Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard - Flightless Bird: Bubba Gumps

Episode Date: May 28, 2024

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier goes to eat at iconic American restaurant chain the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Back in 1994, Forest Gump was box office gold - the highest grossing film in America that year. 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 Co. To learn about all things Gump, Farrier talks with David Chen from decodingeverything.com who breaks down the significance of the film. He then takes producer Rob to dine in style at Bubba Gumps, before talking to the Vice President & COO of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., Jenny Scharbrough. That's right, Jenny! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm David Ferrier, 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. I feel like most of us have probably heard this line either in the movie or quoted at us, usually sarcastically. 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. 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 You can barbecue it, boil it, brawl it, bake it, saute it. There's shrimp kabobs, 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. 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? Ninety-four? Okay. Because then I would have been six or seven. I'm going to check that now.

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, 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. Yeah. They've got one out at the moment for Forrest Gump. Oh, because anniversary next year, 30th year anniversary. It's almost like a book. God willing. But it's in a magazine. Yeah. They've got one out at the moment for Forrest Gump. Oh. Because. Anniversary? Next year, 30th year anniversary. Shit. Well. Yeah. No, this year. Oh, my math is so right. Yeah, this year's the 30th. Oh, yeah.

Wow. Our friend Jedidiah, his dad famously trekked across the country. And so Forrest Gump is in some way, some parts of it are based off of his dad. Say again? My friend Jedidiah. 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. Yes. What? Isn't that, I mean, he's not like, like that's the only part that's mimicked is the trekk. No, but that was, that was what inspired that story. Yeah. I didn't know that.

Isn't that funny? Have I met Jebediah? Well, it's Jed-ed-iah. Jed-ed-iah. Have I met Jed-ed-iah? You haven't met Jebediah, no. Does he go by Jed? Yes, he does. OK. 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 Gump off 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 Fair. You missed Ren Fair? Yeah. You were 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. And- Oh, cool. The Renaissance Fair 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, but I also think I would be so annoyed that they wouldn't meet me in reality. Great character. Yeah. Yeah, every- That was making me laugh. But I also think I would be so annoyed that they wouldn't meet me in reality. Great character.

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. They're stuck in England. It's very, it's like, it was very confusing for my brain.

Yeah. And also you're 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

and 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 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. We're not engaging in that side of America 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 bubble gums. 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, 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 there was to know about the shrimping business. I know everything they used to know about the shrimping business. Matter of fact I'm going into the shrimping business for myself after I get out the Army. Unfortunately Bubba never got to fulfill his shrimping dream. Forrest and Bubba are sent to Vietnam where their platoon is ambushed. Oh Bubba no. Forest finds Bubba in bad shape as guts are all hanging out and Forest heroically picks his friend up and runs as they're being bombed.

They make it to the extraction point. Forest is a good runner, but it's too late for Bubba. Hey, Bubba. Hey, Forrest. Forrest, what just happened? 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 David 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 Ferrier, it's David Chen from DecodingEverything.com. Robert Zemeckis's 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 DC. 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. 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 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 in 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 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. Hello, my name is Forrest, Forrest Gump, and this here's my restaurant, the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company

And I'm inviting you to come on in. 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 Bubba Gump Shrimp Company, made a ton of money and then made even more money when he sold it to Landry's Incorporated. 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 is his failing shrimp company, Bubba Gump comes along and sees that character and he's like, I can bring my company back to life. 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. And it is crazy how dark what happens to the characters around him. Like, his friend gets blown up, his mum has to do favours with the teacher to get him

into school, Genie is abused and she's a kid, and then she gets hate, so it's crazy how dark it is. I know, but the- And he's there just being like, hey, 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. 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 his feather and it drifts in and falls on his shoe. And at the end, there's a feather. It gets blown 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 and I think- You'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 laughfest cause 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 far as just goes and does its 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. Because of this episode, this show? I can only assume. 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's in his little like leg braces and that's how he teaches Elvis to dance and do a move, stuff like that. It's a funny fake history of America. A retcons all these moments and yeah the digital effects. And the smiley face. Oh that's right.

He like invents the smiley face. When I first watched it I think a bit of that was lost to 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- Jenny. Poor Jenny. Now- So beautiful. She is. She was. Actually, my friend I was watching with us, it was like the time I thought Jenny was the most beautiful person I'd ever seen. Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird. We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors. Support for Flightless Bird comes from Factor.

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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. I think you were in New York for that. Because I said you were like, yeah. Yeah. But I also think you probably you 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 favour. Where are you taking me? Just follow along here. It was about 6pm, I'd picked Rob up and told him nothing more than I was about to impress him and his taste buds. We parked and I walked 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 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, seeing a huge Bubba Gump sign, it looks sort of like a big shed isn't it? I mean it looks fucking exciting, I'm pumped. Yeah 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 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're 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? Haley Joel Osment. So it was his first role in a film. Hayley Joel Osmond 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 one's for sure this one. Super popular here, everyone gets it, they rave about it. This one's good too, they run across America sampler especially because of the way it's like. Of course 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 I you go out on. 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 favourite Forrest Gump character from the film? I never watched the movie Forrest Gump because my ex used to always say that? Oh Jenny, like Dave Chen mentioned earlier, like many of the characters in Forrest Gump, she met a tragic end. RIP 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 fight 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 going to consult Google for this because I can't stand by that statement I don't think it's factual. I think that's why this place is so iconic because it's just spurred from this very popular film from 94 Here we go All right restaurants that only exist because of a movie Bubba gum 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 Gum and New Zealand has Hobbiton. Now, 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. Look, 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.

Where the fuck is Cafe Jack? I think Los Angeles. Yeah, Los Angeles. This is actually blowing my mind. Los Pollo Sermanos from Breaking Bad. You're really showing me up here and it's very frustrating. 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. wet. Really good, really good. Little crustacean straight in my mouth. Just some free shrimp ASMR for you there. What do you think of that sloppy shrimp? Seasoning is 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.

And Rob reflects on his date with me. 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 this stupid as a stupid as shirt. Passive 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 gifts. Oh my goodness. You guys brought me back to some tweak. Because you couldn't make it. Because I wasn't invited.

And we wanted you to have, she's in a different city and we wanted you to have. Wow, a T-shirt. Oh my gosh, a T-shirt. I'm definitely gonna wear a lot that says, stupid is as stupid as 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 Forest invented. Okay. And then you guys got me a box of chocolates. How cute. Assorted truffles, it says. Little truffs. Well, 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 Gum has that and the food, the seafood. It was absolutely fine.

OK, 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. It's a restaurant? No, it's a dish. She brought it up. Oh, that's what she said. That was that word. Yes.

OK. 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. 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 just realized, it's called the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I thought it was like, you've got to have this. And then we did not order it, even though it came highly recommended from her. And another thing I 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. It's company. OK, just a little fact checking 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. So American. He did everything he physically could do to save his friend and never thought it might cost him his life.

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 for us down even after Jenny died He was still the same person just the most genuine friend anyone could have I like that Yeah, that's beautiful isn't it that is a beautiful read it sure is Did you guys go to Santa Monica the Santa Monica one? Nope Universal Studios?

City walk That's a specific Nope. Universal Studios, City Walk. Oh, City Walk. That's a specific vibe. That'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 gifts 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? Oh, I'm 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. And it's about a guy, Conor Atliff, he's a comedian, but he's an actor as well. And back when Band of Brothers was made, he auditioned, Tom Hanks, obviously, directed

to some of that, was in it. And he got hired for the job. And at the time, you know, this was a high end HBO show Band of Brothers. He was so excited. And 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. No.

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, and, but he 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. But 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. 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 on our show. I'm here as well.

But if you want three seasons of Tom Hanks related craziness, Dead Eyes is really beautiful. I'm gonna listen. Tom Hanks' Instagram is also very unusual. There's a theory on Reddit that he's like a serial killer because he would 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 gonna 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 What's the date? A little fence. The date was March 20th.

March 2023. You gotta 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. This is a little baby pacifier. Oh, I see the glove. You see, that'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. Cause he's like America's darling. So he can't die.

Absolutely not. Okay. I tracked down the CEO of Bubba Gum 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 Jenny's, but I enjoy it. Yeah. I kind of enjoy it. I get a lot of genaise, but I enjoy it. Yes. So I am the COO of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. 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 English class and I must have watched it about 20 times. OK, 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 is 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 Bava 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've got places themed after a much loved franchise. 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? In Forest, 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, new Lieutenant Dan's. And so it's kind of like the grandparents and the parents, it's a part of their one of their favorite movies. You know, there's a few iconic movies that we all have just remembered in our, 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 in partnership of a celebration that'll happen in July and then it's the 30th year of the anniversary and then obviously the 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 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 thing 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 Baba 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 as her name Jenny and was too stupid of a joke to make, but then it ended up being true. Also really liked the word shrimp possibles. Shrimp possibilities.

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. We do, right?

Ding, ding, ding, all that stuff. That's unique to here. A lot of it. I mean, Netflix has a whole language around their internal comms. So 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 G'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 Shucksing his way through history from 82 to 95. Oh, wow. And there's all sorts of American incidents that happen, but it did not get made into a movie. Bummer.

But if you really love Forrest Gump and you want more, read the book's sequel. Do it. Chris Pratt was discovered while working as a waiter at the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. 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 goes and raises money for American

servicemen apparently in 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 liked 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 dive. It's a history lesson. That's right as well as a deeply beautiful film and delicious shrimp possibility 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 That's right. Yeah, that's as American as it comes. You're right. You're right 20% more American all of us Beautiful bye as it comes. You're right, you're right. 20% more American, all of us. Beautiful. Bye. Enjoy the shrimp.