Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic romantic-comedy-drama film (genre hybrid) based on the 1986 novel Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis and starred Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The story beautifuly illustrates several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a slow and naïve, but good-hearted and athletically gifted, man from Alabama who witnesses, and in some peculiar cases influences, some of the defining events of the latter half of the 20th century in the United States (the period between Forrest's birth in 1944 and 1982). The film is much different from the novel on which it was based, including Gump's personality and some of the events that took place.

The main sets took place in late 1993, mainly in Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Extensive visual effects were used to incorporate Gump (Tom Hanks) into archived footage and to develop other fun scenes. A compelling soundtrack was featured in the film, using music intended to pinpoint specific time periods portrayed on screen. Its commercial release made it a top-selling soundtrack, selling over twelve million copies worldwide.  Some of the songs include Hound Dog by Elvis Presley, Fortunate Son by Creedance Clearwater, Respect by Aretha Franklin, and many more American favorites. 

This famous film was released in the United States on July 6, 1994.  The film became a commercial success as the top grossing film in North America released in that year, being the first major success for Paramount Pictures since the studio's sale to Viacom, earning over $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. Forrest Gump holds a high rating of 8.8 on the Internet Movie Database, which makes it the 13th best movie of all time for the website and in 1995 it won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director for Robert Zemeckis, Best Actor for Tom Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay for Eric Roth, Best Visual Effects, and Best Film Editing. Forrest Gump also easily attained multiple other awards and nominations, including Golden Globes, People's Choice Awards, and Young Artist Awards, among others. Ever since the film was released, many variations of interpretations of its protagonist (Forrest Gump) and its political symbolism have been made.  

In 1996, a themed restaurant, Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, opened based on the film and has since expanded to multiple locations worldwide.  If that doesn't show you have much of an impact this film made, I don't know what will!  One of the scenes of the American classic of Gump running across the country is often referred to when real-life people attempt the feat. In 2011, the Library of Congress selected Forrest Gump for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".  

After all these facts, can you even argue that this movie isn't the best movie of all time?! If you haven't seen this film yet, it's time to stop whatever you are doing, sit down, and focus your attention on the best movie of all time. 

Syndication at its finest

The Simpsons, one of the greatest shows of all time is at it again with its debut on FXX cable network. With a whopping 530 episodes, the Simpsons can be played for 52 weeks without repeating one show.  As a conglomerate trying to air a syndicated show, the Simpsons is definitely one worth looking into, but how much is it worth it? The financial terms with FXX were not disclosed yet it is estimated that anywhere from 800 million to 1 billion dollars was spent on its purchase. Not bad for a animated T.V. series don't you think? The show has never before screened on a cable network so it is bound to grow an even larger audience than it already has. Other media conglomerates like Time Warner Cable Adult Swim, and Viacom bid for the show but ultimately left empty handed. To have a syndicated show is a cash cow for everyone involved. The owners of the show make millions off the 200+ channels who purchase rights to air the show, the affiliates make money off advertisement money, companies make money off the advertisements selling products, and the viewers are happy they get to view a popular T.V. series. It's not always as perfect as it may seem though. Many times in hopes of reaching syndication many shows are dragged out with poor scripts just so they can reach that 100 episode mark. Many could argue that the newer Simpsons episodes are not as good as they use to be but that comes down to personal opinion. Overall FXX made a very large purchase and I hope it works out the way they planned.