Back to the Future hidden details and production secrets
Back to the Future hidden details reward anyone who watches the 1985 film closely. Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale packed the script with set-ups and payoffs, and the production itself nearly fell apart before cameras had been rolling for two months.
Universal moved the release forward to July 3, 1985, after strong test screenings, which left only about nine weeks for post-production. Here are the background jokes, the near-misses and the facts behind the film that most viewers never notice. Some are visible on screen; others only make sense once you know the production history.
Back to the Future hidden details: Twin Pines becomes Lone Pine
Doc asks Marty to meet him at Twin Pines Mall. When Marty arrives in 1955, he crashes through a farm owned by Otis Peabody, which will later become the mall site, and runs over one of the farmer's two young pine trees. When he returns to 1985, the sign reads Lone Pine Mall.
Peabody's son is called Sherman, a nod to Mr Peabody and Sherman, the time-travelling dog and boy from the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons. The real mall was Puente Hills Mall in the City of Industry, California.
Background jokes in Hill Valley
Many of the best gags sit in the edges of the frame.
- Doc carries a large notepad with a Gremlins design when he meets Marty at the mall, a nod to another Steven Spielberg production
- The 1955 cinema marquee shows The Atomic Kid, a 1954 Mickey Rooney comedy about a man who survives a nuclear test
- The cat statues framing the clock tower face were recycled props from the 1982 film Cat People
- The town square and clock tower were sets on the Universal Studios backlot, and the school scenes were filmed at Whittier High School
Eric Stoltz was Marty for weeks
Eric Stoltz was originally cast as Marty McFly and filmed for weeks. Zemeckis decided he was wrong for the comic tone and fired him on January 10, 1985. Michael J. Fox, the filmmakers' first choice, joined five days later.
Fox was still starring in the sitcom Family Ties, so he worked long days on both productions. Recasting cost roughly 34 days of filming and an estimated $3.5 million to $4 million, pushing the budget from about $14 million to $19 million.
The time machine was nearly a fridge
Early drafts sent Marty through time in a stationary refrigerator. Spielberg vetoed the idea, and the DeLorean replaced it. Ford reportedly offered $75,000 to use a Mustang instead, and the filmmakers turned it down.
The 88 miles per hour figure was chosen because it was easy to remember and looked good on the speedometer. The film's climax was also scaled back: a planned nuclear test ending was dropped as too expensive and replaced by the lightning strike on the clock tower.
Music and money facts
Huey Lewis and the News recorded the theme song, and Alan Silvestri wrote the orchestral score. The production paid Chuck Berry $50,000 for the rights to Johnny B. Goode, the song Marty plays at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance.
Industrial Light and Magic delivered only around 30 effects shots, a small number for a major release of the era. The script had been turned down roughly 40 times before Universal agreed to make it, after Zemeckis had a hit with Romancing the Stone.
Questions people ask
Why does the mall change from Twin Pines to Lone Pine?
In 1955 Marty runs over one of farmer Peabody's two pine trees, so in the new 1985 the mall is named after the single tree left.
Was Eric Stoltz in Back to the Future?
He was cast as Marty and filmed for several weeks before being replaced by Michael J. Fox in January 1985.
Why 88 miles per hour?
The filmmakers picked it because it was easy to remember and looked good on the speedometer.