Caffeinated Clint
It’s the 30th anniversary of “Back to the Future” this year – time flies (well, it did in the sequel, anyway) – and if the creative geniuses behind the 1985 hit have anything to do with it, it’ll be the same film we’ll be celebrating in another 30.
Asked whether or not he thinks Hollywood will ultimately remake the classic science-fiction laffer – and a fair question to ask considering it’s about the only franchise that hasn’t been reset, rebooted, sequelized, redone, or bum-raped in recent years – “Back to the Future” director Robert Zemeckis explained that Universal Pictures can’t remake, let alone do anything with the ‘BTTF’ brand unless they’ve his and screenwriter Bob Gale’s permission.
“Oh, God no. That can’t happen until both Bob and I are dead”, Zemeckis tells The Telegraph. “And then I’m sure they’ll do it, unless there’s a way our estates can stop it. I mean, to me, that’s outrageous. Especially since it’s a good movie. It’s like saying ‘Let’s remake Citizen Kane. Who are we going to get to play Kane?’ What folly, what insanity is that? Why would anyone do that?”
Not that Zemeckis is comparing “Back to the Future” to “Citizen Kane” – but, ya know, maybe he should be!? – he’s simply certain that lightning would never strike twice (sorry, bad choice of words!) for “Back to the Future”. He’s also certain that nobody would want to see a remake or sequel without the original Marty McFly, Michael J.Fox.
“The idea of making another Back to The Future movie without Michael J. Fox – you know, that’s like saying, ‘I’m going to cook you a steak dinner and I’m going to hold the beef.'”
Screenwriter Bob Gale recently told us much the same thing, that it’d be pointless doing another “Back to the Future” if Michael J.Fox couldn’t do it (and he can’t, because of his health). That’s essentially why Zemeckis and Gale haven’t even considered doing a fourth film in the series.
“Besides, what did you think about “Indiana Jones 4?””, Gale asked our reporter, Mike Smith when discussing the possibility of a fourth installment. “Sometimes it’s best to just quit while you’re ahead, right?”
About a decade ago, Moviehole spoke to Michael J.Fox and asked him whether or not he thinks it could happen.
Fox said, “I’m 44-years-old now and I’m not interested in running around on skateboards!” he said. “I think after 1, 2 and 3 we all kind of felt we had done it. And I think if they did it again now they would do it with a younger cast and just do a different realisation of it, which would be fun.”
Apparently Fox still feels the same way – he would be happy to watch a new “Back to the Future” film, he just doesn’t want to be in it.
Having said that, it was rumoured a few years back that Hollywood screenwriter Ed Solomon had been hired to pen two new films in the series. Word has it that the libretto would fix on Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) inadvertently causing the UFO crash in Roswell. Marty McFly (Michael J.Fox) would be replaced by a plucky female scientist (The frontrunner for the role was said to be “Buffy”’s Sarah Michelle Gellar) who, in this particular two-part adventure, is charged with the task of helping ‘Doc’ set things right. The story goes that, despite handing in his treatments for the two flicks, Solomon was never contracted to actually write the sequels.
As Zemeckis says, there’s a fair chance we may one day see a “Back to the Future” redo but hopefully most of us won’t be around to witness see it.
