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Back to the Future is a... tragedy?

Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
So, I showed my kids the BTTF Trilogy (which they loved) and went on an interview binge afterward. I came across this interview with Lea Thompson (Marty’s mom) and she spoke extensively about her work with Eric Stoltz on the set. Stoltz as most of you probably know by now, was Marty McFly before Michael J. Fox was cast. They shot almost the entire movie with him before realizing they made a huge mistake casting him. So, they fired him and got Fox who had better comedic timing.

Anyway, she said something that was both hilarious and very interesting about the story of BTTF that I had never thought of before. Listen below:



So, Stoltz pointed out how Marty McFly kept his memories from his previous past, which make sense if you think of the altered 1985 present as a splinter of the timeline. But, that means he kept all of his memories from his sadder past with the loser parents and bully Biff. According to Lea’s recounting of the table read, Stoltz stopped the room with this revelation. I don’t think the writers thought about this angle before. I never thought about it until I heard this interview.

While I’m glad Stoltz was replaced as MJF was perfect for the role of a comedy adventure, I really wish they would release an alternative version, cleaned up, remastered, soundtrack, and all of the Stoltz version.

I don’t think they ever would, but it’s too bad because it would make a ton of money and I’d like to see a more serious take on the story.

I also wonder why Stoltz has never once talked about his time on set. Was he burned that bad that it’s just to painful to bring up? Was he given hush money? NDA? Who knows...
 
Dev1lXYZ

Dev1lXYZ

Member
Hulk_Smash said:
So, I showed my kids the BTTF Trilogy (which they loved) and went on an interview binge afterward. I came across this interview with Lea Thompson (Marty’s mom) and she spoke extensively about her work with Eric Stoltz on the set. Stoltz as most of you probably know by now, was Marty McFly before Michael J. Fox was cast. They shot almost the entire movie with him before realizing they made a huge mistake casting him. So, they fired him and got Fox who had better comedic timing.

Anyway, she said something that was both hilarious and very interesting about the story of BTTF that I had never thought of before. Listen below:



So, Stoltz pointed out how Marty McFly kept his memories from his previous past, which make sense if you think of the altered 1985 present as a splinter of the timeline. But, that means he kept all of his memories from his sadder past with the loser parents and bully Biff. According to Lea’s recounting of the table read, Stoltz stopped the room with this revelation. I don’t think the writers thought about this angle before. I never thought about it until I heard this interview.

While I’m glad Stoltz was replaced as MJF was perfect for the role of a comedy adventure, I really wish they would release an alternative version, cleaned up, remastered, soundtrack, and all of the Stoltz version.

I don’t think they ever would, but it’s too bad because it would make a ton of money and I’d like to see a more serious take on the story.

I also wonder why Stoltz has never once talked about his time on set. Was he burned that bad that it’s just to painful to bring up? Was he given hush money? NDA? Who knows...
Click to expand...


They pretty much shot the entire movie with Stoltz. The cast has always spoken highly of him and were shocked when he was fired and Fox was brought on board. I’m sure that he was paid his full salary and it’s considered bad form to speak poorly of your experiences in the film industry, especially if you want to continue acting. Would I pay money to see the ‘lost version’ of BTTF? Hell yes.

If I were to pitch a new BTTF movie, I would bring back Stoltz in the role of Marty. It would be awesome.
 
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I

infinitys_7th

Member
I always wondered how Marty managed to fit into the "improved" 1985, but then we do not really see that much of him in it across the trilogy. With his dad being rich you know they went on vacations and did all sorts of shit, yet Marty obviously would have no memory of any of it.
 
Nymphae

Nymphae

Banned
Bit of a stretch to call it a tragedy on that alone, but sure it would be kind of weird to remember your life which the new people don't remember, and to have to slowly suss out various things about you and your family's lives.
 
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Reptars Revenge

Reptars Revenge

Member
Can you imagine if Today they switched the lead that late in the game for non horrible reasons. The internet would explode. Clearly the right move in the end
 
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gioGAF

gioGAF

Member
The original Back to the Future is amazing. However, time travel is much too complex a concept for this type of movie, you just have to go with it and ignore all of the inconsistencies such an event causes/would cause, etc.

I don't really like 2 and 3, they are entertaining but nowhere near the caliber of the original. Besides, the actual hero of the first film is completely gone in 2 and 3, so f' them.
 
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Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
Birdo said:
The deleted scene where old Biff dies is pretty dark.

Click to expand...


I always wondered about that. It shows just enough of him when he gets back to hint ever so slightly that he disappeared. But I didn’t put two and two together until I watched it again last week.

Edit: I got to thinking about this scene... old Biff would have had no idea what was happening to him. How disturbing is that? You come back from the past thinking: mission accomplished, only to die alone, fading away, with no explanation. 🤯
 
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mango drank

mango drank

Member
infinitys_7th said:
I always wondered how Marty managed to fit into the "improved" 1985, but then we do not really see that much of him in it across the trilogy. With his dad being rich you know they went on vacations and did all sorts of shit, yet Marty obviously would have no memory of any of it.
Click to expand...
gioGAF said:
time travel is much too complex a concept for this type of movie, you just have to go with it and ignore all of the inconsistencies such an event causes/would cause, etc.
Click to expand...
The writers definitely played very loosy-goosy with time travel logic. Like, why is it sometimes when Marty time travels, there's a duplicate Marty in this new time period, but other times when he time travels, this time-traveling Marty overwrites (effectively kills) the existing Marty of that time period? (EDIT: never mind, I'm wrong, that doesn't actually happen. I haven't seen the movies in a while.)

The writers try to mix the idea of a single monolithic timeline with the idea of alternate dimensions, but they don't mix well.
 
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Y

YCoCg

Member
Hulk_Smash said:
Edit: I got to thinking about this scene... old Biff would have had no idea what was happening to him. How disturbing is that? You come back from the past thinking: mission accomplished, only to die alone, fading away, with no explanation.
Click to expand...
They explored this better in the Back to the Future Telltale Game too, stating that changes made in the timeline suffer from a ripple effect and if you're closer to the time when something was changed you experience the "fade" effect. In BTTF2, Old Biff's plan was a success BUT they didn't show in the film that Trump Biff was killed before 2015. So when Old Biff returns to 2015, not only is there the time displacement but he also shouldn't exist now, that's why the effect was instant because the timeline was reverting to the changed one and the "fade" hadn't caught up to 2015. Doc and Marty (+Jen and Einy) leave 2015 before the timeline ripple happens and jump into 1985 which was already affected.
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
YCoCg said:
They explored this better in the Back to the Future Telltale Game too, stating that changes made in the timeline suffer from a ripple effect and if you're closer to the time when something was changed you experience the "fade" effect. In BTTF2, Old Biff's plan was a success BUT they didn't show in the film that Trump Biff was killed before 2015. So when Old Biff returns to 2015, not only is there the time displacement but he also shouldn't exist now, that's why the effect was instant because the timeline was reverting to the changed one and the "fade" hadn't caught up to 2015. Doc and Marty (+Jen and Einy) leave 2015 before the timeline ripple happens and jump into 1985 which was already affected.
Click to expand...

So, if they would’ve stayed just a bit longer, they would’ve seen the alternate 2015 under Trump Biff’s influence? That’s heavy.

Also, ever wonder what the rest of the world looked like in alternate 1985? I mean Hill Valley was basically CHAZ, but the rest of the world was the same? Maybe?
 
Y

YCoCg

Member
Hulk_Smash said:
So, if they would’ve stayed just a bit longer, they would’ve seen the alternate 2015 under Trump Biff’s influence? That’s heavy.
Click to expand...
Yep! I just re-read it actually because this thread reminded me, in the original draft there was supposed to be a mention of Lorraine being the person who killed Trump Biff in 1996, she shoots him. As for the ripple effect I'm pretty certain that was just a retcon as a way to explain plot holes and the game used it as apart of its main plot seeing as Bob Gale only mentions this in commentaries recorded after the films came out.
 
Jesus Carbomb

Jesus Carbomb

From Water into Guinness
Damn right it was a tragedy...


02tDQaz.jpg



Marty's first girl was an absolute smokeshow. How dafuq you go from a total babe to a chick that looks like your 2nd cousin from Gary, Indiana? Shit is maddening.
 
Neil Young

Neil Young

Member
Dev1lXYZ said:
They pretty much shot the entire movie with Stoltz. The cast has always spoken highly of him and were shocked when he was fired and Fox was brought on board. I’m sure that he was paid his full salary and it’s considered bad form to speak poorly of your experiences in the film industry, especially if you want to continue acting. Would I pay money to see the ‘lost version’ of BTTF? Hell yes.

If I were to pitch a new BTTF movie, I would bring back Stoltz in the role of Marty. It would be awesome.
Click to expand...
Biff was not a fan.
 
Jesus Carbomb

Jesus Carbomb

From Water into Guinness
Gashtronomy said:
What happened?
Click to expand...

🤷‍♂️ Dunno. I’m sure the story is out there on why Zemeckis decided to replace her, but I’ve never looked into it. As a kid I didn’t have the google-fu to find out why it happened and as a grown man, it just infuriates me too much to even think about. OG Jennifer is the only Jennifer as far as I’m concerned.
 
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Y

YCoCg

Member
Gashtronomy said:
What happened?
Click to expand...
Jesus Carbomb said:
🤷‍♂️ Dunno. I’m sure the story is out there on why Zemeckis decided to replace her, but I’ve never looked into it. As a kid I didn’t have the google-fu to find out why it happened and as a grown man, it just infuriates me too much to even think about. OG Jennifer is the only Jennifer as far as I’m concerned.
Click to expand...
Claudia Wells' mother was dying from cancer during that year so she stepped down from the role to spend time with her family. She returned as the voice of Jennifer in the video game though and was modelled after her.
 
Faenrir

Faenrir

Member
Michael J Fox was their first choice. Zemeckis never wanted anyone else but they wouldn't let him do it because his role in Family Ties was too important for the show at the time. So when he could have a bit of spare time he was finally allowed to do it but still had to work on Family Ties.
You should watch "the movies that made us" it has a lot of cool stuff about it.

And yeah Claudia Wells was a bombshell, shame she had to be replaced.
 
Faenrir

Faenrir

Member
Raven117 said:
The time travel police are out it seems.

It’s an adventure flick not a documentary.
Click to expand...
Nobody forced you to read the OP though. So do everyone a favor, go back in time just before writing your comment, think twice and walk away.
😋
 
Faenrir

Faenrir

Member
What shitty post? I didn't create this thread... if you mean my answer to said comment, no you wouldn't. Try it.
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
Faenrir said:
Michael J Fox was their first choice. Zemeckis never wanted anyone else but they wouldn't let him do it because his role in Family Ties was too important for the show at the time. So when he could have a bit of spare time he was finally allowed to do it but still had to work on Family Ties.
You should watch "the movies that made us" it has a lot of cool stuff about it.

And yeah Claudia Wells was a bombshell, shame she had to be replaced.
Click to expand...

Wells is better looking but Shue out acts her. Look at the comparisons between the two ending scenes. Shue looks like she just saw a wild-eyed scientist appear suddenly in a car from the future, while Wells looks like she was just scrolling through her Insta after taking a dump.

It’s not like it matters. The girlfriend gets sidelined for the rest of the trilogy just like George and the rest of the side characters.
 
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Faenrir

Faenrir

Member
Hulk_Smash said:
Welles is better looking but Shue out acts her. Look at the comparisons between the two ending scenes. Shue looks like she just saw a wild-eyed scientist appear suddenly in a car from the future, while Welles looks like she was just scrolling through her Insta after taking a dump.

It’s not like it matters. The girlfriend gets sidelined for the rest of the trilogy just like George and the rest of the side characters.
Click to expand...
Ah yeah i know but it always bothers me when actors change, espdcially when they don't look anything alike.
Worst offender was Don Cheadle replacing Cuba Gooding Jr as War Machine 🤪
 
E-Cat

E-Cat

Member
infinitys_7th said:
I always wondered how Marty managed to fit into the "improved" 1985, but then we do not really see that much of him in it across the trilogy. With his dad being rich you know they went on vacations and did all sorts of shit, yet Marty obviously would have no memory of any of it.
Click to expand...
But the Marty that traveled back to 1955 from THAT timeline never had those bad memories. In fact, upon returning back to 1985, nothing would have changed from his perspective.
 
I

infinitys_7th

Member
E-Cat said:
But the Marty that traveled back to 1955 from THAT timeline never had those bad memories. In fact, upon returning back to 1985, nothing would have changed from his perspective.
Click to expand...

But the Marty from the original timeline is the one we follow, and he never returns to the original timeline.
 
Thaedolus

Thaedolus

Gold Member
I’ve always wondered about the hindsight thing...if you could go back and correct some “wrongs” in your life, would you? In my case that would mean giving up my life now where I’ve got a wife and kid I love...would I be ready to just toss that in hopes of a “better” scenario? How would I feel if I were Marty and just came back to 1985 and things were “better?” That mom’s not your mom anymore, that’s not your dad anymore...wtf would that be like?

I’m glad it’s just a fun comedy movie.
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
Jesus Carbomb said:
Damn right it was a tragedy...


02tDQaz.jpg



Marty's first girl was an absolute smokeshow. How dafuq you go from a total babe to a chick that looks like your 2nd cousin from Gary, Indiana? Shit is maddening.
Click to expand...

You mean this second cousin?


W52DdkV.jpg


This is Elisabeth Shue at 42. This is the same girl that played the love interest in Karate Kid and Cocktails. She’s also a smoke show. But I will admit she looked weird with a hair and make up style that didn’t fit her at all.
 
N

NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
Theoretically Marty should have been erased anyway. Surely hos parents newfound confidence would have some affect on their relationship.

Maybe his dad would have affairs with his fans? Maybe he would have been more confident during college and decided not to marry the first person he slept with? Maybe confident parents decide to have kids later in life (or sooner)
 
Jesus Carbomb

Jesus Carbomb

From Water into Guinness
Hulk_Smash said:
You mean this second cousin?

This is Elisabeth Shue at 42. This is the same girl that played the love interest in Karate Kid and Cocktails. She’s also a smoke show. But I will admit she looked weird with a hair and make up style that didn’t fit her at all.
Click to expand...

Yeah, she had her moments. There isn’t any doubt that Shue went on to have the better career. I liked her in both of those movies that you mentioned and Adventures in Babysitting is kind of a guilty pleasure. I even enjoyed that stupid Piranha 3D remake that she was in. But we’re talking October 26, 1985 here, Hulk! No competition. Not even close. #OGJen4Eva
 
JSoup

JSoup

Banned
infinitys_7th said:
I always wondered how Marty managed to fit into the "improved" 1985, but then we do not really see that much of him in it across the trilogy. With his dad being rich you know they went on vacations and did all sorts of shit, yet Marty obviously would have no memory of any of it.
Click to expand...

The TT games had oversight from the original writers, they slightly expand on this. Marty isn't fitting in well and clearly not dealing with the stress of Doc being gone, but the new version of his father is super supportive and understanding, something he's not used to but enjoys. Then that stops cause video game gotta video game.
 
DeafTourette

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
YCoCg said:
Claudia Wells' mother was dying from cancer during that year so she stepped down from the role to spend time with her family. She returned as the voice of Jennifer in the video game though and was modelled after her.
Click to expand...

I was reading the posts and was about to post this same answer if no one brought it up. Good show!
 
Hulk_Smash

Hulk_Smash

Banned
Faenrir said:
Yeah my bad, Terrance Howard played the role in the first Iron Man then was replaced by Don Cheadle (great actor but doesn't fit that role at all), not CBJr.


Still Don Cheadle is a weird choice.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it bothers me they didn’t get someone that looked like an elite special forces dude. Terrance Howard looks like he could be special forces while Cheadle looks like he does the special forces dude’s taxes.
 
Faenrir

Faenrir

Member
Not really. I've seen some bits, it's just bland, imo. When you act serious but the scene was written as comedy it just doesn't work.
For it to be interesting, the movie should have been written in a more serious tone...it could work tbh.
 
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