BackTalk Backlog
December 25, 1999
November 30, 1999
©2000, To Be Continued...
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Michael J. Fox “spins” out of hit TV series
How will the decision effect his film/television career and other associated projects?
By now, you've all heard the news that Michael J. Fox announced last Tuesday that he'll be leaving ABC's Spin City at the end of this season. The news came at quite a shock to viewers and Hollywood alike. After all, Fox had just been quoted only four months ago at the beginning of the season that he was committed to three more seasons of the show. Regardless of his prior intentions, he's seemingly gotten support 100% for his decision, from the cast, the crew, DreamWorks, ABC, and fans & viewers. As sad as it will be to no longer see him on the show (and possibly the show itself), I believe we all can respect and should support his decision — as ABC so eloquently put it, "Clearly, there are more important things in life and we wish Michael and his family our heartfelt thanks and support. We look forward to working with Michael in his future endeavors."
Despite a recent article in the New York Post that contradicts many of the new revelations brought forth by Michael's recent announcement, Fox says he has no plans to retire from acting, producing or directing. He still has several projects in the pipeline, including voicing the main character for Disney's upcoming 40th full-length animated film Atlantis and possibly reprising the voice for Stuart Little in at least one additional sequel. Fox also still has the film Thirty Wishes in development at his production company, Lottery Hill. The film, which he has been attached to direct, produce and star in has been in a holding pattern since it was put on hold in 1993 just weeks before it was scheduled to go before the cameras. TV Guide also recently reported that Fox and his wife Tracy Pollan are developing another comedy pilot for her at ABC, after the network opted not to put their previous attempt, Anna Says, on the Fall schedule last year. So it appears that Fox still has plenty of projects to keep him busy for quite some time to come, including his recently announced Parkinson's Foundation he'll be developing via his official website. All systems are still 'go' at this point, as far as we can tell.
Michael's decision gets Spielberg's approval
According to USA Today, Steven Spielberg endorses Michael's decision to leave Spin City. While Michael and his wife Tracy Pollan were celebrating his 3rd Golden Globe win for DreamWorks at the studio's standing-room-only bash at Trader Vic's, Spielberg said, "Michael made the best decision he's ever made for his own life, and it's also significant on a national level," noting the widespread attention the actor has drawn to Parkinson's disease.
"But will he participate in the rumored BTTF4/5 sequels?"
Honestly, I don't know. Naturally, I get asked this a lot. At the moment, none of the information I have indicates that Fox would be in the proposed sequels beyond the previously discussed cameo(s) as Marty McFly's ancestors and/or relatives. Right now, there just isn't enough information on whether Fox's decision will have any effect whatsoever on the hopeful sequels at this time. Sure, not having the responsibility of starring in and producing a weekly television show would free some of his time up, but I somehow doubt he's dropping out of the show so that he will have more time for movies.
Having interviewed Michael in the past, I know he's extremely family oriented, and I know for a fact that when he says "family comes first", he means it. After all, this was the major reason why Spin City tapes in New York where Fox and his family live. Movies would most likely demand that he spend time on the opposite coast — time that is too precious to him at the moment to spend away from his family and efforts to rid himself of his illness by seeking support for a cure.
So far, the only visible effect on the project has been the fact that the BACK4 MovieStock property at HSX suddenly halted its upward climb and temporarily dipped down. The day before Fox had made the announcement, traders at HSX had driven the price of the property up to $42.61 per "share", but the news ultimately caused the so-called stock to drop about $3.50. Thankfully, the property has regained and is back on an upwards climb again. As you may recall, the per share dollar amount supposedly equates into what HSX traders predict the U.S. box office take will be for this film in the first 10 days of release. As a film firms up and gets closer to its release date, the amount soars higher & higher for popular and in-demand films.
You may think that HSX is "just a game" and doesn't mean anything, but that's not the case at all. According to my source, Hollywood execs do read the HSX results on a daily basis, and even participate in it. While it's billed as a simulation game, it serves as a tool for our Hollywood friends to see how 'on the brain' any given film is in the public consciousness. While the sole results of HSX won't cause an executive sitting in his office to say "Let's make this movie", the results do serve as a good barometer as to the "Q" factor of certain projects.
Recent photos
In case you missed these elsewhere, here are a few photos of interest:
Clockwise from top left: Harrison Ford and Michelle Pfeiffer star in Robert Zemeckis' What Lies Beneath, scheduled for release this summer (courtesy of Cinescape Online); Robert Zemeckis directs Tom Hanks in the upcoming Christmas film Cast Away (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly); Huey Lewis stars with Gwyneth Paltrow in the Bruce Paltrow directed film Duets, slated for release in March (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly); Michael J. Fox displays his 3rd and final Golden Globe Award for ABC's Spin City
(courtesy of The Associated Press).
Hill Valley News Briefs
- Director Ron Howard recently donated $750,000 to the University of Southern California, his alma mater. The money will pay for a new screening room at USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, currently under construction on the campus. (courtesy of The Associated Press)
- Back to the Future recently ranked #24 on Variety's To Video Rentals of all time. A very interesting statistic, considering the title has been on moratorium for the last five years.
- Tom Wilson's ensemble NBC comedy/drama Freaks and Geeks continues to fare much better in its new time slot on Mondays (8:00 PM EST). NBC ordered at least four additional episodes of the critically acclaimed series, and as long as it holds its ground on Mondays, should have a relatively healthy run on the network.
- Sometime today, Stuart Little will become Michael J. Fox's second biggest domestic box office hit, surpassing Back to the Future Part II ($118.2 million). As of this writing, Stuart Little stands at $118.0 million in the U.S.
Project updates
BACK TO THE BEGINNING:
This new film is slated to begin filming in Los Angeles on February 1, but it isn't the long rumored telefilm that was said to be a prequel to the BTTF films. No information the film's plot is available yet, but rest assured, it has no affiliation with the BTTF series.
MINORITY REPORT:
Reports this past week now indicate that this will indeed be Steven Spielberg's next directorial project. The popular director still has A.I., Harry Potter and Memoirs of a Geisha waiting in the wings should he decide to do one of those prior to directing Tom Cruise in this sci-fi thriller.
Wondering what the latest news is on BTTF4/5?
Yeah, me too. Believe me, I'm desperately trying to find out additional details every waking minute. I've got a few pieces of news we didn't know a month ago, but I'll hold off on posting that information a few more days until we hopefully know a bit more on the development, and why the January announcement was postponed. Stay tuned...
— Stephen Clark
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