Back to the Future has stood the test of time. It was a low-budget film that went on to become the highest-grossing film of 1985.
It almost didn't get made, according to screenwriter and producer Bob Gale, who co-created and co-wrote the movie with Robert Zemeckis.
"Nobody wanted to make it. We were rejected over 40 times," he explained. But he remained passionate about the script.
"Rejection is something they don't teach you in school. If you're really sensitive, you don't want to put yourself in a position like that because it can lead to depression. But if you're ignorant, arrogant, or just passionate, you have to go with the attitude, 'Well, everybody's wrong, and I'm right.'"
Gale admitted that the outcome could have been very different.
For the first few weeks, it was shot with a different lead actor. Then Michael J Fox was cast, and the scenes were re-shot.
Marty McFly went on to become a household name.
"We shot the high school scenes over Christmas break in 1984 for five and a half weeks with Eric Stoltz in the lead," said Gale.
"Spring break 1985, we're back there shooting with Michael J Fox. And the word gets out, 'Hey, Michael J. Fox is at Whittier High School.' The kids were lined up seven deep to catch a glimpse of him. And Bob is a max. I looked at each other and said, " Holy s***, this kid is a big star. People might actually show up to see this movie when we open. And they did."
And how about the famous time machine, which was in a DeLorean?
"In the summer of 1984, John DeLorean was on trial. He was supposedly trying to make a cocaine deal to save his company. It turned out that it was all entrapment. He was exonerated," explained Gale. "This story captivated American audiences every night. You wanted to watch what's going on with the John De Lorean trial. John DeLorean was a superstar car designer. And his car was such a big deal at the time."
The franchise is one of the most iconic and influential. It garnered Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations and is preserved in the National Film Registry. Rotten Tomatoes ranks it as the top movie from the '80s. Back to the Future didn’t just stand the test of time; it changed the future of movie-making.
"People think of it as a special effects movie, but there are only about 32 special effects shots in the entire film," Gale said. "It was not a high-budget movie. It was a very medium budget movie, and part of the creative process is, how do you figure out how to make a movie with the money that you have?"
Gale will appear at the Lobero Theater on Saturday (May 2) as part of the Santa Barbara Literary Festival in a conversation moderated by actor, producer, and music executive Billy Zane. The festival is on May 2 and 3.
