BACK TALK for July 09, 1999: “BTTF1” Special Edition DVD features?

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July 09, 1999
“BTTF1” Special Edition DVD features?

Possible features for upcoming DVD will excite even the casual fan

BTTF.com staffer Randy Atamaniuk has uncovered some very interesting details through his network of contacts concerning the upcoming Back to the Future: Collector's Edition DVD. None of this has been confirmed just yet, and is certainly subject to change by the time the DVD comes out late this year:

The main menu will consist of the Clock Tower. Storm clouds will be moving digitally overhead with thunder & lightning effects. The menu options will contain the options PLAY MOVIE, SCENE SELECTIONS, PRODUCTION, and CAST & CREW. Each time you select one of the menu options, lightning will hit the clock tower and the clock hands will spin.
The Eric Stoltz footage may yet still be included on the collection.
The full-length music video to "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis & The News is strongly being considered as an option on the disc. The long-form video, which is rarely seen anymore, contains Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and the DeLorean time machine in a funny intro to the song.
Among the deleted scenes to be included will be the scene with Doc from 1955 going through the 1985 Doc's suitcase (as seen on The Secrets of the Back to the Future™ Trilogy), and Marty peeking into a classroom and seeing Lorraine cheating on a test.
There may indeed be audio commentary added, primarily from the film's producers, Bob Gale and Neil Canton.

Again, we've not yet been able to confirm these features, but will attempt to do so with Universal Studios Home Video. Until then, consider these features to be rumors for the moment and not hard facts.

Project updates

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: There's been a lot of rumors circulating the internet the past few weeks regarding this upcoming live-action trilogy of films, but one rumor has finally been confirmed — Elijah Wood has been cast in the lead role as "Frodo Baggins". The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Wood's involvement, which will result in more than a three-year committment from the young actor. Wood, who appeared quite briefly in Back to the Future Part II as one of the two young boys in the Cafe '80s, will star in the three films — The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and Return of the King — which will be filmed consecutively back-to-back (sound familiar?!). Still no word yet as to whether the rumor about Christopher Lloyd being seen reading a script at a cafe in New Zealand last month will result in his being cast too. Let's hope not though — even though he'd be perfect for a role in the films, BTTF4/5 can't afford to have him tied up for that long of a commitment — principle photography is supposed to begin in October and last for 18 months, and post-production will last another 18 months. Director Peter Jackson has been quoted as saying that the rest of the cast will not be big-name actors to keep the costs of the $130 million project down, so hopefully we have nothing to worry about. Should Lloyd be cast in the films, his involvement would push back the start of filming for the next two BTTF sequels.

FREAKS AND GEEKS: I haven't been able to confirm it yet, but if I'm not mistaken, I saw Tom Wilson in a commercial for this upcoming NBC dramatic comedy series that airs on Saturdays beginning this Fall. Tom appears to play a high school P.E. coach on the drama series, which is set in a suburban high school circa 1980 that focuses on two teenage siblings and their geeky friends. The series also stars Joe Flaherty ("Western Union") as the siblings' father.

— Stephen Clark