Sometime after Gus Van Sant had released "Goodwill Hunting," he took a trip to India. During his stay, he was faxed a screenplay from Sony Pictures. Written by an unknown anchorman called Mike Rich, "Finding Forrester" had everything that prompted Van Sant to cut off his journey and return to LA. Three days later, he was in a meeting with producer Laurence Mark and ready to work.
The obvious question is: Did Van Sant lose his memory in India? "Finding Forrester" is similar to "Goodwill Hunting" in so many ways: the material, the characters and did I mention material? The good news is it's like meeting a fantastic guy who says: "I have a twin brother. I know you're going to like him." The movies are indeed wonderfully similar yet subtly different, in the way twins are.
It looks as though Van Sant and Sony Pictures were confident enough to risk sure-fire criticism about "Finding Forrester" being a rehash of "Goodwill Hunting." Perhaps the director just believes that a truly good story is truly good, no matter how many times you tell it. Or maybe he's a perfectionist who felt the previous work had some kinks that could be smoothed over in this new work. In any case, it worked. "Finding Forrester" is not an outright repetition nor a sequel but a Plan B execution that's even better than the original Plan A.