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AICN Legends: Capone goes BACK TO THE FUTURE with Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
Several of my recent Legends columns have been the result of a pair of very special movie theaters in the Chicago suburbs that I have never visited, although I'd love to on day very soon. They pull together Alamo Drafthouse-style events, such as mini-film festivals built around a visiting actor, or cast reunions of classic films. The Hollywood Blvd. Theatres in Woodridge and the recently opened Hollywood Palms location in Naperville have an aggressive team that brings these great happenings to the area, and fans turn out in droves. Upcoming events at Hollywood Blvd. include screenings of CRY-BABY with Traci Lords (March 12); THE EXORCIST with Linda Blair (March 13); THE FOUR MUSKETEERS with Richard Chamberlain (March 13); and a WEST SIDE STORY reunion with Rita Moreno, George Chakiris, and Russ Tamblyn (April 10). And I've been hearing about a Dan Aykroyd event since last year from the chain's marketing guru Angelique Brunsman. (I'm just now realizing I won't be in town for any of the March events thanks to SXSW; ah, well.)
This past weekend saw one of the theater's greatest achievements: a BACK TO THE FUTURE cast reunion with Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, James Tolkan, and Claudia Wells, put together for the first film's 25th anniversary and to benefit the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. One of the Saturday night screenings was hosted by eFilmCritic's Erik Childress, and by all accounts, it was a blast. Here's video to prove it.
A couple of days before this particular night's festivities, I had the chance to sit down with Doc Brown and Lorraine McFly (Christopher Lloyd and the still adorable Lea Thompson) and chat about their experience making one of my favorite films in my formative years. They were a real treat to chat with over a Chicago stuffed pizza lunch.
Lea Thompson: So who do you write for?
Capone: For Ain’t It Cool News.
LT: Well, we’re cool.
Capone: You got to make this film near the beginning of Robert Zemeckis’ career, just as it was just starting to take off, and this was actually the film that kind of just propelled him into a whole other level of blockbuster filmmaking. What do you both remember about meeting him for the first time? What did you think of him the first time you met him?
LT: You know, I just keep thinking about how much joy he had making this movie and how excited he was about it, how much he loved the story. There was glee. He just had a lot of glee, in my recollection. I know from his point of view, he’s probably exhausted, especially making the two together, I just remember how much he loved the project and how great it felt when you could make him giggle or laugh or help him with something.
Like I used to get in character, when I was trying to get Loraine, it was so silly, I would read all of these '50s magazines and get all the stupid propaganda that was funny to me. So in order to snap into character with a long shoot, I would always sing “Mr. Sandman” to myself, so eventually he was like “I have to put this in the movie.” [Lea Thompson starts to sing the song.] And it would just get me into the character. He enjoyed that and put it in the movie.
CL: Wow, “Mr. Sandman,” I remember that song.
LT: I know, it was such a stupid song…
CL: I had such a big crush on someone and it revolved around that song…
LT: Really?
CL: Anyways, that’s neither here nor there.
Capone: So what do you remember about meeting Robert for the first time?
LT: I think that’s here and there, actually.
Capone: Is there a song related to your experiences with the movie?
CL: [laughs] No, I just remember when we first started out, and I met him and I had a meeting with him, and it was expected that I come in with some ideas about what my thoughts were on the character. I had these ideas about what I wanted the look to be, etc. I just put them out there hoping that they were somewhere in the ballpark, and he just went “Okay.” I really appreciated his faith. And he knew how to talk to actors. Some directors don’t know how to relate to actors, how to get them to do what they want them to do, but he was natural at it and considerate and respectful. When a director has faith in me, I can’t go wrong; I can’t make a mistake. That’s a wonderful feeling.
Capone: I could not imagine that a character like that could be created and you not have some input, if only because you probably had a lot more experience than Robert did at the time in the world of film and actors. What did you bring specifically to Doc Brown?
CL: It’s hard to say. As far as the look, I wanted the long white hair and kind of an attitude and excitement about the character, but we were just on the same page. Although [producer and co-writer] Bob Gale--I see Bob Gayle and Tina, his wife, they are kind of neighbors--and his idea of Doc Brown initially, before I even came into the situation was somebody really laid back and quiet…
[Everyone Laughs]
CL: Which Bob Gale is. He’s pretty laid back. So it turned out pretty well.
LT: That wouldn’t have worked. It needed your energy to pull it through.
Capone: Did either of you, at any point, at least in making the first one think “Wow, this is a really silly idea?” When you just say it out loud, it sounds very silly. Did any of you just go “This could really backfire” or was it just so clear that it was a great idea?
LT: Well, the first person who played Marty McFly, Eric Stoltz--I don’t know if you remember this, but I do. After the table read, I remember everybody was laughing and clapping, and I somehow got around to asking Eric what he thought and I remember him saying, “Well, you know it’s kind of a tragedy.” [She indicates that the room went silent.]
Capone: “Crickets chirping…”
LT: But it’s true. Marty remembered a past that everyone he loved remembered a different past. He remembers a past that no longer existed. He remembers events that happened that everyone else remembers completely different, and he was right, but it didn’t go over to big. Everyone was like “Okay…”
CL: Whoa, I didn’t know that.
LT: Maybe because I was hyper-aware of him getting in trouble, I was like “Oh, don’t say it!”
CL: I ran into him sometime afterwards, before the film was out. Coincidently, I ran into him and he kind of looked at me, and he said “Is it funny?” I think he had a sense like it was supposed to be amusing or a joke like that. He was a little bitter, I think.
[Everyone Laughs]
CL: “Is it funny?” I didn’t know what to say.
LT: It was funny, but yeah that part of the story… I don’t know. I’m not sure I thought it was silly. I thought it was a really interesting idea, and strangely enough I had auditioned for a script about four weeks before I auditioned for BACK TO THE FUTURE that was the same exact idea, which was weird, although it went back to the '60s to see his parents, and he actually slept with his mom. I wonder if they every made this story.
[Everyone Laughs]
Capone: Wow, I wonder why that never got made.
LT: I know, so that was very weird. I was glad to do this one.
CL: The first draft I got, they got the energy to what 1.21-something jigawatts [as it's spelled in the script]? Not from picking it up from a bolt of lightning, they were in the Yuma desert or whatever it is in New Mexico siphoning the energy from an atomic explosion.
Capone: Wow.
CL: I’m serious.
LT: I remember something like that.
CL: Yeah, and it was like “I don’t know if this is going to fly.”
[Everyone Laughs]
CL: That brought in some things to think about.
Capone: Like radiation.
CL: So they put their heads together and thought, “We can’t do an atomic explosion, that’s just too much.”
LT: I didn’t remember how much it changed, but I was telling someone just recently, maybe six months ago, I was walking in New York, and they sell scripts and they were selling a BACK TO THE FUTURE script, and I just picked it up and started looking at the beginning and I was like “This is nothing like what we did." I don’t know where they got this ancient draft. They didn’t get the production draft to copy, but it jogged my memory as to how much the script actually evolved.
Capone: Did you ever contemplate what it was about this particular film and the story that really just seemed to connect with people, especially younger people who were going back and seeing it several time? I know when I saw it, I went back several times to see it while it was still in theaters. “Why this story and not the one where the guy sleeps with his mom?”
LT: [laughs] I think the story was very resonant. I think it’s actually emotional about a mentor and about your parents becoming losers and what happened to their life and if you could go back and fix your parent’s life, I think that’s kind of a cool fantasy to have and change your past. It’s also like an adventure.
I also think it’s a well-crafted movie, you don’t feel ripped off. How many movies do you go to and go, “Why did they have that? It never paid off. Why are they exploding things? Clearly they have no story to tell that makes any sense.” This had a great story and it was really well crafted, like I’ve said I always remember that I set up a joke, in like the first 15 minutes of the movie, they don’t pay it off until like 45 minutes later and people laugh. When the kid is at those bars like “Get used to those bars, kid.” I set that joke up so much earlier. The way he crafted the movie, and it’s kind of slow in the beginning, you realize that you must pay attention to each detail, because he is not going to rip you off, everything is going to pay off, and he had so much glee about it, like the things that were behind me and the things that are on the billboards… Do you know what I mean? That kind of well-crafted, hand-crafted, movie is very rare and I think maybe that’s part of it. You tell me.
CL: I think Marty was kind of the quintessential juvenile adult, you know? He loves to play the guitar and what do you call that thing again…?
LT: The skateboard?
CL: [Laughs] Talk about a generation gap. The skateboard was so popular then and still is and his being kind of an outsider. He was rebelling against his family. He’s rebelling against people at school. He’s just the quintessential little rebel, and I think young people love that, and there’s romance and all of that. Time travel is the quintessential fantasy to go back or ahead in time.
Capone: Just reading some trivia of the film, there are all of these little hidden things in the movie that all have to do with H.G. Wells and tiny sound cues and music cues that I certainly wouldn’t have caught when I was younger. Even your character’s name Emmett, I’ve read that spelling the pronunciation backwards--“E-M-I-T”--is “Time” spelled backwards.
CL: Huh, I did not know that.
LT: And Bob thought of a lot of those things.
Capone: I’m sure it was all intentional.
LT: Yeah, they’re not mistakes. He didn’t waste any brain time in those 12 hours sitting on that set, he would be like “Wait! Wait! Let’s do this.” He and Bob Gale were just like little kids in a candy shop. And when you think about it, they talk about manufacturing in this country is gone, the truth is the movie business is a hand-made, hand-produced, one-of-a-kind business you know what I mean? When really good people get together and they make something “hand crafted,” it’s pretty exceptional and it’s a really cool business that way and this was just a well-made piece of that stuff.
Capone: Yeah. Did Zemeckis originally pitch this as three movies to you? The way the first one ends could certainly be interpreted as setting up a sequel.
LT: That was just like an accident.
Capone: I just wondered if he had ever even talked about making more after this one, while you were making the first one.
CL: I don’t remember that.
LT: They didn’t really think in those terms, at the time.
CL: When I went into it…
LT: We didn’t have a contract. After that, they were like “You are locked in for 27 sequels!”
Capone: The idea of shooting two films back-to-back like that at the time was unheard of. Now, it’s a little more common I think.
LT: That was an accident too.
Capone: Was it really? How is that?
LT: They were only going to shoot one sequel, but then the script was really long and ungainly, and then they were like “Oh, gee, Michael is going to get too old and we’re all together,” so they just stretched it like that and renegotiated for the third one.
CL: They had this union, the crafts union thing where they couldn’t shoot 3 while they were doing 2, even if it was the same set or location.
LT: Oh, I didn’t remember that.
CL: There was a thing that prevented that from happening, because that would mean less pay ultimately, so they had to shoot them independently as well. They couldn’t combine them.
LT: You were working everyday. I was like not in the third one very much.
Capone: Michael J. Fox had mostly been doing TV up to that point and TEEN WOLF didn’t come out until at least a couple of months after the first BACK TO THE FUTURE. I think they were the same year if I remember correctly, but what did you think of him when you met him for the first time and got to spend some time with him?
LT: I was really snotty about it, because my friend Eric Stoltz had been fired, so I was cranky. I'd worked on a movie with him, so I saw Michael and thought, “He’s a sitcom star!” I shared like a double trailer with him, and then one day I couldn’t get out of my room, because these girls had wrapped the entire trailer with streamers. They were like “Oh my God, its Michael Fox!”
[Everyone Laughs]
LT: So, I had to just realize he was a big star. Of course, then he was my son, so I fell madly in love with him. He’s the best.
CL: I remember the night… We shot for eight weeks with Eric Stoltz and then we were in City of Industry and the parking lot and all of that stuff that goes on in the parking lot with the bad guys and I get shot. We were out there for about three weeks at that particular location, and it was misty and chilly and kind of drizzly all of the time, all night shoots, and we’d break for lunch about one in the morning. I remember we broke for lunch and we'd been shooting, Eric was there and we had been shooting up until and I remember coming back and Spielberg was there and all of these executives and whatever, and we were told to come gather around. It was kind of like a funeral. I remember Zemeckis saying that “We are very sorry, but we have to let Eric go and Michael J. is going to come in,” and it was like a very poignant sad moment, because Eric wasn’t a bad guy.
LT: He wasn’t there at that moment, was he?
CL: He had been there that night shooting, but he wasn’t there at that moment and I had no idea this was coming. It was a shock, but like a “Whoa” and then we knew that we would be doing a lot of reshooting, and I was very concerned, being so “How might I repeat myself as good as I did it before?” You wonder, “How can I get the energy up to do the same moments again?” Once he was on the set, it was just natural.
LT: I had snuck away to go see my boyfriend, and I was in Munich, and I wasn’t supposed to leave, but you guys were shooting that night stuff all of the time, so I was like “I’m going to go see my boyfriend” and I heard my phone machine, so long ago, “Beep, Hi Lea this is Steven Spielberg, call me." "Beep, Hi Leah this is Bob Zemeckis. Beep.” I was like “Oh no!” I thought I was in such trouble, because I was away in Munich. Oh my gosh…
Capone: I hadn’t realized you shot that much.
CL: At least six weeks, yeah, it was pretty rare to go and… That was kind of a hint that believed in the project, because it’s so expensive to reshoot.
LT: It wasn’t a little movie.
Capone: So I didn’t check the dates, but you said that you'd worked with Eric on a movie before, but this was before SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL, wasn't it? Or you had made another movie with Eric?
LT: I had made a movie called THE WILD LIFE.
Capone: Oh right. The one Cameron Crowe wrote yeah.
LT: And then later I did SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL.
Capone: One of John Hughes productions not set in Chicago.
LT: No, but we shot DENNIS THE MENACE here for John Hughes, both of us. Chris and I have been in a lot of movies together and not do any scenes together. I mean a lot. We have done DENNIS THE MENACE, all three BACK TO THE FUTUREs…
Capone: You don’t have any scenes together in any of the BACK TO THE FUTURE movies?
LT: Not really. We have one scene I think when I go with my books, and I’m like “Would you ask me to the dance?” That’s like the only scene we have in BACK TO THE FUTURE, and in DENNIS THE MENACE we look at each other and that’s it. He’s getting dragged away in a police car. Then we did something for Sea World, and then we did… Do you remember THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT? It was a really good movie, just a bunch of monologues with all different actors doing monologues with Robert Loggia?
CL: Yeah, oh I remember that.
LT: I stood there like this and you never said anything… There was something else that we did that I can’t even remember now that we did, but weren’t together.
CL: There was that Sea World…
LT: I think we did another movie where we weren’t even in any scenes together.
Capone: Right.
LT: That’s so funny.
CL: Yeah.
Capone: So with John Hughes, did you ever actually get to meet John Hughes or was it just working from his script?
CL: He was around.
Capone: For both films?
LT: Yeah, for both of them. He was writing a lot, and they added a big huge sequence for you in DENNIS THE MENACE that wasn’t there where you got the beans and…
CL: I’ll say… God… [Laughs]
LT: They added like two or three months onto that shoot. It wasn’t supposed to be six months. We were here forever.
Capone: In DENNIS THE MENACE? Really, that was six months?
LT: Yeah, six months!
Capone: I grew up on the east coast, and to me, you were always that quintessential Midwestern girl. Growing up seeing ALL THE RIGHT MOVES or RED DAWN or SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL was like “She’s what I’m going to meet when I go to the Midwest to live.”
LT: [Laughs] Did it happen?
Capone: Yeah, a couple of times. What do you think about them remaking RED DAWN that by the way?
LT: RED DAWN? It’s remade…
CL: Really?
Capone: It’s done. I know they finished it, yeah.
LT: What’s funny about it is one of my oldest and dearest friends is playing the father and he doesn’t get to say, “Avenge me!” I’m like “How do you make that movie without the great lines that John Milius wrote?” My great line, which is hilarious, is “Things are different now.” I don’t know. I’m really interested in seeing it. I wish they would have put me in it.
Capone: I think it’s coming out toward the end of the year, right? I’m kind of interested.
LT: It’s interesting in this political climate, because it was such a right-wing movie when it came out. It’d be interesting to see how they tone that down or not. Well, it’s funny when I go to the Midwest or get away from the coasts; I’m more famous for that movie than I am for anything else. Not Chicago, but the smaller cities.
Capone: I was going to ask you about that. Other than BACK TO THE FUTURE, what movies do people ask you about the most? Like this weekend, you are going to be getting some questions from fans. What films do they seem the most fascinated by? Good or bad.
LT: For me it’s probably BACK TO THE FUTURE, "Caroline in the City," HOWARD THE DUCK, and SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL.
Capone: Okay. HOWARD THE DUCK still gets a lot of…
LT: Huge fans.
Capone: What about you?
CL: BACK TO THE FUTURE, "Taxi," and then its kind of a scramble.
Capone: I would guess STAR TREK III would be in there somewhere?
CL: Not really.
LT: Oh, I love you in that. You're so good.
CL: Oh, I love that.
Capone: BUCKAROO BANZAI must come up.
CL: Yes, BUCKAROO BANZAI, a lot of people are into that and THINGS TO DO IN DENVER WHEN YOU’RE DEAD.
[Everyone Laughs]
LT: It’s funny…
CL: Have you seen that?
LT: Yes.
CL: People are just really into that film.
LT: It’s funny what people notice you for.
Capone: So when I mentioned to a few female friends that I was going to be talking to you, they were all so mad that it just ended. They wanted to know how they would’ve wrapped it up. What would have happened?
LT: What upsets me was I always wanted Richard to come out of the closet, and then they did with "Will and Grace" and they kept saying “No, America wouldn’t accept that” and I was like “Wouldn’t that be awesome?” They were like “No” and then they made "Will and Grace" The same people--well, Jim Burrows.
CL: Oh really?
Capone: Who you definitely have some familiarity with [as a frequent director of "Taxi"].
CL: He’s great.
Capone: Speaking of which, what was it like for you with your cameo in MAN ON THE MOON, where you got to kind of put the "Taxi" cast back together and put those clothes back on?
CL: That was really good.
LT: Which one was that?
Capone: It’s the Andy Kaufman film with Jim Carrey, but they recreated the "Taxi" set briefly.
LT: Oh.
CL: They rebuilt the set, because we did the series at Paramount, but it was a Universal film? Something like that, so at Universal they rebuilt the set to every last little detail, the scratches on the table… The whole thing was rebuilt and they had…
LT: How weird.
CL: Yeah, it was and it was a live show, so they built the stands for the audience and all of that. Everything was recreated there and we all came back and did it. Danny [Devito] wasn’t in it… I think he was a producer, but he was there the whole time and everybody else from the cast was there, and it was a good 10 years later or more.
Capone: At least. [It was actually more like 16-17 years.]
CL: It was a great week to do the shoot of that. It brought all of us back together again, older. It was cool.
Capone: If you don’t look too carefully, they all look the same age to me.
CL: Yeah. And Jim Carrey was great. You would look at him and not just that he looked like Andy Kaufman, but he had a look in his eyes he was Andy Kaufman. He was really good.
LT: I’ve got to go see that.
Capone: All right, they gave me the wrap-up sign, so thank you both so much. This was really fun, and have a good weekend up in the ‘burbs.
LT: Thank you.
CL: Okay, thank you.
-- Capone
capone@aintitcool.com
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March 2, 2010, 2:16 p.m. CST
For a second I thought this was a remake post. Disaster averted.
by WickedJester
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GREAT SCOTT!
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just a matter of time my friend
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March 2, 2010, 2:21 p.m. CST
Should have asked him what was Doc Brown's creepy little kid doi
by alan_poon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq5-6PkVGCg
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. . . Movies ever. Is it on Blu-Ray yet? I'd have to get that. Dang, I love that movie.<br><br> Top of my list of things to buy if I ever win the lottery? One of those BTTF tricked out DeLorean's that go for about $89k, but are identical to the cars used in the movie. Man, that'd rock. Complete with sound effects.
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December 2010 Blu-ray rumor if I remember correctly.
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Wow, Capone, you need to wrap up this Stoltz thing up! I say INTERVIEW HIM(he IS doing Caprica after all) and get his side! You see, if the studios found a way to release footage with Stoltz in the film..and re-release it, that would fucking rock.
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wow, didn´t know, that eric stoltz was original considered to play marty. but i always thought, that they both, stoltz and fox do somehow look a like.
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I rewatched Red Dawn the other night and could use another reminder of how hot she is.
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Stoltz wasn't just considered for the part of Marty; they shot 6-8 weeks of footage with the guy and had to spend a shit-ton of money of reshoots after he was fired.
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Anyone know? I don't think they mention it directly in the interview. Good interview Capone.
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Wikipedia says: "The director, Robert Zemeckis, has said that while Stoltz provided an admirable performance, it lacked the humorous feel that Zemeckis was looking for. Some of the original footage (shots where Stoltz doesn't appear, but was on set) was used in the film."
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IMO, these 2 actors are the pillars holding up the main character in BTTF, without them, Marty McFly wouldn't be compelling or have interesting situations. I don't just mean story-wise though, I mean these actors brought to life characters that made Michael J. Fox's character more human, more compassionate. I wish there had been a little more with Lea and Christopher even, a little more time to let them get big with their stories or feelings.
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I know what I'm asking Santa for, for Christmas. I've seen it on HD (Comcast had them all for free On Demand for, like, a month) but I want to the full, tricked-out DVD.
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We all need our lovable time-traveler,with his guitar-shredding knowledge and keen skate-boarding skills.
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Wasn't there some clips of that on one of the DVDs? If not, it's out there somewhere. I've seen it. Search YouTube or DailyMotion or Google Video. There's footage of Eric Stolz as Marty, and you can see why they fired him. Nothing against Eric, but he just doesn't work in that movie.
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this incredible films. BTTF is one of the best made films ever. I mean everything about it is perfect from the script to the acting to eh design the editing. All of it. It should be shown in film schools everywhere and studied to no end.
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http://tinyurl.com/ydzx3dp <br><br> It just doesn't work.
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Thanks for the response. That makes sense considering what Thompson and Lloyd said in the interview.
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fantastic stuff Capone
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Only thing to do is a sequel, in 3D, using motion capture technology. You know Robert Zemeckis is pondering the possibility.
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There are so many crazy wonderful things in this series of films. I really love the go for broek ambitions of the second one with multiple versions of the same characters runnign around, the very inventive future world, and "dark" 80s world that looks like a super scuzzy Las Vegas confined to one town. I also love the recurring motif of the clock tower square and its various changes throughout the films.
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and voilà! there's the images
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So much prettier than her replacement Elizabeth Shue in BTTF2 and BTTF3. I will say that Shue has aged pretty well - she looks better to me now.<br><br>BUT... I still wish Claudia had been in the sequels.
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It was a good event. James Tolkan, Thomspon and Lloyd were very nice and polite, always smiling and talking to the fans. We got stuck ina theater however that didn't have a live Q&A (it was done in another theater at the same time) so everyone was kind of pissed off over that. We felt jipped. Oh and the actors were charging $20 for a picture with them! An autograph I can see but to have your own camera and ask for a picture...yeah that was an additional $20.
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Capone, did you mention that the night you saw Lea Thompson in her prom dance, inhaling deeply to advertise her bounteous decolletage, was the night you became a man?<br><br>Because it's true of so many of us children of the 80s.
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All the money went to Parkinsons research.
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Eric Stoltz should have played Marty's son in the future scenes of Back to the Future 2. For one, it would have been a good inside joke and also I hate the whole idea that Marty's son is his identical twin.
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I mean that seriously. Too many people on this site have no idea how to do a proper interview, but I always enjoy the ones Capone does.
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I look a lot like Eric Stoltz to the point where I've been asked for an autograph by someone who assumed I must be him. Yet many people have never heard of him. Had he done this film, I imagine he'd be considerably more famous.
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I have not been to the newer theater in Naperville but Hollywood Blvd in Woodridge is fun. The drinks aren't to badly priced and the foods good. My only problem is that there screens, projectors and sound system are on the old side. For a comedy or a bad movie(or seeing something you have seen already) its worth going. But I tend to not see big Hollywood blockbusters there. Watching the latest Rambo movie there had to be the best movie experience I had ever. Nothing like a theater full of drunks cheering Rambo as he kills tons of people.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b1aZJtjtPU
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http://tinyurl.com/ycdkw93
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that´s something,that wouldn´t suit m.j.fox!!
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2vSUzlXeRk&feature=related
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that featured Lloyd as an evil teacher, terrorizing a student after his head was cut off. Great fantasy TV.
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Good news. Now with this and Tron I'll start developing an actual Blu-Ray collection. ;)
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I enjoyed hearing their experience with the firing of Stoltz. Well done!
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It's hard to deviate from your set questions and improvise insightful questions that don't get in the way of the conversational tone, but you manage to do it. Great stuff. And I really miss seeing Lloyd on screen.
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Thanks, Capone.
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I hope he gusts on "Modern Family" as some eccentric character sometime soon!
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Christopher Walken is President and Christopher Lloyd is his VP.
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Apparently Stoltz wasn't funny.
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March 2, 2010, 3:44 p.m. CST
Thought they didn't think they could get MJF because of Family T
by WickedJester
But then they upped the $$ and he would do FT during the day and BTTF at night, if I remember the documentary correctly. 18-20 hour days or something crazy like that.
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The Doc Brown Chris Llyod and the producer of Fraiser and Modern Family Chris Lloyd are two different guys. Which makes me kinda sad since I thought if Christopher Lloyd is producing tv shows he must be doing alright for himself. But in actuality, he only seems to get offered straight to video kids movies.
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Ha ha, that was a good way to start out.
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What do you mean "why did Eric Stoltz get fired"? I thought BTTF was a "tragedy". Doesn't that pretty much tell you everything you need to know? They'd wanted MJF all along but had to settle with Stoltz because of Family Ties. Eventually the producer of FT let Michael do it as long as he didn't leave the show.
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March 2, 2010, 3:53 p.m. CST
No, Michael J Fox, I have something to tell you about your futur
by shutupfanboy
I can't imagine Mr. Wooden Stoltz pulling off the energy needed to be Marty. Once he viewed it as a tragedy, you knew his days were shit canned. He is one of the reasons, I refuse to watch Caprica that and it looks boring as hell. Fox was awesome in the role. Its a shame Lloyd doesn't get better movie roles that guy is great same goes for Leah, but I think Caroline in the city killed her career.
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Oh my, that disappoints me completely. All this time I thought the mighty Christopher Lloyd was back from the brink with "Modern Family"! <p> Damn. Thanks for the clarification. Maybe one of the Modern Family writers will see this and think he'd be a great fit for the show as a kooky relative from out of town or something.
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I too remember him saying he was getting three hours of sleep due to doing Family Ties during the day then running to do the night scenes for BTTF. That is a hell of commitment and effort for about a month or so worth of work.
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He didn't get the film or character the way Zemeckis and Co. wanted. Fox was their original choice to play Marty but it conflicted with his Family Ties schedule. He schedule opened up a bit and he was able to juggle both. I'm thinking they would've stuck with Stolz if Fox didn't suddenly become available.
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next time you meet him ask him a buch of Search for Spock questions<p> GENESIS!..I WANT IT!....
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Would like to see Lea pics though.
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oh ok then do feel bad...<p> Eric..you may scream...there will be no shame...<p>
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Doc Hollywood, Secret to My Success, Teen Wolf -- he's a mid-late 80s/early 90s staple.<br><br>Spin City is great too.
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March 2, 2010, 4:11 p.m. CST
Another 25th Anniversary event, this weekend in Alabama
by TimeTraveller
Bob Gale, James Tolkan, and Claudia Wells will be in Florence, Alabama this weekend at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival for another 25th Anniversary Q&A event. Tickets on sale at http://www.LindseyFilmFest.com/
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March 2, 2010, 4:12 p.m. CST
Loving this Talkback btw. Nothing gets people talking like BTTF.
by WickedJester
Is there anyone out there that honestly doesn't like that movie? You can MAYBE hate on the sequels, but the original, "that's gold, Jerry!"
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Terrific Interview! It would be great to see more stuff like this here on a more regular basis. It's obvious that you have "the passion" that is so lacking in many interviews that I read these days. Keep up the good work brother!
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gotta be one of those right? you think the studio is gonna let that date go by without a BTTF film? my bet is on a part IV with Lloyd (who now weirdly looks just like he did in the BTTFs) teaming up with a Zac efron type. MJ Fox cameos as Marty
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As much as I love all 3 movies, I'm really glad they stopped there. 3 is basically the same movie as 2, and all 3 films are very self-referential. I don't think they need to do anything more with it. If they did anything in 2015, it would be an uber-restored set of the movies with a bunch of old footage of Stoltz, etc.
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from BTTF 2...<p> storyline? - its 2015..Doc has just accidently killed his family in an expriment gone wrong...just as hes about to commit suicide Marty Jnr knocks on the door to see how hes doing and sees Doc with the .357 in his mouth about to blow his brains out...thinking quick Marty Jnr throws his hover board at Doc but it misses and slams against a large machine..suddenly they are both blasted back in time to 1985 where they must enlist the help of 1985 Doc Brown and marty before the whole universe collaspes in on itself
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...you want me to kill them to?<p> surrender your vessel'
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Back to the Future is an absolutely perfect movie from which a lot could be learned. i.e How important correct casting is. (Just think how much better the Spiderman films could have been if they'd had better leads..) I'd always been fascinated by what happened to Eric Stolz. I like the guy, and I'm sure it would still have been a good film with him, but's it's absolutely perfect with Michael J Fox. They just nailed the chemistry between the actors in that movie perfectly. So thanks very much for posting this, as I adored Lea Thompson and Chris Lyoyd in these films, so it was great to hear these behind the scenes anecdotes. Because for the young ones who roam this site today, (And don't have access to a time Machine;)) You just didn't get interviews like this back in the pre-internet world of 1985. Heck even Empire film magazine didn't start till 1989. And Premiere was just a glitz publicity mag, with not much substance at all... So this was a real treat Mr Capone. My hat's off to you Sir, as this was a top class interview. Wish we had more articles like this on the site! Very very cool indeed! :)
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straight out of the deleted nuclear idea from BTTF 1<p>
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it coud work...
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And shoot a seqeul in which Marty (or his son since sadly Fox would not be able to do it) goes back to an alternate timeline in which it is not Marty but someone else (Stolz) who is living out Marty's life. Marty or his son has to reclaim his past again and out the timeline right.
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with a tribute issue
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Inserts himself into everything.
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Spielberg had to pull some serious strings to get Fox in BTTF..<p> Selleck lost indiana Jones due to his Magnum show<p> Brosnan lost Bond due to Remington Steel<p> you never hear about that stuff going on now...if a film studio wants a tv star to be in their movie they always seem to let them do it (e.g. Qunito as Spock)
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Wouldn't that make him the Warren Beatty of AICN?
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We don't want it to happen, but if I had to cast it today:<br> Doc Brown - Hugh Laurie<br> Marty McFly - Rupert Grint<br> George McFly - Anton Yelchin<br> Biff Tannon - Taylor Lautner<br> Lorraine Baines - Emma Page<br> Jennifer Parker - Gemma Artenton<br>
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Ed Asner?
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Only if you change everything to every female.
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He really was cast perfectly for "Dick" Tracy.
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Its like one of those actors born for some roles.And MJF was born to play Marty Mcfly.
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I fucking love the third Star Trek movie. For my money, it's the best of the original series movies. It's emotional (Kirk's son gets murdered for fuck's sake) and often funny (ala Sulu's "Don't call me Tiny." bit) and the action set pieces are the most imaginative of the series. Great fucking flick. And Lloyd was a pretty nasty villain in that one.
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I guess they wouldn't dare criticize the hack...
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just ahead of the karate kid.
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Whenever he was on screen all I could think was look, there is Reverend Jim as a Klingon. I did not have this problem with him in BTTF.
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It's amazing how radically the BTTFuture script changed. The whole clocktower sequence didn't exist when they were casting? Amazing!
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With the ridges, and the vicious personality. (Not just a cheap Chinese clone like the original series)
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Are you really going to say that the karate kid was one of the all time great trilogies? Really? Even after the culluloid abortion that was "The Karate Kid Part III." Sorry man, but that entire series collapses with that movie, a useless waste of time with an increasingly unlikeable lead. Ralph Macchio was good in the first two, but in the thrid one he's a fucking douche. Any situation with the slightest provocation will get him to do almost anything. Hence the whole scene where the bad kids wont lower the rope so him and his girlfriend can climb back up a random cliff face. Nevermind how they even got there in the fucking first place, but then he gets so mad he angrily signs on to compete in a karate tournament. That was a weak movie.
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Every choice but Hugh Laurie is atrocious. Especially that you'd put Taylor Lautner in anything.
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FACT
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The LOOK may have been great, but for me the VOICE was all Iggy.
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Lea Thompson for three decades.
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that had Christopher Lloyd on it was Fox's college political science professor. He inspired Fox's character to go into politics and now he's a super-religious nutjob. That was the best possible BTTF reunion.
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...is Back to the Future. Cool or sad, that's the truth. I've even had discussion with Bob Gale where I've pointed out things about the movies that he never noticed or had forgotten. So I LOVE reading things like this, where I get to gain a little bit more insight. Like Lea singing Mr. Sandman inspiring Zemeckis to use that song in the movie, that Gale envisioned Doc to be laid back like him, and the OTHER time travel movie about meeting your parents Lea auditioned for. I've always known that Eric Stoltz was fired was because he was "too intense", but never really understood what that meant. Now learning about the table reading, where he experienced BTTF as a tragedy, i can see him bringing something unintentional to the part. I find this sort of stuff so fascinating. (BTW, the last new bit of interesting BTTF info I got was a few years back, when I learned that Melora Hardin, who plays Jan on The Office, was originally cast as Jennifer Parker, but fired and replaced by Claudia Wells because she was too tall for MJF.)
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I definitely remember the episode, but the only thing I remember about it specifically was the opening couple of lines where Lloyd said "You have to go back with me!?" or some such reference.
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Don't feel badly for Melora Hardin. She went on to play Doug Master's gal in "Iron Eagle." CHAPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Just once, give it to her good. It's his mom, it's not like he hasn't been inside her before.
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must have made stoltz seem less intense by comparison. <p> for anyone who hasn't- watch Caprica- Stoltz is fully back on form for this one. It's mint.
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Fox is introducing Lloyd to his co-workers and Lloys starts talking about he's a vehicle for God and he will lead a crusade to rid the world of evil. Fox spends the rest of the episode trying to downplay his mentor's insanity. It was pretty fucking hilarious.
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or so I have read. Not only "cool" as in hip (though look at those stills and you'll see they went for such a look), but cool as in somewhat detached (which I guess is hip, as well). With Fox they played Marty as more of an average guy and a bit of a dork.
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I have this crazy idea that if you're casting high school kids, the actors really shouldn't be older than 25.
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they even make a reference to the movie,when they meet for the first time in the office.And then Lloyd wanted to publicly announce that he is Jesus.haha.
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They just don't make sitcoms like they used to. Then again, I believe most valuable pop culture stopped in 1997, never to be regained. Sure, there's still good movies and some bands make terrific music and an occassional chuckle can be found on primetime TV, but the good stuff is mostly of niche interest only. I miss the 90's.
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The opening scene of Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the debut of reimagined, alien-looking, alien-speaking Klingons. Granted, they didn't get to do much but sit in chairs and fire torpedoes and get blown up, or whatever that was.
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This was really insightful.
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the best is II (obviously),,then III,,,then the new one...then First Contact..then VI...then IV,..all great films..<p> then the ok if your a fan - I, VII,...<p> then the bads - V, X, IX
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http://www.theswitchedonshow.com/2009/07/premature-movie-endings/
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He should do a cameo on Caprica. Awesome interview!
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March 2, 2010, 8:22 p.m. CST
I don't know if I'd go so far as to call Fox's Marty
by seppukudkurosawa
a dork. I'm watching the movie again now for the first time in about a decade, and he pretty much lives up to his surname- he's very [Mc]fly! Would a dork execute a perfect comeuppance on Biff that ended with him being covered in manure? Naw, he's pretty much a more accessible and less broody James Dean in Back to the Future. Looking at the pics of Stoltz in costume, I guess he was going for more of an indie, Smiths-listening kind of McFly. Glad they swapped him. And Fox looks just as much like he could be Glover's son as Stoltz did.
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Why no video?
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I mean come on? Tom Wilson is actually doing pretty well as a stand up comedian these days, but looking back in retrospect, Biff was just as important of a character as the others. It's too bad Wilson didn't get more gigs.
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Because he always plays characters the same way ( which is not bad when you want Eric Stoltzy characters ) <BR><BR> That's completely bad if you don't.
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March 2, 2010, 9:22 p.m. CST
My Idea for a new Back to the Future sequel. Hear me out...
by Orionsangels
First of all. Yes the Delorean is in in the movie. No Michael J. Fox in it though. I'm sorry. I don't need to say why. Christopher Loyd would be in it, but in a small cameo. Okay, so technically the Delorean isn't destroyed. Doc is happily living his life in the future with Clara, making babies. Enjoying the Time Machine Train. At some point. A new character over hears the Doc talking about events in the previous films. This character then, similar to Old Biff, steals the Time Machine Train from Doc and returns to a year between 1885 and 1955 and takes the Deloreon out of the cave, repairs the tires and the adventure begins! He must return it to the cave in the same condition he found it though and before 1955. So the Doc and Marty can recover it when they're supposed to and the Time line isn't screwed up. Okay Hollywood pay me.
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I suppose he could just use the Time Machine Train to travel through time, but upon arriving back in time. The Time Machine Train breaks. That's why he must use the Deloreon to go back in time to fix it.
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We all love the Deloreon!
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He's the writer of all three movies! His name should be spelled right. Anyway, good interview.
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[does Donald Sutherland pod person shriek]
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March 2, 2010, 10:10 p.m. CST
Just watched all 3 plus the cartoon series and xtras
by BEYONDTHUNDERDOME2GIRLS1CUPBILLCOSBY
let me just say I enjoyed part III way more as an adult than as a teen
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meeting both Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson? you should have complimented Lea Thompson on her cute butt in "Casual Sex" Capone
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March 2, 2010, 10:31 p.m. CST
and it's funny how BTTF is the one thing that can...
by The_Crimson_King
unite us all
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You just don't see that kind of personal craft in mainstream Hollywood movies anymore. Bob & Bob put so much thought and care into all of the BTTF movies yet they were marketed (and were) big Hollywood blockbusters.
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Marty was somewhat of a dork. Physically at least. He was extremely clumsy. Notice all the times he falls and trips and does double takes. He stutters and gets embarrassed by things. He's not a true dork, as he is not socially inept. He also wasn't nerdy or geeky. But he's far from being smooth, cool, calm and collected. Marty was an average kid, scrappy, but an under achiever and insecure. He was actually pretty well adjusted, considering who his father was. And for Christ's sake, his best friend was an old scientist.
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I love that fact. I have yet to find anybody who hates BTTF. I know people who dislike Star Wars, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, etc. I have met people who have never seen BTTF, and people who don't LOVE BTTF, but never anybody that actively dislikes BTTF. (I'm speaking of the original, as there are people who hate the sequels, mostly because they don't feel they live up to the first).
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With an amazing, unforgettable voice (Judge Doom). Then he completely disappeared. WTF happened? Dennis The Menace?
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Starring Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus?<br> WTF is Universal waiting for?<br> C'mon! You can even have one of those droopy pants on the ground hacks that run around posing as "artists" today create a Huey Lewis and the News sampled mash up for the theme song<br>
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But Lloyd was the first portrayal. He set the bar.
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...it would be very interesting to see that footage...
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He's completely right. And what happened to the Marty that the family remembers at the end of the film? 'Cause he sure as hell ain't the guy who we see wake up at their house. Where did that other Marty go?
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That reality made me weep a little.
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March 3, 2010, 6:39 a.m. CST
Nice Suburban Commando quote there Chief
by KEVIN_COSTNERS_RECYCLED_PISS
I hope they don't ever remake BTTF or make some motion capture sequel or whatever, those movies are perfect as they are. <p> Having said that, I've found loads of fan made BTTF 4 trailers all over YouTube and some of them are actually pretty good: <p> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq_-XSJ2Pr8
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later this season. Morgan has already been shown to be a DeLorean fan so I'm sure they'll work a joke in there somehow. With BTTF, Taxi, and ST, he's done some good work.<br><br>"Whaaat dooess aaa yeelllow liight meeaann?"
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Christopher Lloyd is the fish expert in Pirahna 3D, coming this August.<p> "The first bite draws the blood, the blood draws the pack...."
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Wait a minute, Orcus has to fill up on Plutonium
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Christopher Lloyd is INSANELY underrated as an actor. He has that rare gift, where he can play characters who are completely preposterous while never once making the audience doubt the reality. Doc Brown, Uncle Fester (at least in Addams Family Values, the first film is garbage), and Judge Brown, to name a few, are characters who, when you think about them, really shouldn't work on film (or if they did, they would work as parody). But Lloyd can give absurd characters gravity. I really wish he was in more stuff.
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My kids got a video with Lloyd playing a guy who dies and returns as a ghoul. He was great in it, but I felt bad seeing him in something so forgettable.
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His brother dies and leaves him "You Are The Sunshine of My Life" record. "My brother is Stevie Wonder?" Hilarious and touching at once.
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I agree that this is one of the best interviews I've ever read on this site. You allowed them to effectively reminisce and fill in gaps for each other, without breaking the momentum by hijacking the interview to go off on some tangent about interviewing someone mentioned (Quint anyone?). You just let them jog their own memories and only came in when needed, which was so refreshing compared to the other interviewers on this site. Well done.
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for when Zemeckis knew how to make a good movie. Seriously saw BTTF at the cinema last year and there's no an ounce of fat on that movie, it's perfect. Romcaing The Stone, BTTF, Roger Rabbit that guy made pure gold. And then came all the hideous mocap nonsense. I miss the old, good Zemeckis. Great interview Capone.
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He doesn't "do" reunions because he loathes all things BTTF, especially the fans. <br><br> So when you say you've never met anybody that doesn't like BTTF - you haven't met Tom Wilson.
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I think "loathes all thing BTTF" might be a bit of an overstatement. Wilson simply considers BTTF just another piece of work from his past, and prefers to focus on his current work. The guy has his hat thrown into many diverse rings(comedian, voice actor, writer, producer, musician, painter, photographer), and doesn't have much use for the nostalgic aspect of BTTF. Essentially, he's the "Han Solo" Harrison Ford of the Back To The Future franchise.
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"Stop asking me the question". Pretty funny; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwY5o2fsG7Y
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Was at the event and talked to Lea while waiting for my 20.00 autograph and 20.00 photo with CL. Also in the interview Lea mentions she was in the movie Wild Life which was Edward Van Halen's first full score. It has never been released because he is so embarassed by his work. If you're an EVH fan you can find it on You Tube. Its all synth and Frankenstrat. Great Interview Capone. Everything I wanted to hear about!
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was the scariest Klingon ever. sure Chang was sneaky and pure evil.... but Kruge was a downright backstabbing cunt.
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He doesn't hate BTTF. He loves part III his favorite cause of the horse riding. He's just not a big fan of the BTTF fans. I met him back in 2001 and 2002 when he still did events (actually, he was the first), but he was not at the big 2002 reunion for the DVD release. MJF, Loyd, Thompson, Zeneckis, Gale and all the minor characters, even Huey Lewis, but not Tom Wilson (or Crispen Glover, but that's understandable). He didn't want to do events with OTHER BTTF people. His BTTF song is really funny, but he also seems to dislike people who associate him only with BTTF. I saw him do stand up a few years ago, and he terrorized a fan who came dressed up as Marty. A theme of his routine is how he was a geek in high school, and not at all a bully like Biff (which was the impression I got the first few times I met him). And I get he doesn't want people to only think of him as Biff, but that's exactly what the whole audience saw when he destroyed that kid in the front row.
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but have you ever thought about how people like Lea Thompson, who doesn't have the career of someone like Angelina Jolie, has arguably appeared in more classic films that will be watched for a very long time? There are a lot of big stars (I'd say from the 90's onward) who hardly appear in any movies that we're watching 10, 15, 20 years on. And many actors are clueless about which of their films will resonate the most. I remember Tom Hanks saying on Letterman that he wanted to be remembered as the guy who did that baseball movie, then Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, etc. But I put this question to all of you - Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, Cast Away, and BACHELOR PARTY are all on at the same time. Which one do you watch? The first three and The Burbs? Then you look at our biggest stars, like Clooney and Pitt and go, exactly how many of their movies will I be popping in or stopping on when changing channels 20 years from now? What... Seven? Three Kings? Just an interesting thing to think about what kinds of films last vs. the kinds that stars do and love to be in and want to be remembered for.
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to Hanks credit, he DID follow that statement with something like, "But when you're seeing 'The Man with One Red Shoe' on three channels simultaneously at 2 in the morning (and he was right, it was on the night before this interview aired), you know it's not gonna work out like that."
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They've both always seemed very much at peace with their careers. Don't always get that from actors who've been "big", and then not so big. Lloyd has done a ton of stuff through out his life, but I do wish Lea worked more.
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Doesn't get one mention in this article. Good.
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WHat the heck is this????? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FirMSRiXTSU
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it's been over two years since I read it, but from what I remember the middle is pretty much the same, but the beginning and ending are completely different, the finale involves Marty driving the time machine (which is stored in a fridge) to a nuclear test site and the military tries to stop him, including shooting at him, its a pretty exciting sequence and would have been cool to see filmed
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the ending is weird too, Marty playing Johnny Be Good at the dance actually causes a riot and when the riot is quelled it delays the cultural revolution and when Marty gets back to the 80's he finds it's now a futuristic 1950's style place thanks to Doc Brown's invention of a flying car among other things
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