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| Future's so bright...looking McFly outside WAMC studios. Photo courtesy Jim Levulis. |
No, flying cars and hoverboards have yet to be mass-produced for an eager public, and the Cubs didn't quite sweep the World Series. However, the movies did get quite a few things right (flat screen TVs, video conferencing, drones, voice and fingerprint recognition), and the last week reminded us of our timeless appeal.
With no flying cars in sight, I took the train. My excitement grew as I sat back and watched a segment with the movie's stars, MIchael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, and Lea Thompson, broadcast on the Today Show that morning. I was really touched to see these actors together again, looking great and talking about the movie's legacy (and what did or did not come true for 2015). My only wish, at that point, was that my entry into the evening's screening would be filed in the "did happen" column.
What a week it has been. I started "Future Day," October 21, 2015, with an early morning interview at Berkshire radio station Star 101.7, to promote Norman Rockwell Museum's "Back in Time" family festival. The host, Evan Valenti, is a fellow BTTF fanboy, so I quite enjoyed speaking with him at great length about the event and movie series. To honor the occasion, my colleague and I were decked out in our best Marty McFly outfits; as Evan started the segment (speaking into the mic with his back to us), I quickly donned my 80s-style Ray-Bans, and he burst out laughing when he turned around to greet us..."rock and roll!" If you have "the time," you can listen to the segment here.
After the interview, I posted some quick selfies and checked into my work email by phone (who saw that coming 30 years ago?). There was a new message from another area radio station looking to do their segment about the family event, in celebration of "Future Day." This was suddenly turning into quite the press tour!
Prior to learning about this request, I had tagged my selfies with the movie-referencing line, "to the clock tower!" By complete coincidence, that is literally what I did—WAMC's Berkshire Bureau is actually housed in Pittsfield's Clocktower Business Park. I enjoyed speaking again with reporter Jim Levulis about our upcoming festival, and why the Back To The Future films continue to resonate for me and many others. "Jeremy Clowe is a, uh, big fan of the trilogy" joked Jim, as he introduced me, still clad in all my stonewashed '80s glory, during the segment. You can give it a listen here (no flux capacitor necessary).
But the real reason for my getup had more to do than just radio interviews that day. The previous week, I had read a somewhat "dubious" post about Back To The Future on Facebook, offering the chance to attend a Future Day screening of the second movie and talent Q&A(!) in New York City. The invitation pointed to a rather non-descript Google doc, but I RSVP-ed anyway. Reading comments that there was a limited seating of 750 made me further question my chances, but since I was taking the rest of the day off, I figured "what the hell?"
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| "Look me up when you get there": "Back To The Future" cast reunion in London, July 2015 Courtesy: Lea Thompson (Twitter) |
So, a couple hours later I arrived in the city to find a souped-up DeLorean and sizable crowd already winding it's way around Lincoln Square's AMC Theater...sizable, but not overwhelming (thank God!). I quickly staked my place in line, and began chatting with others, who also confessed to some uncertainty about the Facebook invite. After a while, it looked like this was indeed happening; I began to see other "Martys" (from 1985 and 2015... a pardox!) take their place in the queue.
It was interesting to spoeak with other fans, and learn about the own affection for the films; I was surprised to hear several comment about how the much "darker" Part II was actually their favorite of the series. Different generations seem to respond in different ways—I was an early teen when the first movie came out, so that one still holds a special place for me (more on that later). An independent film crew was also on hand, and even interviewed me in costume... it gave me a chance to practice my improv, while waiting: "Doc was ahead of his time...many times, actually!"
Honest to God, at exactly 7:29 p.m. (the time Doc, Marty, and Jennifer arrived in the future/present) I received my bracelet to go into the theater. My new friends and I made our way into the beautiful, vintage-tinged AMC movie house, and were delighted to learn that not only was the screening/Q&A complete free, but also as many complimentary beverages and snacks as we wanted (As Lorraine would say, "an absolute dream!").
After the full crowd settled in, an announcer welcomed us all, and began to introduce the cast and filmmakers: Donald Fullilove ("Mayor Goldie Wilson"), Claudia Wells ("Jennifer"), and Alan Silvestri (whose stirring musical score for the trilogy still inspires me to this day)... the crowd went wild, and then it was time to welcome the group taking part in the Q&A: musician Huey Lewis (his hit "Power of Love," featured in the first movie, still gets me going), screenwriter Bob Gale, and actors Lea Thompson (Lorraine), Christopher Lloyd (Doc), and Michael J. Fox (Marty). A standing ovation...and rightfully so!
All involved seemed to be having a blast, and I had to pinch myself that I was actually witnessing a live reunion of my favorite movie series of all-time. There were some fun questions, including Fox talking about playing his daughter Marlene in the second movie, and "riding" the hoverboard. I'm still looking for the full talk, but you can view a short, edited version here.
All this set the stage for a screening of Back To The Future II, which I hadn't seen on the big screen in about 25 years. As the music swelled, cast appeared on screen for the first time, or bad guy Biff slammed into another manure-filled truck, the theater cheered. It was great fun seeing the film with other fans, as enthusiastic as I was.
After the screening I spent time chatting with other fans, took photos of those dressed up as characters from the films, and handed out flyers for our BTTF-themed event at the Museum. However, the late hour reminded me that where I was going I needed roads. My train and car ride delivered me back home at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m., but it was absolutely worth it. A memorable experience, capped off by the front cover of USA Today the next morning, made to look like it did from the second film (great marketing move there).
It was interesting to spoeak with other fans, and learn about the own affection for the films; I was surprised to hear several comment about how the much "darker" Part II was actually their favorite of the series. Different generations seem to respond in different ways—I was an early teen when the first movie came out, so that one still holds a special place for me (more on that later). An independent film crew was also on hand, and even interviewed me in costume... it gave me a chance to practice my improv, while waiting: "Doc was ahead of his time...many times, actually!"
Honest to God, at exactly 7:29 p.m. (the time Doc, Marty, and Jennifer arrived in the future/present) I received my bracelet to go into the theater. My new friends and I made our way into the beautiful, vintage-tinged AMC movie house, and were delighted to learn that not only was the screening/Q&A complete free, but also as many complimentary beverages and snacks as we wanted (As Lorraine would say, "an absolute dream!").
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| The Future is Now! Left to right: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Huey Lewis, Bob Gale, at AMC Loews Lincoln Square, NYC, October 21, 2015. Photo: Jeremy Clowe. |
All involved seemed to be having a blast, and I had to pinch myself that I was actually witnessing a live reunion of my favorite movie series of all-time. There were some fun questions, including Fox talking about playing his daughter Marlene in the second movie, and "riding" the hoverboard. I'm still looking for the full talk, but you can view a short, edited version here.
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| One last look into the future, courtesy of "USA Today." AMC Loews Lincoln Square, NYC. October 21, 2015. Photo: Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved. |
After the screening I spent time chatting with other fans, took photos of those dressed up as characters from the films, and handed out flyers for our BTTF-themed event at the Museum. However, the late hour reminded me that where I was going I needed roads. My train and car ride delivered me back home at the ungodly hour of 3 a.m., but it was absolutely worth it. A memorable experience, capped off by the front cover of USA Today the next morning, made to look like it did from the second film (great marketing move there).
But no rest for the weary... I still had to finalize details for the Museum's weekend festival, including the transportation of vehicles; the framing of our signed Drew Struzan movie print, donated by the artist; preparing of display items and a Powerpoint for our speakers; and continuing press outreach. There was certainly a lot of excitement in the air surrounding the event, and it propelled me forward (despite my lack of sleep).
The day of the event arrived, and I drove to the Museum while listening to a live, rebroadcast of the BTTF-themed MyExit show I had created for WEXT (perfect timing!). The entrance to the Museum unfolded to reveal a handful of classic, vintage cars, which really did make it look like you had traveled "back in time." I greeted car and BTTF enthusiast, Jeff Chabotte from Connecticut, who I had discovered lived an hour and a half away and owned an actual car used in the movie series; I told him how I had just seen Griff's flying BMW on the big screen during the New York City screening. Jeff very personable with fans and visitors, and even let me take Griff's hover-converted car for a spin; I was excited, but a little cautious, since the vehicle was up for auction later that day (it sold for over $32K
We also had to have a DeLorean (the signature car in the movie series), and local owner Jeffrey Rothenberg was equally gracious with his time, letting kids (of all ages) sit behind his "time machine." There were a number of other beautiful cars on site that day—from the early 1900s to 1980s; you can view an album of some of my photos on Norman Rockwell Museum's Facebook page.
As if that wasn't enough, we also had Halloween arts and crafts for kids, and I invited my friend, DJ/musician Mike O'Brien to spin some golden oldies and karaoke for the crowd (my "Elvis" made a return to the grounds of the Museum, literally feet away from my office).
Later in the day, I presented my own Q&A with Berkshire-based filmmakers, Robert U. Taylor and Dai Ban, who worked on Back To The Future: The Ride with special effects wizard, Doug Trumbull. It was great to make that local connection, and the full crowd seemed to enjoy learning about and seeing what went into this pre-CGI immersive experience. Taylor mentioned that it would sometimes take a full day just to film less than a minute of stop-motion footage: you can see the impressive results yourself on the 30th anniversary of the Back To The Future series, which was just released on DVD and BluRay.
From there I hustled to prepare for our main feature: a screening of the new Back To The Future documentary, Back in Time. The film looks at the cultural impact of the enduring movie series, and offers interviews with cast, crew, and filmmakers, as well as fans and artists inspired by Back To The Future.
I'll wrap things up by describing one of the unexpected highlights of the "Back in Time" day for me. As part of my Marty McFly costume, I wanted to pay tribute to skateboarding, which the main character does throughout the series. I actually started boarding as a teen, after seeing that first movie (I even had the brand of skateboard Marty used); I wasn't bad, and remember being able to do a handful of impressive moves. I decided to pick up a used board to bring along to the event.
It had been nearly 25 years since I tried out my skateboarding skills, but I gave it a go during the event. The ground surface wasn't perfect, but I started to get the hang of it. Before long, a group of kids started running alongside me, impressed with the activity and wanting to give a go on the board themselves. I felt like a pied piper, as several mini-Marty McFlys took their own spin at skateboarding, and one adorable little boy said to me, "you're my favorite." Back to the future, full circle... could it get any better than that?
Last night I retired my McFly outfit (for now), by singing some of those 80s "golden oldies" with friends at Mike's karaoke bar for Halloween. As Huey Lewis sang, "don't take money, don't take fame, don't need no credit card to ride this train..." That's the power of love, and I wouldn't change a thing about this past week.
Stay tuned: I have one more post to go, where I'll summarize what the time travel trilogy has meant to me creatively... and don't forget to fall back (to the future)!
Related Links:
Waking up with Evan Valenti, Star 101.7 WBRK, October 21, 2015
"Rockwell And McFly: Museum Celebrates Back To The Future Films," WAMC News, October 21, 2015
"Rockwell Museum to Host Back to the Future 'Flying BMW,'" Time Warner Cable News, October 23, 2015
"Back in Time": A Back To The Future Documentary
"Back To The Future" official website
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| Where these guys are going, they don't need roads! Jeffrey Rothenberg (DeLorean) and Jeff Chabotte (Griff's actual flying BMW) at Norman Rockwell Museum's "Back In Time" festival. Photo: Jeremy Clowe/Norman Rockwell Museum |
We also had to have a DeLorean (the signature car in the movie series), and local owner Jeffrey Rothenberg was equally gracious with his time, letting kids (of all ages) sit behind his "time machine." There were a number of other beautiful cars on site that day—from the early 1900s to 1980s; you can view an album of some of my photos on Norman Rockwell Museum's Facebook page.
As if that wasn't enough, we also had Halloween arts and crafts for kids, and I invited my friend, DJ/musician Mike O'Brien to spin some golden oldies and karaoke for the crowd (my "Elvis" made a return to the grounds of the Museum, literally feet away from my office).
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| Celebrating the art of cinema, with Robert U. Taylor, production designer, "Back To The Future: The Ride," and donated sign print from Drew Struzan, during "Back in Time" festival at NRM. Photo: Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved. |
From there I hustled to prepare for our main feature: a screening of the new Back To The Future documentary, Back in Time. The film looks at the cultural impact of the enduring movie series, and offers interviews with cast, crew, and filmmakers, as well as fans and artists inspired by Back To The Future.
Prior to the screening, I spoke to the crowd about my own fondness for the films, and how they had inspired me. My talk and the screening was complemented by a small display of some of my BTTF collectibles, the donated Drew Struzan poster, and a room filled with Norman Rockwell's entire 323 Saturday Evening Post covers, evoking the mood of the first movie. It was a wonderful way to cap off this memorable day, where I was able to get creative while celebrating the art of the cinema I have enjoyed for many years.
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| All aboard! Recruiting new fans at the "Back In Time" festival, Norman Rockwell Museum. Photo: Jeffrey Rothenberg. ©Jeremy Clowe. All rights reserved. |
Last night I retired my McFly outfit (for now), by singing some of those 80s "golden oldies" with friends at Mike's karaoke bar for Halloween. As Huey Lewis sang, "don't take money, don't take fame, don't need no credit card to ride this train..." That's the power of love, and I wouldn't change a thing about this past week.
Related Links:
Waking up with Evan Valenti, Star 101.7 WBRK, October 21, 2015
"Rockwell And McFly: Museum Celebrates Back To The Future Films," WAMC News, October 21, 2015
"Back in Time": A Back To The Future Documentary
"Back To The Future" official website
