When Back to the Future hit theaters on July 3, 1985, it flipped Hollywood. Michael J. Fox went from TV star to mega-celebrity, while director Robert Zemeckis made waves. Despite getting rejected by Disney for being “too scandalous,” the film ended the year as a box office champ, leaving fans craving more time-travel adventures!
How Did Back to the Future Get Made?
Zemeckis and screenwriter Bob Gale first crossed paths at USC in 1971, forming a creative bond that would ultimately shake the cinematic landscape. They dabbled in TV and scored a brief break with the Misfire 1941, which was more a flop than a blockbuster. But they brushed off that bomb and charged ahead. After creating Used Cars in 1980 with Kurt Russell, they decided it was time to unleash a wild time-travel concept. They were riding high on their confidence when they pitched it to Columbia Pictures, where studio head Frank Price was a fan. Yet, even he couldn’t give them the green light.
After getting shot down by a staggering forty studios, they were beginning to feel like time-traveling pariahs. Gale later confessed to Esquir that studios were only interested in sex comedies like Porky’s, while Back to the Future was decidedly wholesome and PG. The idea of time travel felt as outdated as a rotary phone in the ’80s.
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Why Did Disney Turn Down Back to the Future?
When they heard the familiar refrain, “Why don’t you take it to Disney?” Zemeckis and Gale decided to give it a whirl. They strolled into Disney’s headquarters, but the reception was anything but welcoming. One executive exclaimed, “Are you guys nuts? We can’t make a movie like this. You’ve got the kid and the mother in his car! It’s incest—too dirty for us!” Talk about a misread of the premise!
Fast forward to today, and Disney would be all over such a wild storyline. But in the ‘80s, they were all about family-friendly flicks and animated classics. The idea of a mother falling for her son was more than just pushing the envelope—it was like shoving it into a black hole. The kicker? The plot was inspired by Gale’s childhood musings about whether he would have been friends with his dad in high school. But throw in the twist of a mom crushing on her son, and suddenly, they had a laugh-out-loud time-travel comedy on their hands.
And it wasn’t just any old comedy but a carefully crafted ride through awkwardness. Lorraine (Lea Thompson) is smitten with Marty (Michael J. Fox), but from Marty’s cringe-worthy reactions, Gale pointed out that they “pushed that thing as far as we could go” without crossing into R-rated territory. The ultimate win? When Lorraine kisses Marty and recoils in horror, likening it to “kissing my brother.” That moment was pivotal in keeping the tone light and playful instead of landing squarely in the cringe zone.
How Did Steven Spielberg Save Back to the Future?
With forty studios waving goodbye and Disney throwing up its hands, Back to the Future seemed destined for the cinematic graveyard. Then, enter the legend himself: Steven Spielberg. Despite the bomb that exploded in 1941, Spielberg returned with mega-hits like Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. His stamp of approval was like gold dust.
Gale reminisced, “We told Steven that if we make the movie with you and it’s a flop, we’ll probably never work in this town again.” But Zemeckis had found his footing with Romancing the Stone, proving he was a player in Hollywood. When Spielberg showed interest, it was like the stars aligned. Suddenly, Back to the Future found a home at Amblin Entertainment, Spielberg’s shiny new production company.
And voilà! The rest is cinematic history. Two sequels followed, and Michael J. Fox became a household name. Zemeckis directed instant classics like Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Forrest Gump, while Gale penned those beloved sequels. All because Spielberg took a gamble when everyone else hit the brakes. As for that Disney exec? Let’s just say they might want to keep their head down—saying no to Back to the Future was a blunder of epic proportions!
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