159-1009: BTF may refer to the following: ' Biz Trip Finder Back to the Future , film and/or film series. Bangalore Theological Forum , an academic journal BTF (finance) , French Treasury bills Baseball Think Factory , website Berkshire Theatre Festival , arts venue in Massachusetts, United States Bhindranwala Tigers Force of Khalistan , Sikh militant group Bhutan Tiger Force Bidirectional texture function Bottesford railway station , Leicestershire, England (station code: BTF) Brain Trauma Foundation , American organisation Brain Tumor Foundation , American charity British Tamils Forum British Thyroid Foundation British Transport Films British Triathlon Federation ,
318-472: A Ford Mustang instead; Gale responded, "Doc Brown doesn't drive a fucking Mustang". Michael Fink was hired as the art department liaison and tasked with realizing Cobb's sketches and overseeing the car's construction. He was recruited by Paull and Canton, who had worked with him on Blade Runner (1982) and Buckaroo Banzai , respectively. Fink had a project lined up but agreed to help in the free weeks he had remaining. Three DeLoreans used were purchased from
477-433: A 14% decline in ticket sales over the previous year's $ 4 billion record sales. The summer period (beginning the final week of May) had 45 films scheduled for release, including Rambo: First Blood Part II , The Goonies , Brewster's Millions , Fletch , and the latest James Bond film A View to a Kill . This 25% increase over the previous year's releases led to concerns among industry professionals
636-641: A 14-week schedule set to conclude on February 28, 1985, with an estimated $ 14 million budget. Filming took place mainly at the Universal Studios lot and on location in California . Dean Cundey served as the cinematographer; he and Zemeckis had collaborated on Romancing the Stone . Editor Arthur Schmidt was hired after Zemeckis saw his work on Firstborn (1984); Schmidt recommended hiring Harry Keramidas as co-editor. Frank Marshall also served as
795-455: A 1:5 scale (approximately 33 inches (840 millimeters) long) model built by Steve Gawley and the model shop crew. The act of the DeLorean traveling through time was called the 'time slice' effect. Zemeckis knew only that he wanted the transition to be violent. He described it as a " Neanderthal sitting on the hood of the DeLorean and chipping away the fabric of time in front of him". The effect
954-582: A 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism —at one time, 70 of Carl Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl". Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle". Among these relatives was future Academy Award-winning director/producer William Wyler . "Junior," Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted
1113-501: A Time , The Jeffersons , The Facts of Life , and Silver Spoons which premiered on NBC that same fall. At this time, Hal B. Wallis , who had recently worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson 's Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) and the equally lavish Mary, Queen of Scots (1971). Although neither could claim to be
1272-465: A big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and Anne was nominated for Best Picture , Best Actor ( Richard Burton ), Best Actress ( Geneviève Bujold ), and Best Supporting Actor ( Anthony Quayle ). Wallis retired from Universal after making the film Rooster Cogburn (1975), a sequel to True Grit (1969), which Wallis had produced at Paramount. Rooster Cogburn co-starred John Wayne , reprising his Oscar-winning role from
1431-450: A bulletproof vest. He takes Marty home and departs to 2015 in the DeLorean. Marty wakes the next morning to discover his father is now a confident and successful science fiction author, his mother is fit and happy, his siblings are successful, and Biff is a servile valet in George's employ. As Marty reunites with Jennifer, Doc suddenly reappears in the DeLorean, insisting they return with him to
1590-600: A co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang , lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters , and the studio continued to please the public with low- to medium-budget films. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean , Donald O'Connor , and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen adaptations of radio's Inner Sanctum Mysteries with Lon Chaney Jr. (1943–45). Alfred Hitchcock
1749-404: A collector: one for stunts, one for special effects, and a more detailed hero version for close-up shots. They were unreliable and often broke down. 88 miles per hour (142 kilometers per hour) was chosen as the time travel speed because it was easy to remember and looked "cool" on the speedometer. The flying DeLorean in the final scene used a combination of live-action footage, animation, and
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#17328582219941908-565: A contract with Universal ensuring three more years of Oswald cartoons. However, after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films, Mintz took most of Walt's animators to work at his own studio. Disney and Iwerks would create Mickey Mouse in secret while they finished the remaining Oswald films they were contractually obligated to finish. Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz , which would later result in
2067-521: A contract with Universal in the presence of its vice president, R. H. Cochrane. Mintz's company, Winkler Pictures, was to produce 26 " Oswald the Lucky Rabbit " cartoons for Universal. Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created the character and the Walt Disney Studio provided the animation for the cartoons under Winkler's supervision. The films enjoyed a successful theatrical run, and Mintz would sign
2226-457: A destination time of November 5, 1955 (the day he first conceived his time travel invention), the terrorists arrive unexpectedly and gun him down. Marty flees in the DeLorean, inadvertently activating time travel when he reaches 88 miles per hour (142 kilometers per hour). Arriving in 1955, Marty discovers he has no plutonium, so he cannot return to 1985. While exploring a burgeoning Hill Valley, Marty encounters his teenage father and discovers Biff
2385-551: A faceless corporation or government. The pair wanted the inciting time-travel incident to be an accident so that it would not appear that the hero was seeking personal gain. Gale and Zemeckis drew humor from the cultural contrasts between 1955 and 1985, such as Marty entering a 1955 soda shop in 1985 clothing; the shop owner asks Marty if he is a sailor because his down vest resembles a life preserver . They also identified conveniences of 1985 that Marty had taken for granted, but would be denied in 1955. Gale and Zemeckis struggled with
2544-525: A hit, the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal and eventually at other studios as well. In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France . In the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris , Universal Productions France S.A. , although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France . Except for
2703-507: A joke from The Milton Berle Show . This choice led to some disputes, such as Pepsi parent company, PepsiCo , wanting to omit a joke about the Tab drink made by its rival Coca-Cola . Twenty clock wranglers were needed to synch up the many clocks in the opening scene, and pulleys were used to start them simultaneously. Drew Struzan produced the film's poster. The producers hoped his in-demand poster artwork would generate further interest in
2862-657: A label within the Universal Music Group. The following year, G. P. Putnam's Sons was sold to the Penguin Group subsidiary of Pearson PLC . Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later, Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor Seagram for $ 5.7 billion. Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into
3021-450: A letter from Marty warning him about his future and rips it, worried about the consequences. To save Doc, Marty recalibrates the DeLorean to return ten minutes before he had left the future. The lightning strikes, sending Marty back to 1985, but the DeLorean breaks down, forcing Marty to run back to the mall. He arrives as Doc is being shot. While Marty grieves at his side, Doc sits up, revealing he had pieced Marty's note back together and wore
3180-459: A live audience. The teamster drivers entrusted with dropping off Fox at home often had to carry the actor to bed. This continued until April, when Family Ties finished filming. Gale said Fox's youth meant he could cope with less sleep than usual; Fox described it as exhausting, but worth the effort. Further into the filming schedule, Fox was energetic during his scenes but struggled to stay awake off set. He ad-libbed some lines when he forgot
3339-481: A memo reading: "Hi Sid, thanks for your most humorous memo, we all got a big laugh out of it, keep 'em coming." Spielberg knew Sheinberg would be too embarrassed to admit his memo was to be taken seriously. Sheinberg later claimed the story was "bullshit". Sheinberg also wanted to change the name of Marty's mother from Meg to Lorraine (a tribute to his wife Lorraine Gary ), and rename Professor Brown to Doc Brown because he considered it more accessible. The third draft
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#17328582219943498-509: A multimedia franchise , which now includes video games , theme park rides , an animated television series , and a stage musical . Its enduring popularity has prompted numerous books about its production, documentaries, and commercials. In 1985, teenager Marty McFly lives in Hill Valley, California , with his depressed alcoholic mother, Lorraine ; his older siblings, who are professional and social failures; and his meek father, George , who
3657-498: A niche for the studio, beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed Universal horror . Among them are Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include Tay Garnett 's Destination Unknown (1933), John M. Stahl 's Imitation of Life (1934) and William Wyler's The Good Fairy (1935). Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled
3816-402: A pattern with small dots) to variegate the actors' faces to better conceal where the skin and prosthetics met; close-up shots were avoided. Doc's appearance was not altered significantly. Chase painted latex on Lloyd which, when removed, caused crinkles in the skin, onto which other elements, such as liver spots and shadows, were painted. By June 1985, the theatrical industry had experienced
3975-412: A phone booth by the man who interrupts his dance with Lorraine; and the scene of Marty pretending to be "Darth Vader", which was shortened. Zemeckis considered cutting the "Johnny B. Goode" performance because it did not advance the story, but test audiences reacted well to it. There is a dispute if a shot of Stoltz's hand is in the finished film in the scene where Marty punches Biff. Gale noted it
4134-492: A remake of its earlier 1929 part-talkie production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as a B-picture . The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935, and unlike the 1929 film, was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel. Carl Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless
4293-430: A return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the mid-1910s, appearing steadily in dramas. However, Chaney left Universal in 1917 because of a salary dispute, and his two biggest hits for Universal were made as isolated returns to the studio: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of
4452-451: A rich partner. He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as Panasonic ), which agreed to acquire MCA for $ 6.6 billion in 1990. On December 9, 1996, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became Universal Studios, Inc. and MCA's music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed Universal Music Group . MCA Records continued to live on as
4611-463: A second unit director. Owing to the tight schedule, editing occurred concurrently with filming. On December 30, 1984, Zemeckis reviewed the existing scenes with Schmidt and Keramidas. Zemeckis was reluctant to review the footage because he would be self-critical, but he believed Stoltz's acting was not working and had already listed several scenes he wanted to reshoot. Zemeckis called in Gale and
4770-520: A spin-off of the studio's 1947 hit The Egg and I and the inexpensive Francis (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point, Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil , whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello,
4929-505: A studio using stars in its marketing. The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30, 1912. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley, and Brulatour. The company was established on June 8, 1912, formed in a merger of Independent Moving Pictures (IMP),
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5088-409: A teenager accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile built by his eccentric scientist friend Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd), where he inadvertently prevents his future parents from falling in love – threatening his own existence – and is forced to reconcile them and somehow get back to the future. Gale and Zemeckis conceived the idea for Back to
5247-405: A time when he and his parents were a similar age. He shared the idea with Zemeckis, who recalled his mother's childhood stories were often contradictory. Gale and Zemeckis began a draft in late 1980. They sketched and acted out each scene to help develop the dialogue and actions. They believed many time-travel films focused on the past being immutable and wanted to show the past being altered and
5406-534: A version of the photo without Marty or his siblings and individually pasted each character into the photo. When this failed, four different photos were used: one containing the background, and one for each McFly sibling. A mechanical camera cycled through each photo and printed it to the film. The enlarged guitar was moved around to add to the realism. The original nuclear explosion ending was considered too complicated and expensive, with an estimated cost of $ 1 million. Art director Andrew Probert storyboarded
5565-472: Is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age . Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle , Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann , Adam Kessel, Pat Powers , William Swanson, David Horsley , Robert H. Cochrane and Jules Brulatour . One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons, and calculating
5724-417: Is assaulted by Biff. After Biff hurts Lorraine, an enraged George knocks him unconscious and escorts the grateful Lorraine to the dance. The band frees Marty from their car, but the lead guitarist injures his hand in the process, so Marty takes his place, performing while George and Lorraine share their first kiss. With his future no longer in jeopardy, Marty hurries to the courthouse to meet Doc. Doc discovers
5883-505: Is bullied by his supervisor, Biff Tannen . After Marty's band fails a music audition, he confides in his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, that he fears becoming like his parents despite his ambitions. That night, Marty meets his eccentric scientist friend, Emmett "Doc" Brown , in the Twin Pines mall parking lot. Doc unveils a time machine built from a modified DeLorean , powered by plutonium he swindled from Libyan terrorists. After Doc inputs
6042-454: Is impossible to tell without checking the original film negative, which would risk damaging it. The final 116‑minute cut was completed on June 23, 1985. Universal Studios took out a full-page advertisement in Variety magazine, thanking the post-production crew for completing their work on time. The final budget was $ 19 million. Alan Silvestri composed the score for Back to
6201-462: Is one of the "Big Five" film studios . Universal's most commercially successful film franchises include Fast & Furious , Jurassic Park , and Despicable Me . Additionally, the studio's library includes many individual films such as Jaws and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , both of which became the highest-grossing films of all time during their initial releases. Universal Pictures
6360-455: Is owned by NBCUniversal , a division of Comcast . Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle , Mark Dintenfass , Charles O. Baumann , Adam Kessel , Pat Powers , William Swanson, David Horsley , Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour , Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States and the fifth oldest in the world after Gaumont , Pathé , Titanus , and Nordisk Film , and
6519-432: Is so quick as to be imperceptible. Zemeckis preferred this, as he did not want the audience to think too much about how everything worked. Actual brand names, such as Texaco , were used to make the sets more realistic, and the producers mandated the inclusion of certain brands that had paid to appear in the film. An unidentified gas company offered a large sum to be included, but Paull used Texaco because it reminded him of
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6678-493: The Back to the Future script from him, and the filmmakers wanted to know if he was interested. Baxter had returned to the show, and they could be more flexible with Fox as long as Family Ties took priority. Fox agreed to join without reading the script. The transition could not take place immediately and filming continued with Stoltz in the lead role, unaware he was to be replaced. On January 10, 1985, Zemeckis informed Stoltz that he
6837-762: The NBC sitcom Family Ties (1982–1989) as the sophisticated Alex P. Keaton could be translated to Marty's clumsiness. Spielberg asked the show's producer Gary David Goldberg to have Fox read the script. Concerned Fox's absence would damage Family Ties ' success, especially with fellow star Meredith Baxter on maternity leave , Goldberg did not give Fox the script. Other young stars were considered, including: John Cusack , C. Thomas Howell , Johnny Depp , Ralph Macchio , Charlie Sheen , Jon Cryer , Ben Stiller , Peter DeLuise , Billy Zane, George Newbern , Robert Downey Jr. , Christopher Collet , Matthew Modine , and Corey Hart (who declined to audition). Howell
6996-550: The Powers Motion Picture Company , Rex Motion Picture Manufacturing Company , Champion Film Company , Nestor Film Company , and the New York Motion Picture Company . Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company , with movie production, distribution, and exhibition venues all linked in the same corporate entity, the central element of
7155-527: The Studio system era. Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912, the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. Universal Weekly and Moving Picture Weekly were the alternating names of Universal's internal magazine that began publication in this era; the magazine was intended to market Universal's films to exhibitors. Since much of Universal's early film output
7314-495: The highest-grossing film of 1985 worldwide. Critics praised the story, humor, and the cast, particularly Fox, Lloyd, Thompson, and Glover. It received multiple award nominations and won an Academy Award , three Saturn Awards , and a Hugo Award . Its theme song, " The Power of Love " by Huey Lewis and the News , was also a success. Back to the Future has since grown in esteem and is now considered by critics and audiences to be one of
7473-401: The 1.21 gigawatts of power required for time travel is a lightning bolt. Marty shows Doc a flyer from the future that documents an upcoming lightning strike at the town's courthouse. As Marty's siblings begin to fade from a photo he carries with him, Doc realizes Marty's actions are altering the future and jeopardizing his existence; Lorraine was supposed to tend to George instead of Marty after
7632-452: The 5 feet 5 inches (1.65 m) tall Fox. The filmmakers became aware of Lea Thompson while researching Stoltz in the comedy-drama The Wild Life (1984). Crispin Glover used many of his own mannerisms in portraying George McFly. Gale described his performance as "nuts", and Zemeckis was reportedly unhappy with Glover's performance choices, instructing him to be more restrained as
7791-561: The Bandit (1977), Animal House (1978), The Jerk (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980), The Four Seasons (1981), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), The Breakfast Club (1985), Back to the Future (also 1985), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), Jurassic Park (1993) and Casper (1995), but the film business was financially unpredictable with some films like The Thing (1982), Scarface (1983), Dune (1984), Howard
7950-520: The Duck (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) or Waterworld (1995), which turned out to be big box office disappointments despite their high budget, however, fortunately, these films became cult films in later years. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997 due to the founders' connections with Paramount, Universal, and Amblin Entertainment. In 2001, MGM dropped out of
8109-400: The Future in 1980. They were desperate for a successful film after numerous collaborative failures, but the project was rejected more than forty times by various studios because it was not considered raunchy enough to compete with the successful comedies of the era. A development deal was secured with Universal Pictures following Zemeckis's success directing Romancing the Stone (1984). Fox
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#17328582219948268-452: The Future . Zemeckis held a grudge against the studios that had rejected the project and turned to Spielberg, who had set up his own production company, Amblin Entertainment , at Universal Studios , where Price now worked. Spielberg disliked Price because he had rejected E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and demanded his involvement in Back to the Future be minimal. Sidney Sheinberg installed himself as chief executive to oversee
8427-406: The Future ; he had worked with Zemeckis on Romancing the Stone . The only direction Zemeckis gave him was "it's got to be big". Silvestri used an orchestral score to create a sound that contrasted with the small-town setting and the significant time-changing events occurring within it. He wanted a heroic theme that would be instantly recognizable. Huey Lewis was approached to write a theme song for
8586-563: The Jackal (1973). It was only involved in approximately 20 French film productions. In the early 1970s, the unit was incorporated into the French Cinema International Corporation arm. By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was again changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain breakup and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions. The Music Corporation of America (MCA),
8745-677: The Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $ 750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral . It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. The production went $ 300,000 over budget; Standard called in the loan, cash-strapped Universal could not pay, and Standard foreclosed and seized control of
8904-695: The Libyan terrorists. Cast appearing in the 1955 portion includes George DiCenzo and Frances Lee McCain as Lorraine's parents, Sam and Stella Baines, and Jason Hervey as Lorraine's younger brother Milton. Biff's gang includes Jeffrey Jay Cohen as Skinhead, Casey Siemaszko as 3-D , and Billy Zane as Match. Norman Alden plays cafe owner Lou, and Donald Fullilove appears as his employee (and future mayor) Goldie Wilson. Harry Waters Jr. portrays Chuck Berry 's cousin Marvin Berry; Will Hare appears as Pa Peabody; and Courtney Gains portrays Dixon,
9063-544: The Opera (1925). During the early 1920s Laemmle entrusted most of Universal's production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg . Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief in 1919, Thalberg made distinct improvements of quality and prestige in Universal's output in addition to dealing with star director Erich von Stroheim 's increasing inability to control
9222-857: The Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution. Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with his brothers-in-law Abe Stern and Julius Stern . That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey , where many early films in America's first motion picture industry were produced in
9381-523: The UIP venture and went with 20th Century Fox 's international arm to handle the distribution of their titles, an ongoing arrangement. UIP nearly lost its connection with Universal Pictures in 1999 when Universal started Universal Pictures International to take over the assets of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001. Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International, up until
9540-469: The actors' faces, from which plaster molds were made. Chase sculpted more subtle effects over the plaster molds using latex. For Lorraine, he crafted jowls and eye bags, plus body padding to reflect her increased weight and alcohol abuse. Instead of a receding hairline, Chase changed the style of George's hair; he used prosthetics only to give him a less-defined jawline. Biff's character changed more significantly because Chase wanted him to look "obnoxious"; he
9699-445: The additional project because it required relatively few effects, and he wanted to realize the planned ending of Marty driving the time machine into a nuclear explosion. The team had a nine-and-a-half-week schedule, reduced to less than nine once Universal Pictures moved up the release date. ILM was working on Back to the Future up to the moment it had to be handed over to print the theatrical film reels. The tight schedule affected
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#17328582219949858-451: The advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films. Still, some of them were exhibited through other independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York City without the benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for
10017-535: The audience responded they would recommend the film; 99% rated it very good or excellent. Gale said there was some concern when Doc's dog Einstein was sent through time, as the audience believed he had been killed. The film was re-cut and screened again at the Alfred Hitchcock theater at Universal Studios for executives, including Sheinberg. He was so impressed he moved the scheduled release date forward to July 3, 1985, to give it more time in theaters during
10176-642: The band refused to take part, so Eddie took part on his own. Mark Campbell provided Marty's singing voice, but did not receive credit, as the filmmakers wanted to pretend Fox was singing. When music supervisor Bones Howe learned of this, he secured Campbell a small percentage of the soundtrack revenue as compensation. Paul Hanson taught Fox how to use a guitar to play " Johnny B. Goode ", and choreographer Brad Jeffries spent four weeks teaching Fox to replicate various rock star moves popularized by artists like Pete Townshend , Jimi Hendrix , and Chuck Berry. Berry withheld permission to use "Johnny B. Goode" until
10335-435: The car accident. Early attempts to get his parents acquainted fail, and Lorraine's infatuation with Marty deepens. Lorraine asks Marty to the school dance, and he plots to feign inappropriate advances on her, allowing George to intervene and rescue her, but the plan goes awry when Biff's gang locks Marty in the trunk of the performing band's car, while Biff forces himself onto Lorraine. George arrives expecting to find Marty but
10494-494: The cast and crew, including Wilson. Stoltz put his full strength into pushing Wilson rather than imitating doing so, despite Wilson's protests. Spielberg said Zemeckis needed a replacement in place before firing Stoltz, or he risked the production being canceled. Zemeckis and the producers asked Sheinberg for permission to do whatever was necessary to accommodate Fox's participation; Spielberg made another call to Goldberg. On January 3, 1985, Goldberg told Fox about withholding
10653-431: The change would be obvious and distracting. Special effects artist Ken Chase performed makeup tests on the young actors to age them; initial results were discouraging. He created a prosthetic neck and a bald cap with a receding hairline for Glover but considered them excessive. Chase found it difficult to balance aging the actors and retaining enough of their natural appearance to remain recognizable. Casts were made of
10812-614: The comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41); comedies with Hugh Herbert (1938–42) and The Ritz Brothers (1940–43); musicals with Robert Paige , Jane Frazee , The Andrews Sisters , and The Merry Macs (1938–45); and westerns with Tom Mix (1932–33), Buck Jones (1933–36), Bob Baker (1938–39), Johnny Mack Brown (1938–43); Rod Cameron (1944–45), and Kirby Grant (1946–47). Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars and often borrowed talent from other studios or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich, Margaret Sullavan and Bing Crosby were two of
10971-421: The competition would divide audiences and limit financial returns, at a time when the average cost of making and marketing a film had increased to $ 14.5 million and $ 7 million, respectively. A higher budget to secure a popular, and thus profitable, cast was considered a suitable risk. Most films scheduled for release were aimed at younger audiences, focusing on fantasy and the supernatural. Reflecting
11130-566: The creation of Woody Woodpecker in 1940. In February 2006, NBCUniversal sold all the Disney-animated Oswald cartoons, along with the rights to the character himself, to The Walt Disney Company . In return, Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquired Sunday night NFL football package . Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons. In 1928, Laemmle Sr. made his son, Carl Jr. , head of Universal Pictures,
11289-443: The critical or commercial failures of their recent efforts in collaboration with Zemeckis's mentor, Steven Spielberg . Following the release of their comedy Used Cars (1980), Gale visited his parents and came across his father's high school yearbook . He wondered if he and his father would have been friends had they attended school together. He did not think so, but realized he could test his theory if he could travel back to
11448-524: The day before filming, receiving $ 50,000 for the rights. Harry Waters Jr. provided the vocals on " Earth Angel ". Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) developed the film's special effects under the supervision of Ken Ralston and Kevin Pike . It contains approximately 27–32 special effects shots, compared to the 300 such shots typical in contemporaneous higher-budget films. Despite working simultaneously on The Goonies and Cocoon , Ralston took on
11607-575: The day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons . For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Patents Company (or the "Edison Trust") meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on the Latham Loop used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents,
11766-571: The decade was primarily a television studio. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased United Artists in 1981, MGM could not drop out of the CIC venture to merge with United Artists overseas operations. However, with future film productions from both names being released through the MGM/UA Entertainment plate, CIC decided to merge UA's international units with MGM and reformed as United International Pictures . There would be other film hits like Smokey and
11925-417: The dog in the DeLorean. Arthur F. Repola served as the post-production supervisor, but he became responsible for many aspects outside his role, including budgets, storyboarding, and general problem-solving. Those roles belonged to Kennedy and Marshall, but both were occupied on other films. Schmidt found editing the film difficult because he had to imagine where the special effects would later be added; there
12084-435: The earlier film, and Katharine Hepburn , their only film together. The film was only a moderate success. In 1983, Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films, Universal Classics, and the division has sights on separation. In 1987, Universal Pictures, MGM/UA Communications Co. , and Paramount Pictures teamed up to market feature film and television products to China. Consumer reach
12243-484: The early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount to form Cinema International Corporation , which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada. Although Universal did produce occasional hits, among them Airport (1970), The Sting (1973), American Graffiti (also 1973), Earthquake (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: Jaws (1975), Universal during
12402-406: The early 20th century. Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system . In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence , formerly known as " The Biograph Girl ", and actor King Baggot , in what may be the first instance of
12561-569: The effect those changes would have on the future. In the draft, video pirate Professor Brown builds a time machine that sends his young friend Marty back to the 1950s where he interrupts his parents' first meeting. In September 1980, Gale and Zemeckis pitched their idea to Columbia Pictures president Frank Price , who had liked Used Cars and was keen to work with the pair. Gale recalled having to rein in Zemeckis's enthusiastic pitch before Price had time to change his mind. Gale and Zemeckis completed
12720-461: The end of the Laemmle era at the studio. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the Great Depression was risky, and for a time, Universal slipped into receivership . The theater chain was scrapped , but Carl Jr. held fast to distribution, studio, and production operations. The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of Show Boat (1936),
12879-419: The expense and length of his films, eventually firing Stroheim on October 6, 1922, six weeks into the production of Merry-Go-Round (1923) and replacing him with Rupert Julian . Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal in late 1922 to his own growing studio, Louis B. Mayer Productions , as vice-president in charge of production, and when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was formed in 1924 Thalberg continued in
13038-487: The few women directing films in Hollywood. Starting in the mid-1920s, Universal branded its most expensive and heavily promoted feature films as "Super-Jewel" productions. These included films such as Erich von Stroheim 's Foolish Wives (1922), Clarence Brown 's The Acquittal (1923), Hobart Henley 's A Lady of Quality (1924), Harry A. Pollard 's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927), and Edward Sloman 's Surrender (1928). Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he
13197-417: The film. The film uses a stylized adaptation of the 1950s aesthetics , closer to television show interpretations than an exact recreation. Modern technologies such as contemporary fabrics were used because the designers believed the fashions of the time were not interesting. To represent characters across three decades, the filmmakers did not want to have older actors stand in for the younger ones, believing
13356-424: The film; he was coming off the success of his recent album Sports . He met with Gale, Spielberg, and Zemeckis, who intended that Huey Lewis and the News be Marty's favorite band. Though flattered, Lewis did not want to participate because he did not know how to write film songs and did not want to write one called "Back to the Future". Zemeckis assured Lewis he could write any song he wanted. Lewis agreed to submit
13515-469: The filmmakers to identify problems and implement new ideas. To avoid building an additional classroom set, the opening pan across the array of clocks in Doc Brown's laboratory replaced an opening scene where Marty sets off a fire alarm to get out of detention. The height differences between Stoltz and Fox necessitated other changes, such as a scene of Fox teaching George how to punch because Fox could not reach
13674-428: The first draft for Price on February 21, 1981, but Price believed it needed significant refinement. Some early concepts were abandoned. Originally, Marty's actions in 1955 had a more significant impact on the future, making 1985 more futuristic and advanced, but every person who read the script took issue with the idea. Marty's father also became a boxer, a result of his knockout punch on Biff. The time machine
13833-406: The following April. After highly successful test screenings, the release date was brought forward to July 3, 1985, giving the film more time in theaters during the busiest period of the theatrical year. The change resulted in a rushed post-production schedule and some incomplete special effects. Back to the Future was a critical and commercial success, earning $ 381.1 million to become
13992-598: The future to save their children from terrible fates. The 1985 portion of the film features a cast including Claudia Wells as Marty's girlfriend Jennifer Parker, and Marc McClure and Wendie Jo Sperber as Marty's siblings Dave McFly and Linda McFly . Elsa Raven plays the Clocktower Lady. Singer Huey Lewis has a cameo role as a judge for the Battle of the Bands contest. Richard L. Duran and Jeff O'Haco portray
14151-604: The greatest science fiction films and among the best films ever made . In 2007, the United States Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry . The film was followed by two sequels, Back to the Future Part ;II (1989) and Back to the Future Part III (1990). Spurred by the film's dedicated fan following and effect on popular culture, Universal Studios launched
14310-415: The independent company International Pictures , and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. However, Rank and International remained interested in Universal, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International; the merger was announced on July 30, 1946. William Goetz , a founder of International along with Leo Spitz ,
14469-519: The intended dialogue, and recalled looking for a camcorder on the Family Ties set, before realizing it was a prop on Back to the Future . He also had to learn to mimic playing the guitar and choreographed skateboarding routines taught by Per Welinder and Bob Schmelzer. To compensate for his conflicting schedules and reduce production costs, some scenes involving Marty were shot without Fox, who filmed his part separately. Re-shooting scenes allowed
14628-498: The late 1930s was Destry Rides Again (1939), starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount . By the early 1940s, the company was concentrating on lower-budget productions that were the company's main staple: westerns, melodramas, serials, and sequels to the studio's horror pictures, the latter now solely B pictures. The studio fostered many series: The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials (1938–43);
14787-426: The lightning bolt that strikes the clock tower was described as "the largest bolt of lightning in cinematic history". It was intended to originate in the distance and move closer, but the footage was filmed too close to the tower and there was insufficient space between it and the top of the frame. There was also an issue with showing the bolt onscreen for too long as it made it more obviously animated. The frame count
14946-708: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BTF&oldid=1221347841 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Back to the Future Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale . It stars Michael J. Fox , Christopher Lloyd , Lea Thompson , Crispin Glover , and Thomas F. Wilson . Set in 1985, it follows Marty McFly (Fox),
15105-420: The lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer Castle Films in 1947 and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors. Goetz licensed Universal's pre–Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's Realart Pictures for cinema re-release, but Realart
15264-414: The major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including Edgar Bergen , W. C. Fields , and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello ( Bud Abbott and Lou Costello ). Abbott and Costello's military comedy Buck Privates (1941) gave the former burlesque comedians a national and international profile. During the war years, Universal did have
15423-442: The melodramas directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter , which were critically reassessed more positively years later. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were Rock Hudson , Tony Curtis , Jeff Chandler , Audie Murphy , and John Gavin . Although Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in
15582-415: The motion pictures and television arms of the formerly Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary launched in 1964. Television production made up much of
15741-503: The national governing body for triathlon, duathlon and multisport in Great Britain. blessthefall , a metalcore band Skypark Airport , Bountiful, Utah, United States (IATA code: BTF) Benzotrifluoride , an alternative name of trifluorotoluene Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title BTF . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
15900-522: The necessary prop. According to Gale, once Fox replaced Stoltz, the atmosphere on set improved. Thompson anecdotally said while Stoltz ate lunch alone in his trailer, Fox ate lunch with the cast and crew. The production used many locations in and around Los Angeles . The clock tower is a structure on the Universal Studios Lot in Universal City, California . When filmed from below, Lloyd
16059-474: The next song he wrote, which was " The Power of Love ". Lewis maintains "Power of Love" was his first submission, but Zemeckis recalled a different first song that was rejected. Lewis later acquiesced to Zemeckis's request for a second song, " Back in Time ". Musician Eddie Van Halen performed the guitar riff Marty (dressed as "Darth Vader") uses to wake George. The filmmakers wanted to use Van Halen 's music, but
16218-411: The older George. Glover lost his voice during filming and later dubbed in some lines. Deluise, Zane, Tim Robbins , and J. J. Cohen were considered to play Biff Tannen. Cohen was not considered intimidating enough against Stoltz, and the role went to Thomas F. Wilson, his first feature starring role. Zane and Cohen were cast as Biff's minions Match and Skinhead instead. Tannen's name
16377-470: The parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary. In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios generated more profit while Universal lost money. In early 1927, Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers since they wanted to get back into producing them. On March 4, Charles Mintz signed
16536-424: The peak summer season. The new date reduced the post-production schedule to just nine weeks for special effects and editing. Zemeckis spent much of June rushing to finish the film. Deleted scenes include: Doc looking at an issue of Playboy , remarking the future looks better; a scene of 1985 George being coerced into buying a large amount of peanut brittle from a young girl; a scene of young George trapped in
16695-418: The producers to show them the footage; they agreed Stoltz was not right for the part. Stoltz was performing the role with an intense and serious tone, not the " screwball " energy they desired. Gale characterized Stoltz as a good actor in the wrong role. Stoltz utilized method acting and stayed in character as Marty when not filming, refusing to answer to his own name. This resulted in feuding with some of
16854-419: The project was Spielberg, but with their previous collaborations considered relative failures, Gale and Zemeckis feared another misstep would suggest they could get work only through being friends with Spielberg. Zemeckis accepted the next project offered to him, Romancing the Stone (1984). Against expectations, the film was a significant success and gave Zemeckis enough credibility to return to Back to
17013-408: The relationship to happen. The second draft was completed by April 7, 1981. Price opted not to green-light the second draft; although he liked it, he did not believe it would appeal to anyone else. The most successful comedies at the time, such as Animal House (1978), Porky's (1981), and Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), featured sexual and bawdy elements; Back to the Future
17172-475: The release of the film Mickey Blue Eyes . UIP then took over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International, such as The Green Mile and Angela's Ashes . On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006. Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought
17331-460: The role because of her commitment to the short-lived television series Off the Rack (1984). Actresses Kyra Sedgwick and Jill Schoelen were also considered; Schoelen was told she looked too "exotic" and not sufficiently All-American. Doc Brown's pet, a dog named Einstein, was originally scripted as a chimpanzee named Shemp. Sheinberg insisted films featuring chimps never did well. James Tolkan
17490-479: The role of Doc Brown. Producer Neil Canton suggested Lithgow, having worked with him and Christopher Lloyd on Buckaroo Banzai (1984). Lithgow was unavailable, and the role was offered to Lloyd. He was reluctant to join the production until a friend encouraged him to take the part. Albert Einstein and conductor Leopold Stokowski inspired Lloyd's wild, white hair. Lloyd affected a hunched posture to lower his 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 meters) height closer to
17649-493: The same position for the new company. Without Thalberg's guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades. In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak . This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler 's increasing domination of central Europe. With
17808-451: The scene, which would have been created using sets and miniatures . With the ending moved to the clock tower, ILM researched storms to achieve the right aesthetic. Clouds were constructed from polyester fiberfill , suspended in a net, and filmed from above while Ralston shone a powerful light from below. He used a rheostat to rapidly change the lights' intensity to imitate lightning. Developed by Wes Takahashi 's animation department,
17967-534: The set designers were told to not change the 1955 set, and a scene involving a discussion between Marty and Doc was filmed showing only Doc. Stoltz had shot numerous key scenes including Marty traveling to 1955 in the DeLorean, its breaking down as he prepares to return to 1985, and his final scene was Marty's return to 1985. Filming fell behind schedule, with 34 days of filming lost and an additional cost of $ 3.5–$ 4.0 million, including Stoltz receiving his salary in full. Universal Pictures' marketing team
18126-404: The special effects' quality. Ralston was disappointed by the scene where Marty's hand fades away as his future is altered. Fox was filmed separately from his hand and the two were composited together; the hand was filmed with a wide-angle lens, making it appear too large, and it had to be scaled down. Zemeckis wanted a subtle fade, but it resulted in a small circle of the hand fading away and there
18285-417: The studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas , westerns , and serials . In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Unlike
18444-410: The studio on April 2, 1936. Although Universal's 1936 Show Boat (released a little over a month later) became a critical and financial success, it was not enough to save the Laemmles' involvement with the studio. They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded, with studio advertisements referring to "the new Universal". Because the Laemmles personally oversaw production, Show Boat
18603-470: The studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio, whose product was released with Universal-International's films. In the 1950s, Universal-International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis . The studio also had success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland , with many directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar . Other successes were
18762-540: The studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production. His early efforts included the critically panned part-talkie version of Edna Ferber 's novel Show Boat (1929), the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal), King of Jazz (1930). The more serious All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) won its year's Best Picture Oscar . Laemmle Jr. created
18921-496: The studio would violate Universal Pictures' copyright. With production imminent, McElwaine asked for the rights from Price; in exchange, Price obtained the rights to Back to the Future . Sheinberg suggested modifications to the film, including changing the title to Space Man from Pluto , believing Back to the Future would not resonate with audiences. Gale and Zemeckis did not know how to reject Sheinberg's suggestions without risking his ire. Spielberg intervened, sending Sheinberg
19080-505: The studio's investment in the project. Amblin executives Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall joined Spielberg as the film's executive producers . However, rights to Back to the Future remained with Columbia Pictures. Price's successor at Columbia Pictures, Guy McElwaine , was developing a satire of the Universal-owned noir film Double Indemnity (1944) called Big Trouble (1986). Its similarities to Double Indemnity meant
19239-615: The studio's output from its wartime average of fifty films per year (nearly twice the major studio's output) to thirty-five films a year. Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc. Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such classics as David Lean 's Great Expectations (1946) and Laurence Olivier 's Hamlet (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into
19398-505: The studio's output, with Universal heavily committed, in particular, to deals with NBC (which much later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below ) providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons. An innovation during this period championed by Universal was the made-for-television movie. In 1982, Universal became the studio base for many shows that were produced by Norman Lear 's Tandem Productions / Embassy Television , including Diff'rent Strokes , One Day at
19557-587: The studio. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan , left. Meanwhile, producer Joe Pasternak, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, repeated his formula in the United States. Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, Three Smart Girls (1936). The film
19716-744: The surrounding Lyon estates are in Arleta, Los Angeles . Several of the residential locations were filmed in Pasadena: Lorraine's and George's 1955 homes, and Doc Brown's 1955 home. (Its exterior is the Gamble House ; interiors were shot at the historic Blacker House .) Puente Hills Mall in City of Industry, California serves as the Twin Pines mall, which later becomes the Lone Pine mall after Marty knocks over one of
19875-438: The times, these fantasy elements often employed a technological source instead of a magical one. Only a few films, like Cocoon and Prizzi's Honor , targeted adults. Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC , doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios , or Universal ), is an American film production and distribution company that is a division of Universal Studios , which
20034-520: The top-tier studios, Universal did not own any theaters to market its feature films. Universal branding their product gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would help theater owners judge films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see. Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures: Directors of "Jewel" films included Jack Conway , John Ford , Rex Ingram , Robert Z. Leonard , George Marshall , and Lois Weber , one of
20193-852: The trees at Twin Pines ranch in 1955, which was filmed at the Walt Disney Studios-owned Golden Oak Ranch in Newhall, Santa Clarita, California . Other locations include the basement of the Hollywood United Methodist Church where the school dance was filmed, and Griffith Park , where Marty begins his drive to the courthouse to return to 1985, passing by a lamp post outside the Greek Theatre . Filming concluded after 107 days on April 26, 1985. The final day of filming included pick-up shots of Marty and Einstein
20352-567: The two first films it produced, Claude Chabrol 's Le scandale (English title The Champagne Murders , 1967) and Romain Gary 's Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English title Birds in Peru ), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, including Louis Malle 's Lacombe, Lucien , Bertrand Blier 's Les Valseuses (English title Going Places , 1974), and Fred Zinnemann 's The Day of
20511-445: The vehicle to look fixed together from common parts. The time machine was originally conceived as a stationary device; at one point it was a refrigerator. Spielberg vetoed the idea, concerned child viewers might attempt to climb into one. Zemeckis suggested the DeLorean because it offered mobility and a unique design; the gull-wing doors would appear like an alien UFO to a 1950s family. The Ford Motor Company offered $ 75,000 to use
20670-449: The wake of the 1948 U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. decision. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, Winchester '73 (1950), proved to be
20829-459: The world's largest talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km ) studio lot to MCA in 1958 for $ 11 million, renamed Revue Studios . MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, yet was increasingly influential on Universal's products. The studio lot
20988-468: The writing, as they were in their 30s and did not particularly identify with either era. They were inspired by the All-American aesthetic of films by Frank Capra featuring white picket fences and exaggerated characters similar to Biff, The Twilight Zone , science fiction films, and books by Robert Silverberg and Robert Heinlein . The romantic relationship between 1955 Lorraine and her future son
21147-399: The youth who interrupts George's and Lorraine's dance. James Tolkan portrays Hill Valley high school principal Strickland in both 1955 and 1985. Long-time collaborators Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis conceived Back to the Future in 1980. They wanted to develop a film about time travel but struggled to create a satisfying narrative, and were desperate for a successful project after
21306-544: Was a box-office hit and reputedly resolved the studio's financial problems. The film's success led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career, produced her most successful pictures. When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star with Bing Crosby , W. C. Fields , and Donald O'Connor . A popular Universal film of
21465-401: Was a stationary object moved around on the back of a truck. Inspired by the documentary The Atomic Cafe , the drained time machine was written to be powered by Marty driving it into a nuclear explosion, combined with an additional ingredient: Coca-Cola . Gale and Zemeckis took inspiration from tales of legendary scientists, opting to make the time machine's creator an individual instead of
21624-416: Was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures : Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943). As Universal's main product had always been lower-budgeted films, it was one of the last major studios to contract with Technicolor . The studio did not make use of the three-strip Technicolor process until Arabian Nights (1942), starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez . Technicolor
21783-429: Was also used for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, Phantom of the Opera (1943) with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy . With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget Technicolor films followed. In 1945, J. Arthur Rank, who had already owned a stake in the studio almost a decade before, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal,
21942-447: Was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor , William Fox , and Marcus Loew , Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain . He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained
22101-505: Was being fired. Zemeckis described it as "the hardest meeting I've ever had in my life and it was all my fault. I broke [Stoltz's] heart." Stoltz was reported to have told his makeup artist he was not a comedian and did not understand why he was cast. The producers informed the principal cast and the rest of the crew much of the film would be re-shot. Cundey said most of the crew saw Stoltz's removal as "good news". Crew members later said there were obvious signs Stoltz would be replaced;
22260-412: Was bullying George even then. George falls into the path of an oncoming car while spying on the teenage Lorraine changing clothes, and Marty is knocked unconscious while saving him. He wakes to find himself tended to by Lorraine, who becomes infatuated with him. Marty tracks down and convinces a younger Doc that he is from the future, but Doc explains the only source available in 1955 capable of generating
22419-404: Was completed by July 1984. The lengthy development allowed Gale and Zemeckis to refine the script's jokes, especially ones that had become dated since 1980. The joke about former actor Ronald Reagan becoming President of the United States remained following his re-election in 1984 . Michael J. Fox was the first choice to portray Marty McFly. Gale and Zemeckis believed his acting timing in
22578-591: Was considered too tame in comparison. The project went into turnaround (a process allowing other studios to purchase the idea). The script was rejected some forty times, sometimes multiple times by the same studios. Reasons given included the concept being unappealing to contemporary rebellious youth and the failures of other time travel films, such as The Final Countdown (1980) and Time Bandits (1981). Walt Disney Productions turned it down because they considered Marty's fighting off his future mother's advances too risqué for their brand. The only supporter of
22737-474: Was destroyed in subsequent fires and nitrate degradation, the surviving issues of these magazines are a crucial source for film historians. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios , on a 230-acre (0.9-km ) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universal's operations, with
22896-424: Was fattened, given sideburns, and a comb over hairstyle to hide a growing bald spot. The prosthetics were combined with makeup and lighting to further age the characters. Chase found the work frustrating compared to his experiences with more fantastical prostheses that made it easier to hide defects. The rubber latex did not reflect light the same way as natural skin, so Chase used a stippling process (creating
23055-468: Was made head of production at the renamed Universal-International Pictures, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures Company, Inc. which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer , decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of B movies , serials and curtailed Universal's horror and " Arabian Nights " cycles. He also reduced
23214-608: Was measured in terms of the 25 billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986, and Worldwide Media Sales, a division of the New York-based Worldwide Media Group, had been placed in charge of the undertaking. In the early 1980s, the company had its own pay television arm Universal Pay Television (a.k.a. Universal Pay TV Programming, Inc.), which spawned in 1987, an 11-picture cable television agreement with then-independent film studio New Line Cinema . In
23373-559: Was no time or budget to re-edit afterward. A rough version of the movie was cut together for a test screening at the Century 22 theater in San Jose, California , in mid-May 1985, just three weeks after filming concluded. The audience was seemingly uninterested at the exposition-heavy opening but became engaged after the DeLorean appeared. At a test screening in Long Beach, California , 94% of
23532-430: Was no time to fix it. In the same scene, Marty and his siblings fade away from a photo. ILM found it difficult to fade the photo's individual aspects, especially as it was moving on the neck of a guitar. A replica of the guitar neck was constructed at four times the normal size; the guitar strings were made of cable up to a quarter-inch thick. An 11-by-14 aluminum plate was attached to hold the enlarged photograph. ILM used
23691-454: Was not allowed to show the films on television. The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like The Killers (1946) and The Naked City (1948), both produced by Mark Hellinger , Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out. The studio returned to low-budget and series films such as Ma and Pa Kettle (1949),
23850-405: Was one of the more difficult writing challenges. Gale and Zemeckis attempted to take the concept as far as possible to keep the audience on edge. They believed it had to be Lorraine who stopped the relationship; she remarks that kissing Marty feels like kissing her brother. Gale jokingly said no one asked how she could make that comparison, but that audiences would accept it because they did not want
24009-457: Was positioned on a recreation of the clock tower, but when filmed from above, Lloyd stood atop the tower itself. Production designer Lawrence G. Paull insisted on using the Universal backlot sets because of the difficulties and costs involved in making an on-location area look 1955-appropriate. Whittier High School in the city of Whittier is the Hill Valley high school. Marty's home and
24168-490: Was reduced, but the bolt did not look chaotic enough. Zemeckis picked out a single frame of the bolt in an "S" formation and asked that the effect focus on that shape and be reduced to twenty frames. The bolt was drawn in black ink on white paper; diffusion effects and a glow were added by the optical department. The DeLorean was developed under the supervision of Lawrence Paull, who designed it with artist Ron Cobb and illustrator Andrew Probert . They intended for
24327-401: Was released (despite the takeover) with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and in the film's advertising campaign. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Joining him were British entrepreneurs C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank , who bought a significant stake in
24486-416: Was taken from Universal Studios executive Ned Tanen , who had been unpleasant with Gale and Zemeckis. Melora Hardin was cast as Jennifer Parker on a two-film contract. After Stoltz's replacement, the crew were polled about Hardin being taller than Fox; the female crew overwhelmingly voted Marty should not be shorter than his girlfriend. Hardin was replaced by Claudia Wells , who had previously declined
24645-408: Was tasked with mitigating the negative publicity from a project replacing its main star. Fox's first day on set was January 15, 1985. He filmed Family Ties during the day before traveling to the Back to the Future filming location. Often, he would not return home until early the following morning, and on weekends, the schedule was pushed back further as Family Ties was filmed in front of
24804-476: Was the first choice for Principal Strickland after Zemeckis saw him in the crime drama Prince of the City (1981). Singer and soundtrack contributor Huey Lewis cameos as a Battle of the Bands judge. Lewis agreed to appear as long as he was uncredited and could wear a disguise. Gale cameos as the hand in the radiation suit tapping the DeLorean time display. Principal photography began on November 26, 1984, on
24963-509: Was the first choice to portray Marty but was unavailable; Eric Stoltz was cast instead. Shortly after principal photography began in November 1984, Zemeckis determined Stoltz was not right for the part and made the concessions necessary to hire Fox, including re-filming scenes already shot with Stoltz and adding $ 4 million to the budget. Back to the Future was filmed in and around California and on sets at Universal Studios , and concluded
25122-722: Was the frontrunner, but Sheinberg preferred Eric Stoltz , who had impressed with his portrayal of Rocky Dennis in an early screening of the drama film Mask (1985). With the filming date approaching, Zemeckis opted for Stoltz. Sheinberg promised that if Stoltz did not work out, they could reshoot the film. The character's name was derived from Used Cars production assistant Marty Casella. Zemeckis suggested McFly because it sounded "All-American". Among others, Jeff Goldblum , John Lithgow , Dudley Moore , Ron Silver , Robin Williams , John Cleese , Mandy Patinkin , Gene Hackman , James Woods , and Mark Mothersbaugh were considered for
25281-534: Was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day , Lana Turner , Cary Grant , and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal contracts. The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. happened in mid-1962 as part of the MCA- Decca Records merger. As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964, MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc ., merging
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