The time machine in "Back to the Future" was originally going to be a refrigerator, but was changed when the creators thought kids would trap themselves in fridges while replicating the scene.
Back to the Future filmed for five weeks with Eric Stoltz playing Marty Mcfly. Director Robert Zemeckis disliked his style of humor so much they threw away the five weeks of filming and $3 million dollars to recast with Michael J. Fox.
Director Robert Zemeckis, who has approval over all films in the Back to the Future franchise, says that he will block all attempts to remake or reboot the original film
When Ronald Reagan watched Back to the Future for the first time, he loved the joke about who was president in 1985 (Ronald Reagan? The Actor?) so much that he made the theater projectionist stop the film, roll it back, and play the joke again.
Robert Zemeckis was so frustrated with the cliffhanger ending of The Empire Strikes Back that he purposely put the trailer & release date for Back to the Future 3 at the end of Back to the Future 2 so that the audience would know that the story would be completed in six months
Thomas F. Wilson who plays Biff in Back to the Future is asked about the movies by enthusiastic fans so often that he will frequently hand them a postcard of frequently asked questions as a timesaver.
Carl Sagan considered Back to the Future 2 the greatest time travel movie ever made, due to the movie’s accuracy in handling the multiple timelines
James McCartney, Paul McCartney’s son, wanted to learn the guitar not because of his father but because he saw Marty McFly play one in Back to the Future
Back to The Future Part II correctly predicted the widespread use of wall mounted flat screen TVs, routine plastic surgery, handheld computer devices, a baseball team in Florida, hands free gaming, and the popularity of 3D movies in 2015
Back to the Future II was originally going to take Marty McFly to 1967 where he’d meet an acid-tripping , motorcycle-riding Doc Brown and his hippie parents. The entire script is available online.
"In the first draft, written by Gale and with the working title "Number Two", there were some elements that would appear in the final version released in 1989. As promised at the close of the first film, Doc, Marty and Jennifer traveled into the future to accomplish the mission ("Something’s got to be done about your kids!").
While in the year 2015, Marty spotted a sports almanac and was determined to bring it back to 1985 so that he could win bets. Biff stole the almanac and the time machine, and when the travelers returned to 1985, they returned to an alternate timeline where Biff was rich, powerful, and Marty’s stepfather. Leaving Jennifer behind, Doc and Marty went back to the day that old Biff gave the almanac to his younger self. Instead of revisiting 1955, however the script called for Doc and Marty to travel to September 20, 1967.
Out of place in 1967, Marty ends up in jail. Lorraine posts his $500 bond and cancels her plans for a romantic weekend with George in San Francisco. Marty realizes that his birthdate is nine months away and that he has, once again, endangered his existence.
No provision was made for a third film. The draft closes with Dr. Brown’s advice to Marty that his future hasn’t yet been written."
Sidney Sheinberg wanted to change the title of Back To The Future to ‘Spaceman From Pluto’. Robert Zemeckis, horrified, asked Steven Spielberg for help, so Spielberg wrote Sheinberg a memo convincing him that they thought his title was just a joke, embarrassing him into dropping the name change
Elijah Wood’s first role was that annoying little kid at Cafe 80’s in Back to the Future Part II
‘The Power of Love’ singer Huey Lewis judges the Battle of the Bands, telling Marty he is "too darn loud".
Crispin Glover doesn’t play George in Part II due to contract disagreements. Actor Jeffrey Weissman appeared upside down and in prosthetics to make it look as if Glover returned. Glover later won damages for using his likeness without permission.
Writer/Producer Bob Gale had the idea for the film after finding his father’s yearbook in the basement, seeing that he was somewhat of a nerd and wondering if they would have been friends if they’d been at school together.
Claudia Wells only plays Marty’s girlfriend, Jennifer, in the first film and not the sequels because her mother became ill and she elected to spend time with her. Elisabeth Shue took over the role for the second and third movies.
Doc Brown’s notable hunch came about because at 6’1" Christopher Lloyd is considerably taller than Michael J. Fox, who is 5’5", and they needed to look closer in size.
Robert Zemeckis regretted the decision to have Jennifer get into the car with Marty and Doc Brown at the end of the first film as it meant Jennifer would have to be incorporated into Part II, rather than giving free reign to tell a brand new story.
Predictions “Back to the Future” got right and wrong
While BTTF’s writers didn’t quite foresee the amateur drone market explosion, they did foresee news footage being filmed by a drone. That’s a spot-on prediction. Drone footage has become more and more common.
The self-lacing Nike Mags. While this is mostly a self-fulfilling prophecy, the shoes are still impressive.
Not only did the movie get wearable computing right, they even included devices that look like a combination of Google Glass and the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.
Despite the fact that this might be a little bit of stretch (because they aren’t available to the public), hoverboards are here.
Yes, it’s a ridiculous invention, but BTTF accurately predicted that we’d have automated dog walkers.
Flying cars aren’t exactly an option for the masses, but they’ve been invented.
Fingerprint scanners took a bit of a dip in popularity over the years. Cue Apple incorporating fingerprint security into their newest iPhones.
‘Rejuvenation centers’ are certainly popular. No, we don’t peel our skin off — but we do get injected, stapled, stitched and tucked in an effort to look younger.
Indoor gardening is quite popular, especially in hyper-urban areas, such as New York City or Chicago.
They accurately predicted that holograms would become a reality.
Just ask Tupac.
And side note – did their version of “Jaws 19” predict Left Shark? Looks eerily similar to me.
BTTF features several characters using large screens for a TV and Skype-like purpose. This is worth noting because not only were TVs large, heavy and extremely bulky, they definitely lacked the ability to to be able to video-chat with someone.
Robotic waste disposal has made huge strides.
BTTF’s “weather predictors” are scary close to the Apple Watch.
BTTF didn’t get it all right. Fashion has thankfully not become … whatever the hell this is.
Another missed mark? Hill Valley’s Texaco boasts “Compu-Serve” gas (as opposed to self-service or full-service). We’re definitely still pumping our own gas like a bunch of chumps.
While it’s nothing short of amazing that BTTF predicted the Cubbies to win this World Series this year, they’ll being fighting for their playoff lives tonight against the Mets. The Cubs have fallen into a 0-3 hole, and will need to win the next 4 games to advance. Not impossible. Just… not likely.
Why fax-machine mailboxes aren’t a thing is actually beyond me.
Sure, they look cool, but BTTF got barcode license plates wrong, as well.
And we also don’t have high-tech, touchscreen state-of-the-art payphones.
But the good news is, you know, we DO have high-tech, touchscreen, state-of-the-art phones in our pockets.
Let’s take a look back at all the glorious on-set photos from the Back to the Future
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