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Michael J. Fox has been living with “Back to the Future” for a long time.
“I’ll be on the street and some kid will say, ‘There’s Marty McFly!'” Fox says. “No, it’s an old man.”
It’s been 40 years since “Back to the Future” hit theaters, but neither time, nor Parkinson’s disease – no matter what he says – has done much to dampen Fox’s boyish good nature. For Fox, traveling through time with “Back to the Future” has been a part of life. This is the film that put a flux capacitor in his career and since then, it has remained in his rear view.
“Sometimes I look at it and think about my family,” Fox, 64, said in a recent interview. zoom from his apartment new york“I think I have a 37-year-old son who hasn’t been born yet. That was a long time ago.”
On Friday, “Back to the Future” is back in theaters again. The anniversary celebration also includes a new 4K Trilogy gift set that comes with an Outtime license plate. Fox recently released the book “Future Boy: ‘Back to the Future’ and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum”, which he co-wrote with Nell Fortenberry.
While anniversary re-releases are common for iconic classics, this occasion is a little different for Robert Zemeckis’ sci-fi milestone. On the one hand, the memories behind the film’s watch are indelibly linked to the 1980s. Following its release on July 3, 1985, “Back to the Future” was the No. 1 film in theaters for 11 of its first 12 weeks. then president Ronald Reagan Was among its biggest fans.
But what was once so firmly embedded in the space-time continuum has become surprisingly timeless over the years. Watch “Back to the Future” now and you might be surprised to learn how effects-free much of it is, despite its director’s penchant for pushing film technology forward. Instead, “Back to the Future” casts its magic with a DeLorean, some Calvin Klein briefs and its most special effect: Christopher Lloyd’s eyebrows.
“The distance between now and 1985 is greater than the distance between 1985 and 1955,” says Fox. “In a way, it makes it more accessible. People Are not locked in their time period. They are not saying: this is real, this is not real. It’s all imagination.”
Even more painful to contemplate the distance from now to 1985 is to remember the flying-car future of the 1989 sequel. That film was based in the distant time of 2015. Say it with me right now: Doc, this is heavy.
‘I got into a time machine’
But what definitely hasn’t aged is Fox’s live wire performance at the core. His Marty McFly is like everykid ur-text: a prim, guitar-playing, big-screen teen trying to keep his family together.
Fox says, “I found my voice changing. This kind of raspy incredulity came out.” “I go in the time machine, the DeLorean. I felt comfortable there. Very different from Alex (P. Keaton). Alex was hard because he knows everything. Marty knows nothing and knows he knows nothing. Everything is a new day for him.”
Fox was 24 years old at the time of production of the film. He was cast in the role while playing Keaton’s character in “Family Ties”. “Back to the Future” famously started with Eric Stoltz, but Stoltz was fired after several weeks of shooting. Fox, stepping straight onto the set, brought more screwball energy.
Fox says, “No time for neurosis. No time for self-indulgent bullies.” “I didn’t have time to investigate what happened to Eric. I didn’t have any rehearsals. I didn’t have any pep talks. I just showed up and then I was in a parking lot in Industry City. This parking lot is lit for days. It’s wet, with streaky shine. I remember looking at it and thinking: This must have cost more than the entire budget of ‘Family Ties’.”
For Fox, Marty’s time-travel confusion matched the whirlwind he was experiencing off the set. “Sitting down with (executive producer) Steven Spielberg was not where I thought I would be,” recalls the Edmonton, Canada native.
a ticking clock
Fox had no choice but to take the ball and run – even if he sometimes accidentally discovered Marty’s videotape on the set of “Family Ties.” Most notable is that she and Lloyd suddenly find their chemistry.
“He’s like a father figure to me and a little brother, in a weird way,” Fox says, laughing. “I love him very much. But at the time, I didn’t know him very well. I knew him in part three. We jokingly call him ‘Brokeback to the Future.’
As time has progressed, “Back to the Future” has meant different things to Fox at different times. For now, in his fight to find a cure for Parkinson’s, what resonates is “a complete understanding of the clock ticking,” he says. In January, Fox was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by then-President Joe BidenFounded in 2000, Michael J. The Fox Foundation is the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research.
“My kids are grown and they’re doing well and getting married one by one,” says Fox, who has four children with wife Tracy Pollan. “Exhaustion is my biggest problem. But I feel good. And I love going on this film because I know how much it means to people.”
Often, “Back to the Future” gets left behind in Fox’s busy life. After a five-year retirement from acting, he will guest star in the upcoming third season of the Apple TV+ series “Shrinking.” But every now and then, like Doc appearing out of thin air in a DeLorean, “Back to the Future” suddenly reappears.
“I tell this story one Christmas when we were decorating the tree, I went to get some popcorn and heard the opening on TV,” Fox says, smiling. “I sat down and watched it. An hour later, my wife said, ‘Where are you?’ I said, ‘I’m watching “Back to the Future.” And, you know, it’s really cool. I’m good at it.’ Watching it with a bowl of popcorn on Christmas Eve, I really loved it.”