Back to the Future Trilogy 4K UHD (1985-1990)

[BDBert]

Originally Posted by emailking

Here's a puzzle

[Show spoiler]How does Jennifer end up on the porch in the final timeline? What happens?

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/137295/31029

[Cognoscente]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The writers had access to all the production documentation held by Zemeckis and Universal

Except the below document.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

so there's really no detail overlooked.

They didn't mention the character Bertha: the McFly maid...the one who Crispin Glover alluded to as the most offensive element of the script.

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/bttf4th.pdf

Crispin Glover: "Zemeckis Got Really Mad at Me" | Opie & Anthony - YouTube

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cognoscente

Except the below document.

They didn't mention the character Bertha: the McFly maid...the one who Crispin Glover alluded to as the most offensive element of the script.

I might be missing something, but I'm not entirely sure how what appears to be a generic cover letter for the script draft sent to an actor really changes anything. That photo only shows one sentence of the body of the letter. Is there more important information later in the letter?

To be clear, when I said "there's really no detail overlooked," I was obviously exaggerating a bit, as people do in conversation. No book could contain every single bit of information on a particular topic. This is just a much more exhaustive and detailed account of the making of the films than I'd ever seen before. I was especially surprised by the very extensive coverage of the first iteration of the production, with Stoltz. The fact that the book includes lots and lots of specific dates is also really useful.

[Cognoscente]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I'm not entirely sure how what appears to be a generic cover letter for the script draft sent to an actor really changes anything.

The date of when it was sent since most versions regaled of Stoltz's casting cite November as the month when he was approached to be involved. Also, note the correlation between the date of the letter (October 16) and the date of the draft that I posted (October 12).

Another key piece of info is the name of the production company affiliated with Stoltz - Emerald. He was currently working on a film called Code Name: Emerald. Usually, people talk about Stoltz going from working on Mask to BTTF with nothing in between.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

That photo only shows one sentence of the body of the letter. Is there more important information later in the letter?

There may be more info but the original person who uploaded the photo (a middle-aged white guy on Instagram) claimed to have found the letter inside a book at a book store. What I thought was suspicious about his claim is that he posted the letter a few days before the release of BTTF:TUVH.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cognoscente

The date of when it was sent since most versions regaled of Stoltz's casting cite November as the month when he was approached to be involved. Also, note the correlation between the date of the letter (October 16) and the date of the draft that I posted (October 12).

Another key piece of info is the name of the production company affiliated with Stoltz - Emerald. He was currently working on a film called Code Name: Emerald. Usually, people talk about Stoltz going from working on Mask to BTTF with nothing in between.

There may be more info but the original person who uploaded the photo (a middle-aged white guy on Instagram) claimed to have found the letter inside a book at a book store. What I thought was suspicious about his claim is that he posted the letter a few days before the release of BTTF:TUVH.

Gotcha. I don't think that letter contradicts anything in the Ultimate Visual History book, however. While it describes Stoltz's casting in detail, it's a bit vague about the dates there, probably on purpose. The only specific dates mentioned in relation to his casting are a lengthy August 21, 1984 casting list that's reproduced, which includes his name, and then the fact that he started rehearsals on November 15, 1984. If he was already in rehearsals in November, he was certainly approached in September or October, so that letter fits the timeline perfectly.

The book never suggests Stoltz went straight from filming MASK to BTTF, which would obviously be untrue. I've been meaning to watch CODE NAME: EMERALD for a while, I love WWII thrillers and Ed Harris too!

[Cognoscente]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Gotcha. I don't think that letter contradicts anything in the Ultimate Visual History book, however.

It contradicts what Crispin said about how he, himself, wasn't allowed to read the script in full until he was cast.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

While it describes Stoltz's casting in detail, it's a bit vague about the dates there, probably on purpose.

I found that to be a particular problem with the other 2015 BTTF book, especially with the lack of info about what scene that Stoltz was being tested in. The guy who replaced Crispin in Part II, Jeffrey Weissman, wrote a one star review of We Don't Need Roads on Amazon: "I've heard a lot of the tales before in this book, and they've been manipulated and re-written by the author to create a partly fictional story that comes off amateurish. It exploits the tragedies and rumors, and it's very much a dime store book, or like watching TMZ."

The author, Caseen Gaines, also happened upon the aforementioned middle-aged white guy who posted that letter on IG.

https://twitter.com/BobAKABuffy/stat...44065868808192

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cognoscente

It contradicts what Crispin said about how he, himself, wasn't allowed to read the script in full until he was cast.

I'm not sure how a script being shown in full to the actor considering or being offered the lead role contradicts a different actor auditioning for a smaller role not being shown the whole script. That's pretty common.

[Cognoscente]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

I'm not sure how a script being shown in full to the actor considering or being offered the lead role contradicts a different actor auditioning for a smaller role not being shown the whole script. That's pretty common.

Crispin was cast before Eric was, and (unlike Eric) he only got to see the script when they began shooting.

Originally Posted by slimdude

I've always thought Christopher Lloyd stole the movies. He should've been the leading actor instead of Michael J. Fox.

In the below '80s message board, there is a post dated November 22, 1984 where the billing is as follows: Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Eric Stoltz.

https://groups.google.com/g/net.movi...m/J-Jpwj3zdlYJ

I'm reminded of this...

[4KorNothing]

Originally Posted by sfmarine

That is still quite significant. There's a behind the scenes interview where I think Zemeckis mentions that he had to ask/beg the studio for permission to do the re-shoots with Fox because Stoltz was not working out.

Pretty sure Spielberg bailed them out. He went in to bat for them to get MJF and also watched a cut of the scenes they'd done so far and told them Stolz didn't work and passed it on to the studio or something to that effect.

[Cognoscente]

Spielberg had some interesting things to say about it in the mid-eighties...

Here is a quote from a book called Oscar Dearest: "It was the toughest call I ever had to make. After all, 4 million dollars went down the drain. Eric Stoltz is a remarkable young actor in the same league with Sean Penn and Emilio Estevez. I should have gone with my hunch and delayed the film until we got Michael J. Fox."

In a 1985 issue of Rolling Stone, he said: "I should have waited, and yet I wanted the film out for the summer. And for the record, I think Eric Stoltz is a marvelous actor, in the same league with Sean Penn, Emilio Estevez and Matthew Modine."

In the December 1988 issue of Box Office, one of the three casting directors (Mike Fenton) talked about the casting process: "There were great discussions before Eric was cast. Those of us who were on the front line of the film did not think that Eric was the best possible actor for the job, but we simply couldn’t get Michael J. Fox. I think the head of Universal made a business decision in the casting of Eric. Everyone had just seen Mask, which Eric starred in and which Universal owned; and I think that the studio decided that Eric was going to become a very important actor. They thought it was a great idea to cast him in a role that was the exact opposite of the one in Mask, and Steven Spielberg allowed Universal to make that final decision."

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cognoscente

Crispin was cast before Eric was, and (unlike Eric) he only got to see the script when they began shooting.

Yep, because Glover was hired for a smaller role, not the lead, and he hadn't been playing lead roles in studio features prior to then, like Stoltz had (even if only for a year or so). Glover's agent probably wasn't able to negotiate for him to see the full script.

All of that is totally normal.

The star playing the lead role is given concessions that less famous actors playing secondary roles aren't given.

I'm still not sure what sticks out as unusual about that.

[Cognoscente]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The star playing the lead role is given concessions that less famous actors playing secondary roles aren't given.

Stoltz wasn't as recognizable as Glover, who was in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Yep, because Glover was hired for a smaller role, not the lead, and he hadn't been playing lead roles in studio features prior to then, like Stoltz had (even if only for a year or so).

The only lead role that Stoltz had before BTTF was in an indie movie that very few people saw (Running Hot). He was actually turned down for the lead role in The Karate Kid ("not enough dynamics" according to someone from the production), so he didn't have much in the way of pulling power.

[gregmasciola]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Glover's memory seems to be slightly off. Probably because he wasn't filming with Stoltz after Christmas. So, technically, I guess it happened over Glover's own, much more extended Christmas break from the shoot.

According to the making-of book, which details pretty much every day of production, they shot with Stoltz well after the brief Christmas break. They took advantage of the public schools being closed for Christmas to shoot at Whittier High School right up until Christmas and then finished the year filming the scenes of Marty waking up in his underwear in Lorraine's bedroom.

They shot the departure from 1955 scenes with Lloyd and Stoltz at the clock tower and in Griffith Park the first week of January 1985 and then moved to Puente Hills Mall the second week.

Stoltz was with them until a night shoot starting on Thursday Jan 10, 1985 at Puente Hills Mall. Stoltz was fired when they broke for lunch that night, at 10:30pm. (For night shoots, a "lunch" break still needs to happen, for contractual reasons)

They filmed the rest of that night and another night at the mall, Friday Jan 11, 1985 into Saturday morning, with just Lloyd doing his half of the scene, describing how the flux capacitor works, to an absent Marty, and wrapped at 430am on Saturday.

The book also says that Glover and Tom Wilson were called into Gale's office that Friday, before Lloyd's night shoot at the mall, and told of Stoltz's firing.

Lloyd returned to the mall on Monday night and filmed alone again, then Fox joined him on Tuesday.

I highly recommend the book, it's truly encyclopedic. The writers had access to all the production documentation held by Zemeckis and Universal, so there's really no detail overlooked.

Is "The Ultimate Visual History" the book you're referring to?

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by gregmasciola

Is "The Ultimate Visual History" the book you're referring to?

Yep, sorry, I mentioned it in a post or two, but it might have gotten confusing with all the posts.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Cognoscente

Stoltz wasn't as recognizable as Glover, who was in Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter.



The only lead role that Stoltz had before BTTF was in an indie movie that very few people saw (Running Hot). He was actually turned down for the lead role in The Karate Kid ("not enough dynamics" according to someone from the production), so he didn't have much in the way of pulling power.

Sorry, I didn't mean recognizable to the general public, I meant within the industry and especially within Universal.

When he was hired for BTTF, Stoltz had already filmed Mask, in which he played the lead. It hadn't been released yet, but it was also for Universal and footage from it would have been seen within Universal. That was what I meant. I should have been clearer.

IMDB says he also had a major role (opposite Lea Thompson) in The Wild Life, a Cameron Crowe-written film which came out in September 1984, around the time he was offered BTTF. It was also a Universal film, so it would have been seen internally before September.

He was also, as we can see from that letter, over in France, filming a co-lead role in Code Name: Emerald when they offered him the role.

My point was more that the actor being offered the lead role, unless they're a complete unknown, will have more clout to have their agent ask for the full script than an actor playing a smaller role. That's the part that's perfectly normal.

[emailking]

Originally Posted by BDBert

https://scifi.stackexchange.com/a/137295/31029

Yeah I've seen everything they've said about how their time travel works but I don't think it's answerable within their rules. No matter what we say the camera sees, it's a contradiction.

[batman2000]

It seems the hdr grading made the grain management turn out worse it seems for the back to the future trilogy hence why three came out with least amount of damage done. that’s because three had the best film stock .

[Survivorman]

I finally cracked this set open and loved the first one so far.

What do about the disc not to get scratched with this stupid cardboard insert?!

[eledoremassis02]

Originally Posted by Survivorman

I finally cracked this set open and loved the first one so far.

What do about the disc not to get scratched with this stupid cardboard insert?!

I use these, makes it easier getting the discs out too

[IndyMLVC]

Originally Posted by Survivorman

What do about the disc not to get scratched with this stupid cardboard insert?!

I put it in a 4 disc case.