Back to the Future AGAIN

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When rumours surfaced of a possible re-release of Back To The Future for its 25th anniversary, for a lot of fans of the classic trilogy, it was news of a future Godsend. Many fans of the movie, myself included have only been around long enough to catch the movies on TV or video as opposed to the slightly older generation who were lucky enough to catch the whole experience in cinema's. Now there is a possible chance for the younger fans who feel that they have missed out on something big to experience the film on the big screen for the first time.

When fans of the movie reminisce about the much loved story many of them, although not all, are aware of the fact that the movie could have turned out very very differently if it werent for a last minute decision by the creators Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale to take a different direction during production. What everybody does know, fan or not, is that the film starred Michael J Fox, but a fact that less people know is that the role of Marty McFly was initially played by Eric Stoltz. As a matter of fact, a good 75% of the movie had been shot using Stoltz as the main character, and it was at this point that the Robert Zemeckis could not deny any further that the particular brand of humour supplied by Eric Stoltz did not fit with the tone Zemeckis was trying to portray.

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Robert Zemeckis knew that he would be making a mistake to take the shooting any further, and after explaining to Stoltz that things were not working out with him in the movie, Zemeckis turned to Michael J Fox, although this had not been his first attempt to contact the young star. Before the movie went into production with Stoltz as the lead, Michael J Fox had always been the first choice for the part of Marty McFly. Zemeckis and Gale had supplied a copy of the script to a man they knew could be the intermediate between them and Michael J Fox. The man was "Family Ties" and "Spin City" creator Gary David Goldberg who was director of the show which Michael J Fox was the star of at the time. Goldberg however was concerned about the future of Family Ties should Michael have shot to stardom with the success of the movie. If the movie sent Michael J Fox into mainstream cinema, his movie obligations would mean that he would have to leave the show, and with his character "Alex P. Keaton" being the most popular from the programme, Goldberg thought it better to keep the script to himself, and that to mention the fact that it was a Spielberg movie to Michael would just disappoint him as he would not be able to partake due to his obligations to the show.

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As Michael was on a break between seasons of Family Ties in 1984, he decided to keep himself occupied and so agreed to star in a B grade movie about a werewolf in a high school.(Teen Wolf)
Michael J Fox has since expressed his hatred for the movie and regret for making it, although it is regarded by many to be an 80's classic. While he was on location shooting this film, a scouting crew for an upcoming Steven Spielberg movie turned up at their location in Old Pasadena. When Michael inquired as to what the movie was about he was told that it was a science fiction Spielberg movie..."Back From The Future...or something". This was the type of movie that Michael had dreamed of starring in and when he returned to shoot for Family Ties after Teen Wolf had wrapped, Gary David Goldberg called him to his office and placed the script for Back To The Future in front of him. He explained his reasons for not telling him about it before and Michael J Fox understood. Michael knew that Eric Stoltz had been chosen for the lead though and when he questioned this, Goldberg explained that the director wasnt happy with what they had gotten so far and that they had always wanted Michael for the part. With that, Michael j Fox was travelling from daytime shoots on the Family Ties set, to night shoots with Back to the Future continuously for a few months. Although the work took its toll on Fox at the time, the fact that he was able to juggle the two successfully and provide the high standard of performance that he did, solidifed him as one of the biggest actors of the eighties, and solidified Back To The Future as one of the greatest movies of the eighties. It was a movie that was so good in fact, that it spawned two equally impressive sequels.

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The success of Back To The Future is due simply to the mesh of talent in each department. Michael J Fox and Christopher Lloyd were superb as the stars, and with both Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale on hand as writers/directors....with the added bonus of Steven Spielberg's involvement meant that this film was on to a winning formula...but not quite from the beginning.