimed Hanks-Zemeckis collaboration. More symmetrical yet, Forrest Gump turns 30 years old in 2024, further questioning whether Here is related to the iconic Oscar-winning feel-good story. With less than a month until Here is opens, all the answers needed abound.
What Is Here About?
Here is an American domestic drama directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay he co-adapted with Eric Roth from the Richard McGuire graphic novel. Spanning multiple generations in Richard and Margaret Young's family, the story is told from the same corner camera angle inside their home, giving viewers an intimate glimpse into the daily lives of Richard and Margaret's immediate and extended relatives.
In addition to Richard and Margaret, his parents', Al (Paul Bettany) and Rose (Kellly Reilly), time on the plot of land is explored, tracing the evolution of the Young family over a century. Big and small events like marriages, births, anniversaries, and the like are balanced by unavoidable tragedies, painting a full portrait of an American family and all their highs, lows, triumphs, and tribulations.
Par for the course for Zemeckis, who has used cutting-edge technology since 1988's Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Here employs a new AI face-swap and de-aging technology called MetaPhysic Live (via The Hollywood Reporter). In real-time, the technology alters faces and reverses aging while the actors are on the set with the cameras rolling. Zemeckis famously mixed media formats in Forrest Gump, superimposing the title character into real-life footage of major American historical events.
Forrest Gump Is Timeless and Beloved
Released in July 1994, Forrest Gump is a landmark American drama that won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and the second consecutive Best Actor award for Tom Hanks following Philadelphia. The story follows Forrest Gump, an optimistic simpleton who, despite his IQ of 75, finds himself at the right place at the right time throughout America's tumultuous history between the 1950s and 1970s. Despite being a period piece, the film captured the zeitgeist of the 1990s en route to being ranked #11 on IMDb's Top 250 Movies.
Desperately in love with a counterculture advocate named Jenny Curran (Robin Wright), Forrest follows her across the country and witnesses everything from the Civil Rights movement to the Vietnam War and everything in between. Despite the oversentimental schmaltz, Forrest Gump remains one of the most touching and uplifting feel-good American dramas of the past 30 years. Apart from the award and accolades, the film was a massive financial hit, grossing $678 million globally against a $55 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Considering Forrest Gump's critical and commercial success, it's no surprise that the main creative forces would reunite at some point. That point is Here, opening on November 1, 2024.
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How Here Relates to Forrest Gump
To be crystal clear, Here and Forrest Gump are NOT related to each other on the story level. Both movies feature entirely different stories, characters, and settings, meaning no official narrative correlation exists. However, given the de-aged faces of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, who resemble their Forrest Gump characters more in Here than they do in real life, it's easy to connect the two films on a superficial level. Yet, despite the lack of narrative connective tissue, the creative forces behind Here and Forrest Gump are largely the same.
For instance, venerated screenwriter Eric Roth wrote the Oscar-winning script for Forrest Gump and the screenplay for Here, marking the second collaboration between Roth and Zemeckis. Here also features Tom Hanks and Robin Wright portraying lovers for the first time since Forrest Gump, further tying the two projects together. Here marks the fifth collaboration between Hanks and Zemeckis, who've continually pushed cinema's technological frontiers ahead with watershed movies like Castaway, The Polar Express, and Pinocchio.
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Yet another connection exists between Forrest Gump and Here; composer Alan Silvestri. Zemeckis and Silvestri have worked together since 1984's Romancing the Stone, and have collaborated on nearly every movie since. Silvestri's score for Back to the Future (Zemeckis' most famous title) ranks among the all-time most iconic movie music, and the composer's two Oscar nominations were both for Zemeckis' Forrest Gump and The Polar Express. As such, it's no surprise that Silvestri has composed the music for Here, marking a 40-year working relationship with Zemeckis.
While there is no official story connection between Forrest Gump and Here, both movies are tied by the creative collaborations between director Robert Zemeckis, actors Tom Hanks, and Robin Wright, writer Eric Roth, and composer Alan Silvestri. Therefore, Here is more of a Forrest Gump reunion than a sequel, prequel, or spin-off.
Here opens theatrically on November 1, 2024.