“Back to the Future”, the saga with Michael J. Fox, celebrates its 35th anniversary this year, and has not finished revealing all its secrets. Here are some anecdotes that allow you to see the cult trilogy in a different light.
Product placements galore
Pizza Hut, Pepsi, Nike, Black & Decker, Texaco, or even 7-Eleven… Back to the Future is one of the films with the most product placements in the history of cinema. This is a way of playing on the evolution of brands over time, but also, for producers, to start making their investments profitable even before the film is released in theaters. A process that is not without its risks, some labels having demanded a right to inspect the way they were presented. A puzzle that the creative teams would have done well. “It’s like you have an extra producer,” director Robert Zemeckis explained. Screenwriter Bob Gale even made a big decision: “This movie taught me a lesson: I will never do product placement again in my life, never… I will never take brand money again because you lose control. creative of your project. The various international versions have made the operation more complex. So in the original version, Marty Mc Fly’s mother-to-be calls him Calvin Klein by relying on the name embroidered on her underwear, while in the French version she calls him Pierre Cardin.
ronald Reagan contacted
The parts of the script that talk about President Ronald Reagan had to be approved by the White House to make sure they were not offensive to the president. The latter, a former actor, was even contacted to play the mayor of Hill Valley in the third installment. A tempting offer for the one who was a big fan of the saga but which he finally declined.
A car rather than a refrigerator
The writers intended to make their hero travel in time aboard a nuclear refrigerator, before finally opting for the Delorean whose futuristic design finally convinced Zemeckis. A choice which at the same time made it possible to prevent children from having fun locking themselves in a refrigerator to try the experience at home.
Second-hand decorations
There are no small savings, and the director has not hesitated to reuse sets. The tunnel that Marty McFly uses to steal the almanac from Biff Tannen is actually the one that leads to Toon Ville in Who Wants Roger Rabbit, which Zemeckis had made a year earlier. Likewise, the Hill Valley town hall where the legendary clock is located was not created for the occasion since it is Courthousquare, which is located in Universal Studios in Los Angeles. The setting has already been used for many films, like the Gremlins.
l’attraction «Back to the Future, The Ride»
From 1991 to 2007, Back to the future … The Ride, an immersive attraction, allowed visitors to Universal Studios to immerse themselves in the world of the film. Highlight of the visit, a four-minute walk to the floor of the DeLorean. The design of the simulator, which has been fondly remembered by anyone lucky enough to have tried it, cost $ 60 million.
Michael J. Fox almost left his skin there
In the third installment of the saga, Marty Mc Fly finds himself with a noose around his neck. For a more realistic effect, Zemeckis had decided not to leave any support under the actor’s feet. A timing error in the seventh take almost killed him. Fox began to suffocate and eventually passed out. Fortunately more fear than harm, but the shooting had to be interrupted for a day and the team had subsequently called in a stuntman.
The first appearance on the screen of a future star
In the second installment of the saga, Marty McFly crosses paths with two children from the 2015s playing a video game. One of them is the actor Elijah Wood who will become a few years later the hero of the saga “The Lord of the Rings”. Billy Zane also made his screen debut in “Back to the Future” as Match, one of the thugs in Biff Tannen’s gang.
A not very legal speed dial
A 1979 law enacted under Jimmy Carter’s tenure prohibited car manufacturers from producing graduated speed dials beyond 85 miles per hour (approximately 136Km / h), so as not to encourage individuals to press the mushroom. . Revoked in the late 1980s, it was still in effect at the time of filming Back to the Future. The DeLorean dial graduated up to 88 miles per hour (around 140km / h) had to be specially created for the occasion.
The designer of the first part dismissed because of Blade Runner
Nominated at the Oscars for his work on the film “Blade Runner”, Larry Paull was not recalled for the second installment, Zemeckis fearing that he would propose an aesthetic too dark.
An animated series in the 1990s
An animated series, which will have two seasons of 13 episodes, was released in 1991. Dan Castellaneta, voice of Homer Simpson, plays the role of Doc. As for the original actor, Christopher Lloyd, he was also part of the project. You could see it at the start and end of every episode.
The trailer for the animated series “Back to the Future”
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