Film WI: "Back To The Future" Stuck With The Original Concepts?

[Emperor Norton I]

There were a lot of concepts for the BTTF trilogy that never made it on screen. Having the way of getting back to the future in the first film be stealing plutonium from the atomic facility at Los Alamos instead of the whole lightening deal (cut for budget); having them go back not to 1955 but to the 1960's where Biff would give himself the almanac, and encountering a college professor George and flower child Lorraine (again, cut for budget and replaced with Biff just going back to 1955); having the ending of the first film consist of the Doctor using the knowledge of the future and all those fancy gadgets Marty left (hair dryer, for example) to alter history so that when Marty returns to 1985, he finds the 1950's "World of Tomorrow" with jet packs and hover cars and all that; and radically, having a Refrigerator be the time machine instead of a Delorean, and having Eric Stoltz play Marty.

As I'm in a BTTF mood lately, what effect would any one of these have on the film, audience reaction, and all that (each of these concepts being kept to respective and separate realities, of course)?

 

[Tallest Skil]

There would be a cult following of tricked-out [insert model name here] refrigerators instead of DeLoreans, though the DeLorean would still have its own following.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

Yeah, I'd see the whole refrigerator direction turning the film into a cheesy 80's comedy-scifi flick with a cult following.

 

[ryackov]

A refrigerator?

Er. It seems unadvisable to encourage more children to play with refrigerators.


Audience reaction? Impossible to say. Many movies are a hit or miss proposition.

But, if they had a bigger budget (including for marketing), then it might be a bigger hit. And I'd be more interested in BTTF.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

A refrigerator?

Er. It seems unadvisable to encourage more children to play with refrigerators.

It was the original concept straight from the writers' pen.

Audience reaction? Impossible to say. Many movies are a hit or miss proposition.

I'd stand by the idea that it'd be considered an enjoyable, if cheesy and dumb, 80's flick with a large but cult following and no trilogy or much of a media empire that the real BTTF has.

 

[MrP]

Are you sure they stole plutonium from Los Alamos? As I recall they had to have Marty at the test site, and it was cut for a) budget reasons and b) because 1955 Doc just had to watch from a hillside, since nukes are dangerous.

Do we retain the chimp ITTL?

A refrigerator?

Er. It seems inadvisable to encourage more children to play with refrigerators.

That's precisely why they changed it IOTL.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

Are you sure they stole plutonium from Los Alamos? As I recall they had to have Marty at the test site, and it was cut for a) budget reasons and b) because 1955 Doc just had to watch from a hillside, since nukes are dangerous.

They did something to get a nuclear power source for the Delorean from the Los Alamos facility I think.

Do we retain the chimp ITTL?

Where's the Chimp from?

 

[MrP]

They did something to get a nuclear power source for the Delorean from the Los Alamos facility I think.

Where's the Chimp from?

Sorry, I went through all the special features on the DVDs the other week, so I thought that you'd done the same. Mea culpa! They had to place the time machine right by a nuclear blast - I think that was the De Lorean, not the fridge. The chimp (Shemp, IIRC) was replaced by Einstein the dog.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

Sorry, I went through all the special features on the DVDs the other week, so I thought that you'd done the same. Mea culpa!

I had a long while ago, which is where this all comes from.

They had to place the time machine right by a nuclear blast - I think that was the De Lorean, not the fridge. The chimp (Shemp, IIRC) was replaced by Einstein the dog.

Hmm. How would they get away with not incinerating the time machine?

 

[MrP]

I had a long while ago, which is where this all comes from.

Excellent!

Hmm. How would they get away with not incinerating the time machine?

Well, I suppose that the conceit was that the time machine was designed to absorb and channel the energy of the blast into permitting time travel. After all, a direct lightning strike wouldn't do a car much good either.

There's an ASB TL in here, too, you know. You recall at the end of Part II how the lightning strikes the car and it leaves the fire trails in the sky? According to the Q&A that's because the car was accelerated by the lightning to 88mph. But the area encompassed by the fire trails and the time permitted for acceleration are both tiny. One could posit the death of the Doc, and the late C19 US government getting its hands on the car. Even if everything gradually breaks down, it'd still push them ahead scientifically.

 

[Astrodragon]

I'd love to see them explain how to get a refrigerator up to 88 mph...

 

[fastmongrel]

After all, a direct lightning strike wouldn't do a car much good either.

Actually tests have been done and inside a car is one of the safest places to be during a lightning storm. The strike can do funny things to the electrics but they survive surprisingly well. Its because the cars shell is a Faraday cage.

 

[The Byronic Hero]

Most of the changes and cuts were for the best, though I support keeping the Chimp and, hell, the world of tomorrow idea does sound awesome (everything runs on coca-cola). One idea I didn't see mentioned was George becoming a boxer rather than writer. That would have been hilarious.

As to what never was, the fridge idea was unique but no where near as interesting as using a Delorean for a time machine. And the Los Alamos ending could be no where near as action packed as the movie's ending with Marty racing towards the clock tower as Doc struggles to reconnect the wires. As for BTTF 2, they probably should have gone to the 60s.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

Yeah, the 1960's deal was something I would have rather seen. We were already in the 1950's. I didn't need to see the same set of events again as if it were the special edition with five minutes of bonus scenes. And even if it would have cost more with that, the movie probably would have gotten more of an audience and more of a box office return anyway.

 

[Dave Howery]

a refrigerator? How do you get a refrigerator up to 88 miles per hour?

 

[juanml82]

You drop it from a cliff of course. The landing would be problematic, though.

 

[Emperor Norton I]

You drop it from a cliff of course. The landing would be problematic, though.

You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!

 

[MrP]

You're not thinking fourth dimensionally!

 

[clintonforever]

Eric Stolz who turned down BTTF to play a disfigured man in "Mask" might be wondering what could have been if he won the role.

(Apprarently Stolz did a few screen tests for BTTF was characterized as being "too serious" for Marty McFly...)

 

[MrP]

Eric Stolz who turned down BTTF to play a disfigured man in "Mask" might be wondering what could have been if he won the role.

(Apprarently Stolz did a few screen tests for BTTF was characterized as being "too serious" for Marty McFly...)

The way they put it across in the DVD specfeatures is that they wanted the short chap, couldn't get him, cast Stolz, did a few weeks of filming, found it just wasn't working and so went back to their first choice.