Portal:Back to the Future
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Introduction
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 as teenager Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents and becomes his mother's romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean, who helps Marty repair history and return to 1985.
Zemeckis and Gale wrote the script after Gale wondered whether he would have befriended his father if they had attended school together. Film studios rejected it until the financial success of Zemeckis' Romancing the Stone. Zemeckis approached Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the project at Amblin Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as distributor. Fox was the first choice to play Marty, but he was busy filming his television series Family Ties, and Eric Stoltz was cast; after the filmmakers decided he was wrong for the role, a deal was struck to allow Fox to film Back to the Future without interrupting his television schedule.
Selected general articles
- Back to the Future is a 1989 video game released by LJN for the Nintendo Entertainment System. The game is loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name. A sequel, Back to the Future Part II & III, was released in 1990. Read more...
The set of the Hill Valley courthouse at the Universal Studios backlot (Courthouse Square)
Hill Valley is the fictional town in California as shown with the clock that serves as the setting of the Back to the Future trilogy and its animated spin-off series. In the trilogy, Hill Valley is seen in four different time periods (1885, 1955, 1985 and 2015) as well as in a dystopian alternate 1985. The films contain many sight gags, verbal innuendos and detailed set design elements, from which a detailed and consistent history of the area can be derived.
The name "Hill Valley" is a joke, being an oxymoron. However, an early script for Back to the Future Part II mentioned that Hill Valley was named after its founder, William "Bill" Hill. Read more...- Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure, known in Japan as Universal Studios Japan Adventure (ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン・アドベンチャー, Yunibāsaru sutajio japan adobenchā), is a 2001 video game developed and published by Kemco for the Nintendo GameCube. Set in the Universal Studios Japan park, the object of the game is to complete several mini-games loosely based on the real-life attractions Back to the Future: The Ride, Jaws, Jurassic Park River Adventure, E.T. Adventure, Backdraft, Wild, Wild, Wild West Stunt Show and Waterworld. There is also a Movie Quiz, in which the player must answer trivia questions about the Universal Studios films. Read more...
The Nike MAG is a limited edition shoe created by Nike Inc. It is a replica of a shoe featured in Back to the Future Part II. The Nike Mag was originally released for sale in 2011 and again in 2016. Both launches were extremely limited in quantity. Read more...- Back to the Future is the name of a 1985 video game released by Electric Dreams Software for the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC. The game is loosely based on the 1985 film of the same name. Read more...
- For other Back to the Future games, see List of Back to the Future video games
Back to the Future Part III (or Back to the Future III) is the title of a video game based on the film of the same name. The game is different from LJN's Back to the Future Part II & III video game released for the NES. The game was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Sega Master System, and the ZX Spectrum. Each version of the game is more or less identical and all are loosely based on the popular film of the same name. The game was developed by Probe Software and published by Image Works and Arena Entertainment (for Sega). Read more... - Martin Seamus McFly is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Back to the Future trilogy. He is portrayed by actor Michael J. Fox. McFly also appears in the animated series, where he was voiced by David Kaufman. In the videogame by Telltale Games, he is voiced by A.J. Locascio; in addition, Fox voiced McFly's future counterparts at the end of the game. In 2008, McFly was selected by Empire magazine as the 12th Greatest Movie Character of All Time. Read more...
- Back to the Future: The Game is an episodic graphic adventure based on the Back to the Future film franchise. The game was developed and published by Telltale Games as part of a licensing deal with Universal Pictures. Bob Gale, co-creator, co-writer and co-producer of the film trilogy, assisted Telltale in writing the game's story. Original actors Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd allowed the developers to use their likenesses in the game for the lead characters Marty McFly and Doc Brown, respectively. Lloyd reprises his role as Doc, while A.J. Locascio plays the role of Marty; Fox later appeared to voice two cameo roles in the final episode, reprising his role as future versions of Marty McFly in addition to playing his forefather William.
The game is split-up into five episodes available on multiple gaming platforms, the first episode released for Microsoft Windows and OS X on December 22, 2010. PlayStation 3 and iOS versions followed in February 2011. Episodes 2 through 5 were released throughout February to June 2011, with the final episode released on June 23, 2011. Telltale published the series as retail products for the PlayStation 3 and Wii consoles for North America. Deep Silver published the retail PlayStation 3 and Wii versions for Europe on May 4, 2012. To commemorate the film's 30th anniversary, Telltale Games released the game on PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One on October 13, 2015. The ports feature updated voice work from Tom Wilson, who played Biff Tannen in the films (Biff was voiced by Kid Beyond in the original release). Read more... - A hoverboard (or hover board) is a fictional levitating board used for personal transportation, first described by author M. K. Joseph in 1967 and popularized by the Back to the Future film franchise. Hoverboards are generally depicted as resembling a skateboard without wheels. During the 1990s there were rumors, fueled by director Robert Zemeckis, that hoverboards were in fact real, but not marketed because they were deemed too dangerous by parents' groups. These rumors have been conclusively debunked. The hoverboard concept has been used by many authors in various forms of media, for instance in the 1998 film Futuresport, used by Dean Cain's character.
Guinness World Records recognizes the term hoverboard to include autonomously powered personal levitators. In May 2015, the Romania-born Canadian inventor Cătălin Alexandru Duru set a Guinness World Record by travelling a distance of 275.9 m (302 yd) at heights up to 5 m (16 ft) over a lake, on an autonomously powered hoverboard of his own design. Read more... - "Doubleback" is a song by ZZ Top from their album Recycler, which was featured in the film Back to the Future Part III. The band had a cameo in the movie playing a hillbilly music version of the song along with some local musicians. The regular version of the song plays over the credits.
"Doubleback" reached #1 on the Album Rock Tracks for 5 weeks. It was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in 1990 for "Best Video from a Film." The song was also featured in Back to the Future: The Pinball. Read more... - Lego Dimensions is a Lego-themed action-adventure video game developed by Traveller's Tales and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Wii U, Xbox One and Xbox 360. It follows the toys-to-life format, in that the player has Lego figures and a toy pad which can be played within the game itself where it features characters and environments from over 30 different franchises. The Starter Pack, containing the game, the USB toy pad, and three minifigures, was released in September 2015, and has been expanded with additional level packs and characters. The final wave of products was released in September 2017, with the cancellation of the line being announced the following month. Read more...
The DeLorean time machine is a fictional automobile-based time travel device featured in the Back to the Future franchise. In the feature film series, Dr. Emmett Brown builds a time machine based on a DeLorean DMC-12 car, to gain insights into history and the future. Instead, he ends up using it to travel over 30 years of Hill Valley history (from 1985 to 2015) with Marty McFly to change the past for the better and to undo the negative effects of time travel. One of the cars used in filming is on display at Universal Studios Hollywood and the official Back to the Future DeLorean can be viewed at the Petersen Automotive Museum. Read more...- Back to the Future: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the film of the same name. It was released on July 8, 1985 by MCA Records. The album included two tracks culled from Alan Silvestri's compositions for the film, two tracks from Huey Lewis and the News, two songs played by the fictional band Marvin Berry and The Starlighters, one played by Marty McFly and The Starlighters, and two pop songs that are only very briefly heard in the background of the film.
"The Power of Love" was the first number-one single on the US Billboard Hot 100 for Huey Lewis and the News, certified Gold and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The album spent 19 weeks on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 12 in October 1985. Read more... - Back to the Future Part III: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the film Back to the Future Part III, the third and final installment in the Back to the Future trilogy. It was released under Varèse Sarabande on May 29, 1990. It features most of the score by composer Alan Silvestri.
It also features the orchestral version of the song "Doubleback" performed at the festival in 1885 during the film, but does not feature the ZZ Top version of the song performed over the credits. Read more... - Back to the Future is an upcoming musical with music and lyrics by Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard and a book by Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, adapted from their original screenplay. Based on the 1985 film of the same name, the show will feature original music alongside hits from the film, including "The Power of Love" and "Johnny B. Goode".
The musical was originally slated to make its world première in London's West End in 2015, the year to which the trilogy's characters travelled in Part II. However, after director Jamie Lloyd left the production in August 2014 due to "creative differences" with Zemeckis, the production's release date was pushed back to 2016. As of 2018, no more news or development has been announced. Read more... - 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 as teenager Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time to 1955, where he meets his future parents and becomes his mother's romantic interest. Christopher Lloyd portrays the eccentric scientist Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, inventor of the time-traveling DeLorean, who helps Marty repair history and return to 1985.
Zemeckis and Gale wrote the script after Gale wondered whether he would have befriended his father if they had attended school together. Film studios rejected it until the financial success of Zemeckis' Romancing the Stone. Zemeckis approached Steven Spielberg, who agreed to produce the project at Amblin Entertainment, with Universal Pictures as distributor. Fox was the first choice to play Marty, but he was busy filming his television series Family Ties, and Eric Stoltz was cast; after the filmmakers decided he was wrong for the role, a deal was struck to allow Fox to film Back to the Future without interrupting his television schedule. Read more...
Back to the Future: The Ride was a simulator ride at Universal Studios theme parks. It was based on and inspired by the Back to the Future film series and is a mini-sequel to 1990's Back to the Future Part III. It was previously located at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood, where it has since been replaced by The Simpsons Ride and at Universal Studios Japan where it has since been replaced by Despicable Me Minion Mayhem.
The ride's story centered on a first-person adventure in pursuit of Biff Tannen through time. Steven Spielberg, executive producer of the films, served as creative consultant for it. Read more...- Back to the Future (also known as Back to the Future: The Animated Series) is an American animated science fiction comedy adventure television series for television based on the live action Back to the Future movie trilogy. The show lasted two seasons, each featuring 13 episodes, and ran on CBS from September 14, 1991, to December 26, 1992, and reran until August 14, 1993, on CBS. The network chose not to renew the show for a third season (citing low ratings). It later reran on FOX, as a part of the FoxBox block from March 22 to August 30, 2003. It was the very first production of Universal Cartoon Studios.
Although the cartoon takes place after the movies, Bob Gale has stated that the animated series and the comic books take place in their own 'what if' and alternate timelines and are not part of the main continuity. This show marked the debut television appearance of Bill Nye on a nationally broadcast show. Read more... - Back to the Future Part II is a 1989 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis and written by Bob Gale. It is the sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future and the second installment in the Back to the Future trilogy. The film stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Thomas F. Wilson, and Lea Thompson. In the plot, Marty McFly (Fox) and his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown (Lloyd) travel to 2015, where bully Biff Tannen (Wilson) steals Doc's DeLorean time machine and uses it to alter history for the worse.
The film was produced on a $40-million budget and was filmed back to back with its sequel, Part III. Filming began in February 1989 after two years were spent building the sets and writing the scripts. Two actors from the first film, Crispin Glover and Claudia Wells, did not return. While Elisabeth Shue was recast in the role of Wells's character, Jennifer, Glover's character, George McFly, was not only minimized in the plot, but also was obscured and recreated with another actor. Glover successfully sued Zemeckis and Gale, changing how producers can deal with the departure and replacement of actors in a role. Back to the Future Part II was also a ground-breaking project for effects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM): In addition to digital compositing, ILM used the VistaGlide motion control camera system, which allowed an actor to portray multiple characters simultaneously on-screen without sacrificing camera movement. Read more... - The Back to the Future Trilogy is a 1999 licensed soundtrack to the Back to the Future film series. It was released under Varèse Sarabande on September 21, 1999. The album consists of numerous Alan Silvestri cues from all three Back to the Future films and a rare track from Universal Studios Theme Park's Back to the Future: The Ride. Whilst the tracks from Back to the Future Part III are from the original soundtrack, those for Part I, Part II and The Ride are re-recordings performed by John Debney and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra at the Glasgow City Halls. Read more...
- Back to the Future Part III is a 1990 American science fiction Western comedy film and the third and final installment of the Back to the Future trilogy. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, and stars Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Mary Steenburgen, Thomas F. Wilson and Lea Thompson. The film continues immediately following Back to the Future Part II (1989); while stranded in 1955 during his time travel adventures, Marty McFly (Fox) discovers that his friend Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown, trapped in 1885, was killed by Biff Tannen's great-grandfather Buford. Marty travels to 1885 to rescue Doc.
Back to the Future Part III was filmed in California and Arizona, and was produced on a $40 million budget back-to-back with Part II. Part III was released in the United States on May 25, 1990, six months after the previous installment. Part III earned $244.5 million worldwide, making it the sixth-highest-grossing film of 1990. Read more... - "The Power of Love" is a 1985 single by Huey Lewis and the News, written for and featured in the 1985 blockbuster film Back to the Future which stars Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd. It gave the band their first number-one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and their second number-one hit on the U.S. Top Rock Tracks chart and as a Double-A side was just outside the top ten on the British Singles Chart, where it appeared on UK editions of the band's fourth studio album, Fore!. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 58th Academy Awards but lost to Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me". Read more...
- Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown, Ph.D., is a fictional character in the Back to the Future trilogy in which he is the inventor of the first time machine, built out of a DeLorean sports car. The character is portrayed by Christopher Lloyd in all three films, as well as in the live action sequences of the animated series. He is voiced by Dan Castellaneta in the animated series. The character's appearance and mannerisms are loosely inspired by Leopold Stokowski and Albert Einstein. In 2008, Dr. Emmett Brown was selected by Empire magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time, ranking at #20. Read more...
- Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character in the Back to the Future trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. He is the main antagonist of the first two films, and a villainous lesser character in the third film (which dealt with his great-grandfather).
Biff is portrayed as a towering, violent and aggressive bully who obtains what he wants by intimidating others into doing his work for him, or by cheating. He and his family members are shown to misuse idioms in a way that makes them appear stupid and pathetic despite their intention to insult or scare. His favorite insult is "butthead". Read more... - Back in Time is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Jason Aron. The film explores the production, impact, and legacy of the Back to the Future film series, and includes interviews with members of the series' cast and crew, including Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg, Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, as well as fans of the franchise. Read more...
- Back to the Future Part II & III is a 1990 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System based on the second and third films in the Back to the Future trilogy. The game was produced by Beam Software and published by Acclaim Entertainment under their LJN label. Read more...
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Courthouse Square as it appeared in Back to the Future on Universal Studios backlot
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