Sad state of the "Jenny" from Forrest Gump

[garyj800]

Just found this site recently and visit it daily now. This is my first post.

I took these around 12/18/12 in front of the Planet Hollywood in Downtown Disney in Orlando. The sign says its the "Jenny" from Forrest Gump. Im not sure if this is the real one or a replica but i've read else where that it is the real Jenny.

It pains me to see this happen to a movie prop, especially one from such a beloved movie like Forrest Gump. This condition is nothing new. I was there in August as well and the boat was in the same shape. If you look at the water line then look at the boat in the movie you can see there is alot of boat underwater. It's missing the towers and rigging from the movie, I don't know how long ago they were taken off or how long the boat has looked this way. It's been since August of 2012 at least.

Some people just view these things as boats or props. They don't understand the connection people have to these things. It's sad to see things so iconic like this go to waste.

 

[vamplifire]

that's too bad. you would figure that being forest gump's Jenny that it would be taken care of a little bit better than that. She wont last for very long under water....

 

[abaddon1974]

This is not the only film boat to have a similar fate. Unfortunately the larger props are the ones that are harder and more expensive to keep in good condition.
I know that I would struggle to keep a film car in decent condition let alone a boat.

Craig

 

[telchar]

Sad. :unsure

Having worked with my dad's wood boat
(the Jenny looks like a real wooden vessel
as opposed to some prop) they are expensive and
extremely time consuming to keep up, especially
if they are older. Once they get away from you...

The Galileo is a good example....

 

[Apollo]

Sadly come as no surprise.

 

[goapebilly]

That has been there in that putrid water 6 + years i know of. It gets worse every year i see it down there. between the florida heat and humidity ,and no one up keeping it,im amazed its still afloat. But not surprised,PH has never taken care of the props displayed there, on top of them dressed and displayed incorrectly and mislabeled, ive seen some costumes coated with grime and grease floating around in the air from the restaurant.And if you make notice of it to employees they look at you ,like you have 10 heads. goapebilly

 

[Nikkyboy]

Wow, so sad to see it this way, however I would have thought by now that someone would have given it the fame it deserves- although, in my opinion it is a museum piece, I can understand the financial difficulties of maintaining an item this big...

 

[mtpalin]

That is really a shame. Why bother purchasing it for display only to let it rot?

 

[CaptainDave1701]

Even though it has been a while I saw what was supposed to be the catamaran from Waterworld in the water at Universal Studios Florida. It did not look so good then so I wonder about her condition today or if she even exists.

 

[joeranger]

If you look at Jenny from the other side she does not look too bad. Seems to be getting better with age

 

[Onkelpsycho]

Nothing new... sometimes I think bigger props are not as important to them as smaller stuff, because everything what doesn't fit into a display, is often doomed...

I saw what they did to the Ecto 1 in Universal Studios Hollywood...

And my heart is tearing always when I see the JP cars outside on the studio backlot tour... Rusting till the end is near... :unsure

 

[drftfan]

And then you have Warner's that takes care of their cars and props. Good for them.
Universal just flat out sucks when it comes to taking care of items. I don't get it. Why not just auction stuff off instead.

 

[Jay1138]

And then you have Warner's that takes care of their cars and props. Good for them.
Universal just flat out sucks when it comes to taking care of items. I don't get it. Why not just auction stuff off instead.

Exactly. Plenty of people would pay top dollar for those cars going to waste.

I don't even want to know what happened to Ecto 1. But just in case, anyone have a picture?

 

[trenchcoatpanda]

If you look at Jenny from the other side she does not look too bad. Seems to be getting better with age

As long as she doesn't stay in the water too long

 

[PHArchivist]

I've seen this boat too, a few times, there in Orlando. And I've always questioned if its original. I'm betting its not.

 

[Michael Bergeron]

The Orca suffered a similar fate. So tragic.

 

[Onkelpsycho]

Exactly. Plenty of people would pay top dollar for those cars going to waste.

I don't even want to know what happened to Ecto 1. But just in case, anyone have a picture?

No, don't find the old thread, but one car was restored... (don't know what happened to the other cars, this is just the car what drives through the park)

"That's good, right?"

Nope, it was restored in a terrible way, the original parts were removed and changed with inacurate parts, the paintjob was terrible (silverspray over chrome) and nothing looks, like it should...

Good thing, that someone had the idea to restore it, but like that?!?

 

[GNT]

That is really a shame. Why bother purchasing it for display only to let it rot?

I'm sure it's not their intention for it rot when they purchase it but sadly the elements do take their toll on anything left outside. Once it's fallen apart they'll just replace it with something else.

 

[Monster Dave]

Looks like this will be another prop soon to be found in the 'props lost or destroyed' thread.

 

[edvfd911]

Hi, new here, but just saw that some of you were talking about the best movie car ever produced, Ecto 1, of course, and actually, Sony commissioned the restoration of the original 59 Caddy, Miller-Meoter, (hard to believe they still had that car from 25 years ago, but they did). Anyway, they restored it for promotional purposes of the release of the video game and 25th anniversary. Restoration was professionally and accurately done by Cinema Vehicle Services in Hollywood. I'm going to try and attach a 15 minute YouTube video of the restoration, complete with interviews from Sony, Ramis and a personal inspection and test drive by Dan Akroyd himself. Ecto 1 was by far my favorite movie car growing up, and it still is. I had seen in the past on the web where replicas where made, and a vehicle that was found on the lot that was supposed to be Ecto 1 was restored in pretty bad taste. But as you can see from the video, and from Akroyd, this is the original, and restored in pristine condition. Unlike other movies, they only purchased 1 59 Cadillac for Ghostbusters, pretty rare to have only 1 car, but they did. I hope some of you found this as informative as I did, I was captivated for 15 minutes watching this. I love this car !!!!



[url]http://youtu.be/HQ38lNWi1jo

If the YouTube link doesn't work, go to YouTube and search for:

Making Of Ecto-1, resurrecting The Classic Car (Ghostbusters)