Flightless Bird: Bubba Gumps 44:41

I'm David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick. Back when I was at school in Bethlehem, New Zealand, each year we'd have to study a film in English class. We'd watch it, and then we'd endlessly discuss it, pulling apart the themes, characters, and story. At the end of the year, we'd have exams, and a big chunk of the English exam was writing about that movie. And there was one movie that really stuck with me.

Forrest Gump was box office gold in 1994. It was the highest grossing film in America that year, and it was a really big hit in New Zealand as well. It was a big hit everywhere. And I think Forrest Gump is one of the most American movies I've ever seen, inserting the fictional character of Forrest Gump, played by Tom Hanks, into various historically important American moments. The film managed to sink into pop culture, and it was a great film.

I feel like most of us have probably heard this line either in the movie or quoted at us, usually sarcastically. My mum always said life was like a box of chocolates.

You never know what you're going to get. Forrest Gump also did something not many films have ever done. Something truly magical. It leapt out into real life. Because on any day of the week in America, you can stroll directly into a restaurant that wouldn't exist without Forrest Gump. The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. You ever been on a real shrimp boat? No, but I've been on a real big boat.

For this episode, I want to learn about how the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company came to be. A real-life restaurant chain that wouldn't exist without a fictional character named Benjamin Bubba Blue. So, get ready to hear Bubba recite every shrimp style he knows. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There's shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo.

Pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp. Because this is the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company episode. Fly this, fly this, fly this bird touchdown in America. I'm a fly this bird touchdown in America.

Forrest Gump. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. What a movie. I love that movie. Do you remember the first time that you saw Bubba Gump in Forrest Gump? I mean, I remember the first time I saw the movie. It was late in life. It wasn't when it came out. Really? You missed it when it came out? When did it come out? 94? Okay. Because then I would have been six or seven. I'm going to check that now. 94.

94? Yeah, it was 94. Okay. So I was just a wee baby, just new to America. Just arrived. So I hadn't seen it yet. Yeah. I think I saw it in high school or something on TNT. Okay. Or TBS or whatever, you know, one of those. And I loved it. It's so smart. That movie is so clever and hilarious and sad. Yeah.

Yeah, I rewatched it about a week ago. And weirdly, I was then in Target. And you know how in America they have those commemorative magazines? They'll have a Taylor Swift special. It's almost like a book. God willing. But it's in a magazine. They've got one out at the moment for Forrest Gump. Oh. Anniversary? Because next year, 30th year anniversary. Well, I'm sure. No, this year. Oh, my math is so out. 2024. Yeah, this year's the 30th. Oh, yeah.

Our friend Jedediah, his dad famously trekked across the country. And so Forrest Gump is in some ways, some parts of it are based off of his dad. Say again?

My friend Jedediah. Yeah. He's also been on Armchair Expert. Yeah. His dad trekked across the country. Was that the character that Forrest was based on? Yes. What? Isn't that... I mean, he's not like... Like, that's the only part that's mimicked is the trek. No, but that was what inspired that story. Yeah. I didn't know that. Isn't that funny? Have I met Jedediah? Well, it's Jedediah. Jedediah. Have I met Jedediah? You haven't met Jedediah, no. Does he go by Jed? Yes, he does. Okay. You probably have met him.

Holy shit. That's just an amazing. I didn't know this. My mind's blown. That was such a key part of that movie. Huge. Was Gumpoff running across America. I know. Isn't that fun? Real quick, before we get into your doc, I want to say sorry I missed last week's episode. I missed Ren Faire. You missed Ren Faire. Yeah. You're out in the wild.

It was drama. I was not well. I was engaged in a messy day. There was stuff going on. And so I missed it, but I really enjoyed listening to it. Oh, cool. And the Renaissance Faire experience, whoa. Have you ever been to one? And it sort of made you want to go a little bit? It made me intrigued. I do think going with a group of friends would be quite entertaining. Yeah.

But I also think I would be so annoyed that they wouldn't meet me in reality. Yeah. That was making me laugh so hard. Yeah, it got so confusing. It's just hard to talk to people when they're pretending to be someone else. Well, especially when you're doing a podcast on America and they're refusing to acknowledge they're in America. I'm stuck in England. It's very confusing for my brain. Yeah.

And also, yeah, just so odd that America has taken that on as its big thing. Yeah, it's pretty interesting. Anyway, so sad I missed it, but it was fun. My next question, have you been to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.? No. Is there any particular reason? You sort of used to walk past, sort of you smelt the aroma of shrimp coming out. How do you feel about shrimp and seafood in general? Love shrimp and seafood. Ding, ding, ding. Had it last night. Mm-hmm.

at Cara, the lemon pasta with shrimp. That's the way to do it. - It was good, okay. - So good. So yes, I love shrimp. I like seafood. And I'm sure there was a period of time where I really wanted to go there, but my parents were not ever indulging in that kind of campy food scene. I wanted to go to the Rainforest Cafe so bad.

They wouldn't go there. They wouldn't go to Hard Rock Cafe. This is an episode, probably, like these types of, well, obviously this one. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it is a type of Americana that is like a certain, and your parents weren't having it. No. They're like, we're not engaging in that side of America. We're not doing it.

But you know the trick now. Now you're an adult and you've moved out of home. You are free when you walk past a Bubba Gump's. I could go in there. You can wander in and order a big mountain of shrimp. I could. And partake. It's an experience. Timing wise, I think I've missed the window. I have zero interest. Okay. How about for the 30th anniversary, maybe watch Forrest Gump. Okay. Get reinvigorated by the thrilling backstory of Bubba.

And then partake in a big shrimp bucket with your friends. But look, I'll see if this doc convinces you. Okay. And of course, we have to sort of rewind and start with where it all started, which was the movie.

Before we can talk about the real Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, we need to talk about the fictional Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. In the world of Forrest Gump, the movie, Forrest Gump graduates in 1966 and goes off to join the US Army, where he meets fellow recruit Bubba. "Bubba's family knew everything they was to know about the shrimping business." "I know everything they is to know about the shrimping business. Matter of fact, I'm going into the shrimping business for myself."

After I get out the arm. Unfortunately, Bubba never got to fulfill his shrimping dream. Forrest and Bubba are sent to Vietnam, where their platoon is ambushed. Oh, Bubba, no. Forrest finds Bubba in bad shape. His guts are all hanging out, and Forrest heroically picks his friend up and runs as they're being bombed. Oh, no.

They make it to the extraction point. Forrest is a good runner. But it's too late for Bubba. "Hey Bubba." "Hey Forrest." "Forrest, why'd this happen?" "You got shot." Bubba dies in Forrest's arms. And in 1974 Forrest Gump leaves the army and goes to play competitive ping pong, earning enough money to buy a shrimping boat.

One of his other war buddies, Lieutenant Dan, becomes Forrest's first mate. They catch a lot of shrimp, and the two men create the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Bubba Gump Shrimp. It's a household name. Hold on there, boy. Are you telling me you're the owner of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Corporation? Yes, sir. We got more money than Davy Crockett. And that's how the fictitious Bubba Gump Shrimp Company came to be.

Now, I think it's fair to say as I reflect back on all this that Forrest Gump is quite a weird movie, following this man with a fairly low IQ as he kind of fails upwards.

Before I went further on this Bubba Gump journey, I wanted to know what Dave Chen thought. I've been following Dave's movie review podcast, The Filmcast, for about a decade now, and I really like his take on movies. So I sent him an email simply asking him to brain dump on Forrest Gump, one of the biggest films of all time. What he sent back was so interesting, I'm just going to play the whole thing. Hey David Farrier, it's David Chen from DecodingEverything.com.

Robert Zemeckis' 1994 film Forrest Gump is about an Alabama man who recounts his life story to various people at a bus stop. When I think of the movie Forrest Gump, three things come to mind.

First of all, this isn't something people talk about that much anymore, but I do think Forrest Gump was groundbreaking when it came to visual effects. Forrest Gump is one of the first times I can remember watching a movie where visual effects were being applied to a non-futuristic or non-sci-fi situation. I'm sure it was used in other films, but this was the one I remember. And I remember being in awe that Forrest Gump could interact with deceased presidents and even shake hands with them.

I remember how they removed Gary Sinise's legs in the movie. They made this huge crowd during the scene between Forrest and Jenny at the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C. It was one of the first times I can remember visual effects being used to seemingly alter the fabric of reality itself. And that was notable for me. The second thing I want to mention about Forrest Gump.

This movie was a phenomenon. It's actually hard to convey how much of a phenomenon it was because pop culture events rarely happen like this anymore. Forrest Gump was massively successful at the box office. It made almost $680 million in 1994 dollars and it was second only to The Lion King that year, if not mistaken. It won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and its soundtrack sold

12 million copies. It's estimated to have sold over 100 million tickets. It was not only critically praised, it was a cultural phenomenon. Everyone knew about it. Everyone was talking about it. There's so many phrases from the movie that wound their way into popular culture and into other works of art and also into the mouths of my classmates at school. You know, things like run, Forrest Run or Life's Like a Box of Chocolates.

This movie definitely deserves its place in the pantheon of movies. But why was Forrest Gump so popular? What was Forrest Gump actually about? That brings me to my third point. Forrest Gump as a movie, like the story, the theme is pretty weird. It has a pretty weird message in my opinion. Forrest Gump, the character has an IQ of 75 and for most of the movie, he's just kind of bumbling his way through life to enormous success.

You'd think that that story might make the movie ripe to be a satire, but the movie is incredibly dark at times. Forrest Gump's best friend dies in Vietnam. Lieutenant Dan's life takes a dark turn. The love of Forrest's life, Jenny, is the victim of various forms of abuse and terror throughout the entire film. It's a mishmash of tones that I don't think fully works. But at the end of the day, what Forrest Gump presents is an extremely enticing vision of

of the American dream. Think about what this movie is trying to say. It's not only that anyone can succeed, anyone can come from nothing. Like we all understand that that is a component of the American dream. What Forrest Gump is saying goes beyond that. It's that you are more likely to succeed if you don't try, if you don't have ambition. Sure, Forrest is a good guy. He's nice to people. He does right by them. But think of all the people in Forrest's life who are trying to make something of themselves.

Forrest's friend Bubba dreams of going into the shrimp business, dies tragically in an ambush. Jenny, a woman who wants to escape the cycles of violence that plague her life, instead she's beset by tragedy and dies of AIDS.

Forrest Gump is not only a movie about a guy succeeding at everything, like the military or football or ping pong or business. It's about succeeding at those things while seemingly having no interest in success. And I think it's a very narcotizing idea that you can succeed without really trying. In fact, it might be better if you don't try. And as long as you have some good intentions, as long as you're like somewhat of a decent human, you might experience massive success in America.

And I do think there's something about that idea that resonated back then and continues to resonate today. If you're a somewhat decent human, you might experience massive success in America.

I think that's what Forrest Gump the movie boils down to, and in a way, maybe that's the story of the real Bubba Gump Shrimp Company too. Because back in the 90s, Anthony Zalizzi was struggling, his seafood company Meridian Products was in bad shape. Then, like so many of us, he saw Forrest Gump.

A year later, in 1995, he brought the rights to Bubba Gump Shrimp Company off Paramount Pictures and rebranded his shrimp. Suddenly, his shrimp were flying off the shelves.

Not too long after, he joined forces with the Rusty Pelican restaurant chain, and the Bubba Gump shrimp company chain was born. The first one opened in Monterey, California in 1996. This is one of the first commercials, where Forrest Gump is played by someone who sort of looks like Tom Hanks, but definitely isn't Tom Hanks.

The restaurant was a dream come true for Anthony Zalizzi because like Bubba he really loved fishing. I found an article from 2010 where Anthony's interviewed with his dad.

"For as long as I had any recollection, I was going to become a fisherman. The whole family was that way. When I turned 12, that's when my dad predetermined that I go fishing." Anyway, Anthony grew up to open the Baba Gump Shrimp Company, made a ton of money, and then made even more money when he sold it to Landry's Inc. From fishing with your dad to creating a shrimpy empire. It's the American dream,

and Bubba would have been proud. "Shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That's about it."

Isn't it a beautiful story? One man's dream, his failing shrimp company, Bubba Gump comes along and sees that character and he's like, I can bring my company back to life. I can capitalize on this. It's really beautiful. Sure. I liked that take on Forrest Gump. I think mostly I agree. Yeah, I like his observations. Dave always has a slightly interesting take on a classic. Yeah, I like that.

I mean, I don't think it's necessarily saying it's better if you don't try. It's just... You can still succeed. You can still succeed. So I watched it a couple of weeks ago and I hadn't seen it since I was about 17 at school. Yeah.

And it is crazy how dark what happens to the characters around him. Like, his friend gets blown up. His mom has to do favors with the teacher to get him into school. Ginny is abused and she's a kid. And then she gets, he'd say, it's crazy how dark it is. I know, but the- And he's there just being like, hey. Yeah.

They're just doing fine. Yeah, but to me, that's the world. The world is dark. The world is upsetting. These are realities. And so to me, even though there's something satirical about it and it's odd and wacky, it's also very honest. These hard things are happening all around us at all times. And we all sort of bop around unaware, right?

Yeah, and so many things are out of our control entirely. Yeah, I think it's so earnest. I think it feels like a satire sometimes, but it is just so from the heart. I mean, that feather drifting in at the beginning. I forgot about that. The film opens with, it follows this feather, and it drifts in and falls on his shoe. And in the end, there's a feather, it gets blasted.

blowing away again up into the air and you follow it through. It's so heartfelt and earnest. It's worth rewatching. Movies could do that back then. I feel like now when things are hyper earnest, we immediately bristle. We're too cynical. That's a fault of ours. I think we're worse off for watching things and being like, ew, it's...

too sweet. And this holds up. I was watching it thinking it would be a bit of a laugh fest because it's Forrest Gump. It's this thing. But it does hold up incredibly well. I recommend for the 30th anniversary, everyone that's listening, go and watch Forrest Gump. But just remember if you're watching with your kids, it is super dark. I forgot how bleak certain elements were as Forrest just goes and does his thing. Do you think they're going to

put it back in movie theaters, they should. Well, look, Lord of the Rings is currently spreading out everywhere in theaters because of an anniversary. So I can only assume. Because of this episode, this show? Purely because of the show. But I mean, I assume it will pop up in some theaters because it was one of America's biggest films and it's so deeply American.

I forgot that he met Alvis at one point when he was in his little like leg braces and that's how he teaches Alvis to dance and do a move, stuff like that. It's a funny fake history of America. Yeah, it retcons all these moments and yeah, the digital effects. And the smiley face.

That's right. He like invents the smiley face. When I first watched it, I think a bit of that was lost on me in New Zealand. Those moments didn't mean as much, but sort of watching it now here in America, you're like, oh no, this is really a tour of American history through this very simple man just stumbling around. Yeah. I love it. And there's some good moments between Jenny and Forrest as well. Oh, Jenny. What a...

Ginny? Poor Ginny. She's so beautiful. She is. She was. Actually, a friend of mine was watching it with us. At the time, I thought Ginny was the most beautiful person I've ever seen. Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors.

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Well, look, the next part of the doc, you missed out on a very special outing that I'm sure you're going to be very jealous of. Okay. Well, I wasn't invited, to be clear. I'm making that very clear. I didn't miss out. You were in New York for that. I think you were away. Yeah. But I also think you probably wouldn't have wanted this. Let's hear it. I was very excited to dine at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company after thinking about it so much, and I knew the perfect date to take along.

Okay, so Rob, you're a big fan of food and you've taken me to some pretty beautiful dining establishments. And so I thought it's time for me to return the favor. Where are you taking me? Just follow along here. It was about 6 p.m. I picked Rob up and told him nothing more than I was about to impress him and his taste buds. We parked and I walked Rob to his mystery destination. But I know that you like trying new things. You're always up for an adventure. Yeah.

And so I have decided to bring you to Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Oh boy.

I'm not sure I've ever seen someone look quite so deflated, but I knew he'd get into the Forrest Gump spirit when he got inside. Okay, so we're looking up here. We're seeing a huge Bubba Gump sign. It looks sort of like a big shed, doesn't it? I mean, it looks like exciting. I'm pumped. There's lots of lights. There's a big mast. There's a big mast shooting up into the sky. I assume an ode to Bubba's fishing vessel. And as we learned earlier, to Anthony's.

And what are your feelings about shrimp specifically? Are you a shrimp man? I am not a shrimp man. I like oysters, not particularly shrimp. Going inside, I'm struck how big this place is. It's sprawling. There are different rooms, a lot of wood, and it all feels very nautical. So we're sort of slipping into a little booth now. And we are surrounded by Forrest Gump memorabilia.

You can see that over there is Bubba Gump. You can see his framed portrait over there. The walls are covered in all things Forrest Gump, but made to look like they're real. So there are screenshots from the film that they've printed and put into photo frames. If you didn't know the film, looking at the wall and seeing framed photos of Bubba everywhere, his army uniform on the wall, you'd think a real man had died and this was a tribute to him.

So, just quickly, do you recognize the photo of this kid up here? Is that Haley Joel? Holly Joel Osment. So it was his first role in a film. Haley Joel Osment from Sixth Sense was his first thing was Forrest Gump. He played baby Forrest? He did. Little Forrest. A role which won the child star a Young Artist Award.

Our server comes to take our order. Looking through the menu, there's a lot of shrimp. What's the most iconic meal that you have here? I see the shrimp is neck catch, this big bucket of shrimp. The most iconic ones?

For sure this one. Super popular here. Everyone gets it. They rave about it. This one's good too. The Run Across America sampler, especially because of the way it's like... Because Forest ran across America. Yeah, and the way it's styled and everything. A lot of people get it. This is a good one. When we get hired here in our class, they tell us about this one, how it's so good. And it's actually really good. The song... Shrimp New Orleans. It's super good.

They use like a lot of butter to make it, but it's so good. What would you eat? If it was your last meal you're ever having here, what would you go out on? Oh, I always get the jambalaya. Always get the jambalaya with avocado. I add avocado to it or I always get the Texas chicken sandwich. So good. Fried. I ended up getting the run across America sampler, which had a bit of everything and half a bucket of shrimp. Rob was fearful of the shrimp and got some fried pickles.

Do you have a favorite Forrest Gump character from the film? I never watched the movie Forrest Gump because my ex used to always say that I was Jenny. He was Forrest. And then I watched it and I'm going to say Jenny's my favorite. Hello, Forrest. Hello, Jenny. Oh, Jenny. Like Dave Chen mentioned earlier, like many of the characters in Forrest Gump, she met a tragic end. R.I.P. Jenny.

As we wait for our food, Rob and I discuss the uniqueness of this whole American experience. This is the only restaurant that exists in the world that has come from a movie. How do you like that trivia?

That can't be true at all. Name another movie that- restaurant that only exists because of a film or TV show. I'm gonna consult Google for this, 'cause I can't stand by that statement. I don't think it's factual. I think that's why this place is so iconic, 'cause it's just spurts from this very popular film from '94. Here we go. Alright, restaurants that only exist because of a movie. Bubba Gump is in there.

You're gonna love this one. The Green Dragon Inn in New Zealand.

Yeah, in New Zealand, yeah, fair. The Lord of the Rings pub. So New Zealand and America have this in common. We both have restaurants that only exist because of a film. So America has Bubba Gump and New Zealand has Hobbiton. America has more than that. There's restaurants for Harry Potter, which it's... No, they're in a theme park. That doesn't count. If you have to go to a theme park to go, that does not count.

We keep arguing about Harry Potter and the Jurassic Park Cafe at Universal Studios, and the restaurant from Ratatouille that's at Disney. None of that counts. Theme parks aren't reality. But Bubba Gump Shrimp Co exists in the real world. Then Rob hits me with his googled facts. Beetle House. New York City has a restaurant after Beetlejuice. Okay, and that's not in the theme park. That's just out in the wild. Cafe Jack based on Titanic.

He has a point, but I maintain that the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is the only restaurant chain that's come from a movie. The only chain that goes the hardest.

Suddenly, our food arrives. Buckets of shrimp. Towers of seafood. Yum. All right, you guys enjoy, okay? So these look very, very wet. Really good. Really good. A little crustacean straight in my mouth. Just some free shrimp ASMR for you there. What do you think of that sloppy shrimp?

Seasoning's good. We eat and we slurp and eventually we're done. Our waitress, who loves Jenny, encourages us to watch Forrest Gump when we get home. It's a cute movie and everyone should watch it at least once. It's on Netflix, so yeah, everyone should watch it.

and Rob reflects on his date with me. It's always good to have a new experience in life, isn't it? Yeah, I don't regret this, so... I really wanted to hear when I said I'd take you out to dinner, is you saying, "I don't regret this." It's the highest compliment I could ever wish for. We pay, we tip, and we exit through the gift shop, because this is America, where it seems almost every chain has merchandise you can buy, so of course this one isn't any different.

Excuse me. Really quickly, what's your most popular item that you sell in here? Most popular item? A lot of people love the stupid as a stupid as shirt. That's a quote. Yeah, the box of chocolates is always a popular item. You sell the box of chocolates? Yeah, we do. And with those suggestions, well, Monica, it's your lucky day. So Monica, if you were to reach down next to you there, there'll be a little bag of...

Oh my goodness, you guys brought me back to some tweak. Because you couldn't make it. Because I wasn't invited. You're in a different city and we wanted you to have...

Oh my gosh, a t-shirt. I'm definitely going to wear a lot that says stupid is as stupid says Hollywood, California. You know I am such a sucker for merch though that I bet if I had gone with you guys I would have bought it. That's the big one. And it's got the smiley face on that Forrest invented. Okay, and then you guys got me

A box of chocolates. How cute. Assorted truffles, it says. Little truffs. Well, thank you. I appreciate it. And I'm glad it wasn't a regret of yours, Rob. You kind of liked it. The taste, the seasoning. I had half of a shrimp. Okay. Okay. But is that your snobbery? Did you like it?

Look, I was anxious because of the cholesterol problem. Oh, man. It's really like... It's changing my whole life at the moment. But no, I did enjoy it. I love the atmosphere. I love a ridiculous atmosphere, and Bubba Gump has that. And the food, the seafood, it was absolutely fine. Okay, jambalaya. Have I talked about it here or only on Synced? I haven't heard of jambalaya. What is jambalaya? Oh, my God. I hate...

Jambalaya is so... It's a restaurant? No, it's a dish. She brought it up. Oh, that's what she said. That was that word. Yes. Okay. Some sort of sandwich? No. It's kind of like rice and sausage and like vegetables and it's in a sauce.

I hate it because my mom made it once when I was little, and she sat at the – like, I didn't want it, and I refused to eat it, and she just sat at the table with me for what I think was eight hours until I ate four bites of it. So I am scarred from jambalaya. I hate it. Is it sloppy or dry? What's the texture of a – I think it's like half and half. Yeah, it can be – it's kind of stewy, but –

It depends on where you're getting it. All right. Right. And I think my mom's was dry. All right. Our hostess really recommended that, right? Our server was like, you've got to have this. And then we did not order it, even though it came highly recommended from her. Another thing I've just realized, it's called the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I thought it was company or is it corporation? Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Because in New Zealand, you'd say I think of co as being company. It's company.

Okay, just doing a little fact check on myself there. I was also just reading some comments on the Forrest Gump trailer on YouTube. This person really likes it. Forrest is the most selfless character in cinema. He was a good son, a good husband, a good father, a good friend. He served his country and was a hero in Vietnam. This is so American. He did everything he physically could do to save his friend and never thought it might cost him his life. Oh.

He gave Jenny his Medal of Honor because he got it doing what she said. He continued with his friend's dream business and became a millionaire. Nothing could bring Forrest down. Even after Jenny died, he was still the same person. Just the most genuine friend anyone could have. I like that. That.

Yeah, that's beautiful, isn't it? That is a beautiful read. It sure is. Did you guys go to the Santa Monica one? Nope. Universal Studios. City Walk. Oh, City Walk. That's a specific vibe. It's a vibe. Yeah, I mean, Rob probably knew he wasn't going to like a high-end place when we ended up at City Walk. Sure. But I still like to give him a little bit of a surprise. Sure.

While you guys were doing that, I was in New York at a cute martini bar. Yeah, you sent a photo to me of Emma while we were walking to this. Yes, and then you sent back a picture of shrimp, which I thought was very funny. Now, another thing. I've got a few little GIFs here in the form of audio. Oh. Your face lit up in the form of audio. Got very sad again.

I did one more interview for the story that I think is important. Great. Tom Hanks. Yeah, you got Tom. Sorry, it's not Tom Hanks. But now you bring him up. If you want Tom Hanks, there is a really amazing podcast called Dead Eyes.

It's about a guy, Connor Ratliff. He's a comedian, but he's an actor as well. Back when Band of Brothers was made, he auditioned. Tom Hanks, obviously, directed some of that. He got hired for the job. At the time, this was a high-end HBO show, Band of Brothers. He was so excited. Then he got fired, and the note that came back from the studio was that Tom Hanks had seen his tape and said he had dead eyes.

And so this podcast is about Connor basically trying to find out how that had happened, how Tom Hanks saw the video, whether it was true that he had, because he does have like, I'd say they're really beautiful eyes. They're big, sort of, he's got these eyes, you know, but it really affected him in his career. And the podcast is actually really beautiful because he ends up talking to a lot of people about moments in their careers that have been just a big bummer.

and how that changed their lives. It runs for about three seasons, and the final episode, he gets Tom Hanks. No way! And he talks about the whole thing, the dead eyes, the audition process, what really happened. Holy shit, this is so cool. And it's one of the most rewarding things. So if you want any Tom Hanks interview, Dead Eyes is honestly the one to go to. Well, we've also interviewed him. Oh, and here as well.

But if you want three seasons of Tom Hanks related craziness, Dead Eyes is really beautiful. I'm going to listen. Tom Hanks's Instagram is also very unusual. There's a theory on Reddit that he's like a serial killer because he'll just take photos of weird objects on the ground, like a pair of socks. They're quite spooky and it's kind of amazing. He's posting them and it's...

Look at Tom Hanks' account now. The internet's so stupid. Oh, no, but I think he encourages it. You look at these photos and it looks like he's out there doing some crazy shit. Okay, I'm just going to pull out now Tom Hanks.

Okay, there's a glove on a fence post with a quote under it. I lost my partner. I was walking in the park now alone. Alas. What? That's a haiku he wrote. Oh my God. I don't see that. There's a glove sitting on a little fence. The date was March 2023. You got to go pretty far to find these on the ground. They're really amusing. There's another one, a little bandana on the ground and his caption is, look.

Little Lost Bunny. He also signs everything Hanks, H-A-N-X, which I really like. A combination of sort of like Tom Hanks and Hanks. Oh, I like that, yeah. He's working on his haikus. I love it. So there's a whole theory on Reddit about what all these lost clothes mean that's posted all over his Instagram. And it's very funny to me. There's a little baby pacifier.

Oh, I see the glove. You see, it's a vibe, right? It's funny. It is funny. Remember when he got COVID and we all thought he was going to die? Yep. He was like the first celebrity to get it. And we were freaking out. Yeah, because he's like America's darling. So he can't die. Absolutely not. Okay. I tracked down the CEO of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and I had a quick conversation with her. Well, you're going to find this pretty funny, but my name is Jenny.

I'm going to be honest, that hadn't gotten past me. And I imagine you get sick of people making that reference. No, I kind of enjoy it. I get a lot of Janae's, but I enjoy it. Yeah. So I am the COO of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. And I'm a member of the

And I guess we can say it's destiny. Do you actually, do you have a memory of the first time you watched Forest Gump? Because for me, I was a teenager in New Zealand. We studied it for English class and I must've watched it about 20 times. Okay. This is going to be a crazy story, but it is true. So I live here in LA and we vacation at the Lake or River. There's a location in Laughlin where we go to the lake there.

And I was actually pregnant with my first daughter and I was watching Forrest Gump in our hotel room getting ready for dinner. And it was filmed in Savannah, Georgia. And I named my daughter Savannah because I loved the name. And so it's so crazy because all these years later, my name's Jenny and now I'm running Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. So, you know, sometimes you just got to go with it.

I love this. And I'm curious, in your years in hospitality, what makes this particular place unique? Well, you know, it's interesting. I've worked for 30 years in the industry with different brands, of course, too. And Bubba Gump has, it's not just food, it's a little bit more of

entertainment experience and the guests are very well invested. There's not guests that come in that don't take photos and don't grab souvenirs and they love trivia. So I feel like we're more than just food for a hungry belly. Yeah, because I was talking to my colleague Rob as we were eating at Bubba Gump and it is this really unique situation where, you know, outside of a theme park, we have got places themed after a much-loved franchise and

this is something that exists in the real world in multiple locations. So it's like this film has jumped out into real life and people do take a very

personal ownership of that, right? And Forrest, I feel like has reached multi-generations. A lot of people say, oh, the movie is going to be, you know, it's 30 year, our 30 year anniversary in July. And it's, you know, it's the new generation won't know. And I was like, it's so crazy. I was at the gym the other day and we were doing Lieutenant Dan's, you know, and all ages knew Lieutenant Dan's. And so it's kind of like the grandparents and the parents. It's a part of

One of their favorite movies. There's a few iconic movies that we all have just remembered in our years, if you will. And Forrest Gump's one of them. Actually, look, this is embarrassing. I hadn't clocked that it's going to be the 30th anniversary. Do you have anything planned or is it just going to be business as usual at Bubba Gump Shrimp?

So a little bit of both. We are we are in partnership of a celebration that will happen in July. And then it's the 30th year of the anniversary. And then obviously the restaurant followed a couple of years later. So we kind of have two things that we're celebrating there. But, yeah, I mean, you know, 30 years in the restaurant industry, it's a tough go. And to keep guests, you know, invested and excited about us is really a huge accomplishment.

And I imagine you get some pretty hardcore fans coming through there at times as well. You know, it's funny you say that. Last week, I got an invitation from our guest to their wedding because they were engaged at our location there in Santa Monica. And so, you know, I put it in our, we have a weekly meeting. I put it, you know, the picture, if you will, in the invitation in our weekly PowerPoint just to show how influential a dining experience or a memory can be. We call them kind of emotional souvenirs, right? You come in and you remember

when we were in Santa Monica on the pier or we were in Times Square. And so we try to be more than just a quick meal. We all eat every day, but we try to really have that souvenir kind of the remember when. So that's what makes us a little different. I work really hard to not make us the same. I'm curious if there are any rules with your staff. Does everyone have to have watched Forrest Gump? Is there any particular training? Is there a quiz about the film? Because obviously...

some customers will expect the staff to know the atmosphere of the film, right? Yeah. I mean, trivia is a part of what we do and guests are so upset if we, for some reason, miss them. And so obviously there's a ton of training, but there's a ton of training and if we miss it, the guest is upset. So there's all kinds of steps that are super important. So I think the only other thing I'd say is we, you know, the,

that stands out about Bubba is our community is great to us and we'd love to be great back with the community. Out of all the brands in my experience, we are definitely a part of, we call them shrimp possibilities, but we definitely try and give back to our community. We partner obviously with the Gary Sinise Foundation, Lieutenant Dan, right? But we are a part of people fighting cancer and there's a lot of philanthropic things that the employees volunteer their time, the managers, myself,

We all volunteer to give back because they take such good care of us too. And I feel like that is a, it was the one of the first most impressive things when I started working with Bubba is how much they are committed to their communities. It's pretty cool because we're in tourist locations, but yet we're committed to the community. So that's pretty fun.

Jenny, you've been amazing. Thank you so much for your time. I should let you get back to running one of America's best restaurant chains. Thank you. It was awesome. Thank you for the time today. Jenny was pretty cool. And I really like the fact she's called Jenny. I was about to make a joke right before it was her name Jenny and was too stupid of a joke to make. But

But then it ended up being true. Also really like the word shrimpossibles. Shrimpossibilities. So good. It's great. It is funny. Every company has vernacular like that. They have words that are very specific to the brand. We should get some with an armchair. We have all kinds of crazy stuff. Yes, we do, right? Ding, ding, ding. All that stuff. That's unique to hear. A lot of it. I mean, Netflix has a whole...

language around their internal comms. That's a whole crazy land they've got. Maths. Maths. Maths. Yeah. Indeed. Unique to us. I've got some bonus facts here. Great. There was a book sequel to Forrest Gump called...

Gump and Co. Oh, wow. And so the original novel, Forrest Gump, was written in 1986. And one year after the movie came out, author Winston Groom wrote a sequel that had the protagonist or Chuck Singer's way through history from 82 to 95. Oh, wow. And there's all sorts of American incidents that happened, but it did not get made into a movie.

Bummer. But if you really love Forrest Gump and you want more, read the book sequel. Do it. Chris Pratt was discovered while working as a waiter at the Bubba Gump shrimp cove. No way. He was 19 and that's where he got discovered. That's incredible. Another fact, I already mentioned that Haley Joel Osment's career was launched there. And the Lieutenant Dan Band, who I now want to go and see, he's...

goes and raises money for American servicemen, apparently, and war vets. That's his big thing. Cool. So that's like another weird example of this movie coming into real life that I find really, really fascinating. Well, this was fun. I like that you made it more Forrest Gump-y. Gotta have some Gump in there. Yeah. You can't talk about Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. without Forrest Gump. And you're right. It is so inherently American. That's the point of the movie.

Yeah. So it was a good deep dive. It's a history lesson. That's right. As well as a deeply beautiful film. And delicious shrimp possibility. And delicious shrimp possibility. I think we've all become more American in this episode. You two definitely have. You two, you've got a Bubba Gump t-shirt now you can wear. That's as American as it comes. You're right. You're right. 20% more American, all of us. Beautiful. Bye. Enjoy the shrimp. Bye.

Thank you.