A good home has a good soul, as is the case with a beloved movie. Rick Carter knows both.
On January 7th, famous production designers such as “Jurassic Park” and “Avatar” settled in the evening with Ambien and his wife, half Adele. A violent wildfire was threatening Carters’ Palisade home in the Pacific, she said.
At Crisis: Carter raised two children, wiped their noses, helped with history homework, prepared for the prom, and designed a blockbuster worth $12 billion.
By Hollywood standards, the handsome little house included a treasure trove of Carter’s own paintings and sketches, a total of 1,000, and his most mysterious memorial: the bench.
Of course, it’s not just a bench, just as the legendary Carter isn’t just a filmmaker.
Because in Carter’s backyard, the iconic “Forest Gump” bench stood, bound by California sunlight.
Rick Carter holds one of the benches made for “Forest Gump” and has been in the backyard of his Pacific Palisade home since 1994.
(Photo of the Carter Family)
In the 1994 classic, Tom Hanks is anti-mined about fate, resilience and Providence from a park bench that became part of the film’s lore in the way of Judy Garland’s ruby slippers.
The bench lineage is open to debate, perhaps with its own share of the film’s plot and minor plot twist. But undoubtedly, Carter’s wood and concrete benches (Pugh, part of the American iconography) somehow survived the furious fire that levelled Carter’s longtime home.
It certainly burned. Broken, a little. But the bench survives with the spirit of Gothic F-tale and the unlikely Hollywood ending.
Life is certainly like a box of chocolate.
The magic of the film is elusive soups, mind-changing medicines. Writers, directors, actors and production teams can summon them.
When Carter needed more soup, he went out to the ocean less than a block from his home, wandering into the Bluffs, imagining an incredible new world, basking in the breeze. Ta. Rejuvenated and reborn, he returned to his backyard studio to tackle his paintings and the latest Hollywood epics.
The smash was cut on January 7th, when Carter melted two Oscars, “Avatar” and “Lincoln,” melted like candles. The stone Buddha survives as well as some of Carter’s books about his hero, John Lennon. Everything else is lost except for the bench.
The bench used in “Forrest Gump” was burnt by the fire from the Palisades, but it is almost unharmed.
(Chris Erskin)
The tally is still in the cinematic touchstones lost in the January fire. According to the Academy of Motion Picture Science, several members reach out to replace the missing Oscar, and the overstocked stand is ready.
The bench was completely unharmed and not coming out. There is a burnt mark and some bottom slats are damaged and loose. The three concrete support remains largely intact, but the two are slightly peeled, so the underlying fiberglass peers in. For some reason, the three slats on the back were touched by a flame that melted the steel beams and cookware.
“Like Forest seemed to exist in some kind of protective bubble, so did this bench,” Carter says.
“For me, the whole film is a miracle,” says Eric Ross, who wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay. “It doesn’t surprise me at all that the bench survived.”
As a production designer for 21 films, Carter directed artists, carpenters, effects wizards and set designers. This is just about every visual aspect, from the Velociraptor to the runaway polar train.
He takes the withp, what-if of the idea and turns it into a viable aesthetic. With his creative wit, he placed him on the elbows of the industry’s crazy genius: Steven Spielberg, James Cameron, JJ Abrams, Robert Zemeckis directed “Forest Gump.” .
At 74, he still boasts the heartfelt prospects of a boy with hair and a poet. During a bite of cappuccino, his creative mind glows when he discusses the Greek concept of chronos and emotional time. It’s easy to see how he can serve as a muse for other muse.
“On set, you’re going to say to Stephen, ‘You can say you have a good idea,’ Carter says. “Spielberg would ask what I mean, and a minute later it was there.”
Early in his career, he said, “I would have loved this job when I was 10. I’m paid to be a swashbuckler. …This is the joy of young people.”
Certain symbols allow you to see yourself. That’s why that bench still exists
– Rick Carter
For Zemeckis’ masterpiece, Carter and set decorator Nancy Haye made three park benches. (It’s 11 feet long, and they’re slightly different from what’s depicted on film posters.) Forest used the bench as a pulpit to tell strangers about his unlikely life. .
The question remains whether this is a bench, as three interchangeable perches were treated equally as if they were being driven.
When the 1994 film became a global sensation, won the best photos and became the Oscars of the other five, Paramount, including those that stand out in the studio lot, for Hank, Ross and others We also made 10 souvenir benches. (Fans searched for a bench in Savannah, Georgia, where a scene with Hanks was filmed, only to be disappointed.)
As a film magic enthusiast, Carter is sure his bench is the eye-catching bench. To confirm that without question, Carter considered testing Hanks’ DNA. However, it was impossible given the outdoor life of the bench, considering it was used as a jungle gym for kids in the neighborhood, or as a sofa to sit and philosophize about the history of this film.
“We’ve had a lot of really interesting conversations on that bench over the years,” he says.
Whether it’s an exact bench seems to be secondary to Carter. In fact, he knows that the bench appeared in the film. In his mind, it is one. Even the survival of that fire is “Gumpian” to use one of his favorite expressions.
“Specific symbols allow you to see yourself,” explains Carter. “That’s why that bench still exists.
“That means something to survive.”
There is a “Forest Gump” elevator pitch ($678 million worldwide).
Numbness misfit falls for a beautifully broken woman whose eyes are like a flock of pigeons. In the course of lifelong courtship, he becomes a Vietnam War hero, seafood tycoon, ping pong champion, famous runner, and ultimately wins a broken girl, repairs her, loses her girl, and ultimately raises her son and find comfort.
It won’t be made today in a million years. It’s a miracle that was even at the time when, as the screenwriter says, Hollywood still had a great desire for the mainstream family characteristics.
“I think the movie will cast a spell,” he says.
As in 1994, today it exists on higher planes. It miraculously nostalgic and inspirational, eschewing the postmodern cynicism of the era.
Forest may have sub-IQ, but in all difficult circumstances he exhibits exceptional character. He saves not only his fellow soldiers, but also his troubled friends, fellow runners, and his love for his life.
“He’s always leading with his heart,” Carter says.
This is what the movie heroes used to do.
“Steven was saying, ‘What’s the shot of establishing your idea?” Carter recalls when Spielberg wanted to turn the concept into reality.
Carter is now looking to establish a shot in his life. For now, he’s in a kind of purgatory.
“This is a major test of the resilience of the human mind,” he says. “You can be very sad and very bitter. That’s never good for anyone.”
Will he and Adele rebuild? move on? Like many people in Palisades and Altadena, they are waiting for a final verdict on insurance, restructuring of costs, permitting and removal of debris. At that point, they make their Gunpian, a life-changing call.
On a recent Sunday, Carter’s son Jim supported the truck in a lot filled with ashes where he grew up with his sister, Amy.
For weeks, the benches were watching the chimneys, water heaters, car shells and open views in the wreckage of this nightmare. Now it’s time for others to take it to the gallery in East Los Angeles, like the ancient shrouds, to reflect and appreciate.
“The hooks are: What do you need to last?” Carter says.
“What does reliability mean?” Carter continues. “It means survival and going deep. Maybe that’s what the film means.”
In the final scene of “Forest Gump,” white feathers dance through Forest’s feet into the air, representing one of the film’s main threads. Are the joys and hardships of life destined or indiscriminate? Are faith and good behavior important?
These tough questions are now at the heart and center of Carter’s life. With that weathered bench, Forest once conveyed his belief in decent outcomes.
Lifelong artists believe that “creativity is an antidote to destruction.” Just like his way, Carter is seriously thinking about lost artwork and how to deal with his grief in his precious home. He says if given the chance, he and his wife will rebuild it as is.
“You have to keep moving,” he says, “but that doesn’t mean you can’t sit and reflect.”
Perhaps from a comfortable perch, ideally from the bench, whether from a movie or not.
The Carter’s Bench will be on display from March 8th to 29th at the Berwick Art Society at 609 S. Anderson Street in Los Angeles. The event features film design elements and costumes. Admission is free.
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