6 Interesting Facts About Back to the Future

In 1985 Back to the Future was the film everyone was talking about. The movie somehow bridged a gap between young people in the 1980s with the comparatively wholesome 1950s, a time that is showcased in the movie. The incredibly popular movie was the highest-grossing film of 1985 and went on to have 2 sequels. To this day it’s still one of the most popular film franchises of the era. Here are 6 interesting facts about how the film was made and a few changes to the casting and the screenplay that were made along the way.

6) The Screenplay

The original concept was was initially created by Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis about young man who goes back in time only to meet his mother and have her fall in love with him. While this is a plot point of the final movie, there many of other pitfalls for Marty McFly and Doc Brown have to avoid in their time-bending saga.

The pair of writers initially got started on the screenplay after Gale came across his dad’s old high school yearbook and was inspired.

5) The Movie Name

A memo from the an MCA executive asked that the catchy name of Back to the Future be changed to Space Man from Pluto. The odd name suggestion from executive Sid Sheinberg also came with some ideas on how they could work the concept of Pluto into various scenes of the movie, despite the planet not being part of the original plot at all. Apparently he thought the name Back to the Future made the movie into a “genre” time travel film. Executive producer Steven Spielberg apparently wrote a memo back thanking Sheinberg for the laugh and playing it off as a joke to avoid entertaining the idea as legitimate.

Studio notes to Spielberg over Back to the Future. They wanted the name to be “Space Man From Pluto”
byu/Naweezy inMoviesinthemaking

4) The Courthouse Scene

In the original screenplay Doc and Marty would have had to travel to Nevada to a nuclear reactor in order to get back home again. But, when that idea looked to be too expensive to make, the courthouse clock scene was created instead. It’s hard to imagine this film without this iconic scene now, but it might have been very different if it hadn’t been so costly to make the first version of the ending.

3) The Car That Almost Wasn’t

In the original writing of the screenplay the time machine was supposed to a capsule, more like the compartment in The Fly than a vessel that can move on its own around town. Gale and Zemeckis then changed it to be an old fridge that Doc converts into a time machine. After worrying that impressionable children might climb into refrigerators after seeing it on the big screen, they changed the idea to be a car and they wanted something flashy, thus the DeLorean was chosen for it’s futuristic appearance. This change had the added benefit of adding to plot complexity as the car could show up or go to other places instead of being stationary. In the film Doc remarks on the vehicle, “If you’re gonna build a time machine into a car, why not do it with some style?”

2) Lot of Rejection

The writers knew Spielberg and he was excited about the film. He offered to have the movie be made through Amblin Entertainment, his company. But, the writers didn’t want to have it be friendship and nepotism that got the movie made so they shopped it around. And, they were rejected 44 times before the film was approved from Universal Pictures, an MCA company at the time. In the end film was made in association with Amblin as well.

1) Casting Changes

A lot of changes to the casting were made in making the film. Originally Marty McFly was set to be played by Eric Stoltz and Doc Brown was going to be played by John Lithgow. Eventually casting made some changes and cast Michael J. Fox as McFly and Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown due to the chemistry and comedic timing they had with each other. Initially Fox was the actor they wanted for the role, but he was doing the TV show Family Ties at the time and couldn’t break his filming commitment. After seeing Stoltz with the other actors the film company negotiated with Fox’s representation so that he was allowed to film both projects at the same time.

Melora Hardin, of later The Office fame, was cast to be Jennifer Parker, McFly’s girlfriend. But, after getting Fox for the lead role casting thought Hardin was too tall and so Elisabeth Shue was cast instead.