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4th film, 2nd ride moving forward
Inside source expounds upon latest developments
After a decade of waiting, it now appears that development on a fourth Back to the Future film is positively moving ahead. Recent tipster "Phantom Tollbooth" returns with some further details on the development of the long-rumored film, as well as the upcoming new ride:
As I told you before, I will not be a constant source of information regarding our Back to the Future franchise. However, when details emerge on your site that need (or, more appropriately, demand) clarification, I will be more than happy to do so. I can clear up a few items for you...
- FEATURE FILMS
Currently, the script is roughly 130 pages in length. This, no doubt, informs you that we are not actively pursuing the development of Back to the Future Part 5 at the same time any longer. It is much easier to package and sell sequels one at a time (Warner's The Matrix and our own trilogy being notable exceptions).
No other incarnations of the script (Ed Solomon, et al) are being used for the development of BTTF4.
We do not have the commitment of any previous actor in the BTTF trilogy yet. In fact, the current script does not call out for any previous actor (save one). It is entirely built around new characters in a new, entirely unique set of circumstances. The film is a fresh spin on the BTTF storyline, opening the door for a (hopefully) fun, new series of films. I, for one, feel that the McFly story has run its course — the technology lends itself perfectly to new stories.
We are in discussions with several actors to attach themselves to the project.
The soonest you will see a BTTF film congeal would be 2003.
- THE RIDE; DVDS
The idea, as I stated before, is to use the basic architecture of the ride, infusing it with a new film. We are preparing to shoot this film within a few weeks in L.A.
The original Ride footage has been converted to digital, meaning it can be folded into the DVD. "Can" is the operative word, as Universal Parks holds rights to this film, and have given our legal department months — if not a full year — of headaches.
Thanksgiving is still the date that I have for the first film to arrive on DVD.
- RE-RELEASE
One last thing that seems to have not been mentioned anywhere: we are not oblivious to the fan base that these films have generated. Two years ago, we considered re-releasing Back to the Future in theaters for a limited run. In the wake of Grease (Spring 1998), we turned to the remastered footage and ordered a new theatrical print master struck. Ultimately, a new DTS soundtrack and lost footage was cast aside, although we had proposed that BTTF be released over the July 4th weekend, which just passed. Obviously, this never came to pass, although it was penciled in on some studio schedules during the spring of 1998. You'll just have to wait for our DVD unveiling in fourth quarter 2000.
Some of you may be disappointed that BTTF5 is no longer actively being persued at the moment, however, I'm encouraged that the studios are taking it one step at a time. While I've always cherished the previous installments we were presented with a decade ago, it all seemed to come out a little too quickly. In a 22-month period from November 1989 to September 1991, we were treated to the debuts two feature films, a theme park attraction, and a Saturday morning cartoon series. When you think about it, that's a lot of Back to the Future in a brief period that spans less than two years. When we first learned of the development of BTTF5, frankly, I was quite shocked that they'd try to do two sequels back-to-back again. Now, I'm somewhat relieved to know that BTTF5, while still a major possibility later on, won't overly rush the development of BTTF4. That also means that BTTF4 won't be a cliffhanger either, which most
like it would have been had it been followed six months later by another film. Oddly enough, the cybersquatter who registered the domain "backtothefuture5.com" and its ".net" counterpart last year apparently didn't renew them.
While I don't know for sure who the one actor the new script calls for is, I'm assuming that this would be Christopher Lloyd. I am surprised to see that the scooper states that there's only one though. Even without a storyline surrounding Marty, assuming that this one character is indeed Doc, that means that Clara is nowhere to be found (at least in the script's present draft), knocking Mary Steenburgen off the list. Interesting.
2003? Wow, that's still a long wait from now. For the life of me, I cannot figure out why it would take that long to get another film into theaters, unless it's all based on strategic scheduling as to not go up against any other big-named projects. 2002 would have been my guess, but well, there is a lot of sci-fi competition that year: Star Wars: Episode II, Terminator 3, The Matrix 2, and Lord of the Rings 2, to name a few. Guess we'll just have to see how quickly this new script gets greenlit to know for sure when the film will come out. In any regards, it sounds like my BACK4 movie stock at HSX.com will soon start to increase in value.
At least we know now that the new Ride film will be shooting within a matter of weeks, which is very exciting. It'll be the first new BTTF project to be created since the second season of the cartoon series was shot in 1992.
I seriously doubt that we'll see anything from the original ride on the upcoming DVDs. However, I am encouraged that the first ride has been digitally transferred, which makes it possible for the footage to be issued on its own DVD release at a future point in time. Hopefully, November is more on track for the release of the three films on DVD. We should know something fairly soon too — Universal's November release slate should be announced within a few weeks or so.
Indeed, a re-release was at one time planned for BTTF1, however, that never came to be. We had been told two years ago of this tentative plan by several studio sources, but sadly, the plan didn't stick together long enough. The consensus seemed to be that the expense and effort would be wasted if the DVD was soon around the corner, especially if the theatrical print wasn't going to include any cut scenes. Too bad though, no doubt everyone would have loved the opportunity to see the film on the big screen once again.
It's quite clear to me now that the studios are, and have been, quite aware of the popularity of this franchise. I guess when you go some ten years without any official word that any continuations are being considered, it's easy for us to assume that they no longer care and/or are out-of-touch with the ever-growing fan base. I, for one, now no longer believe this to be the case, as "Phantom" told me several things off the record which convince me to believe that great strides are being taken with this property to appease audiences and die-hard fans like ouselves.
As with all sources who put themselves on the line to provide details to our readers, we guarrantee full anonymity since certain information leaks would trigger a breach of several contracts and inspire many legal issues for our sources and most likely for BTTF.com. While I'm not yet at liberty to reveal any other details of our discussion, let me just say that I feel we're headed in the right direction with this series and that the bulk of the fans will be quite pleased with what's in store for the road ahead. "Phantom" isn't willing to be as cavalier in rumor-debunking as previous sources have been, which we certainly understand and fully respect. So for now, the above information is all that can and will be revealed. When those details can safely be revealed or come to light elsewhere, rest assured that you'll read about them here first. Stay tuned — the Future's looking much brighter, and the next three years should prove quite
interesting! [Exact change placed in our hands by "Phantom Tollbooth".]
Crispin Glover hits girls
The new Charlie's Angels trailer prominently features Crispin Glover fighting the Angels, namely "Alex" who's portrayed by Lucy Liu. We now know that Glover plays one of the film's main baddies — a character simply named "The Thin Man".  The film proves to be Glover's most commercial project in 15 years, and should provoke a lot of "George McFly" remarks by critics and audiences when the film hits theaters on November 3rd. Glover's presently filming the independent feature Fast Sofa with Jake Busey and Jennifer Tilly, and will also be seen this fall in the Universal/USA Films release Nurse Betty. An entertaining trailer has also just been released, which features Crispin
starring down the barrel of co-star Chris Rock's gun.
— Stephen Clark
Got a scoop? We're always looking for credible inside sources with information regarding the Back to the Future franchise. Your anonymity is guaranteed, so tell us what you know!
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