Did you happen to know that the script for Back to the Future was rejected around 40 times? In the film business it’s pretty normal to have a script rejected, altered, and otherwise ripped apart simply because someone didn’t like it. But the reason for being rejected by Disney was that it apparently had a rather incestuous moment in it, and of course Disney couldn’t have that as part of its wholesome image. The moment I’m referring to of course is the briefest moment in which Marty’s mother, her past self, kisses him while in the car. Of course you could look at the moments she spends with him in her room as inappropriate as well, but that might seem a little petty, wink wink. Of course Disney had no trouble buying up Lucasfilm and Star Wars. Say, didn’t Leia kiss her brother without knowing who he was in The Empire Strikes Back?
Anyhow, Universal eventually nabbed the script and ran with it, creating an iconic film that would eventually become a favorite movie of many and a classic that hasn’t been forgotten to this day. There are still many movies that reference or pay homage to Back to the Future in some small way. A new movie coming out called Ready Player One pays homage to the movie in a big way by bringing back the famed DeLorean in all its faded but still important glory. Certain lines and ideas throughout other movies have paid tribute to BTTF as well, and have created an iconic film that is loved by nearly everyone that watches it.
Maybe it’s for the best that Disney never picked it up, as the movie likely wouldn’t have been the same and probably would have been a lot more cutesy than it needed to be. If you can recall the film wasn’t all that edgy or even violent but it did carry enough vulgarity and conflict that it was enjoyable. With Disney at that time it might have been nothing more than another straight to video movie that would have been lost in the shuffle. With Universal it became something much more that managed to capture peoples’ attention. It even managed to capture the attention of Ronald Reagan and for good reason since he too was mentioned in the film.
The fact that Reagan was an actor before becoming president has always been something of a well-spoofed fact that many people have picked up on. He even had the projectionist rewind the film so he could see the part in which Doc Brown scoffed at the idea of him becoming president. Back then I can imagine that it might have been something of a comical statement to anyone that might have listened. It would almost be like saying that Dwayne Johnson was thinking of running for the presidency in 2024.
Wait a second….
Hey, if it could work for Reagan, why not for someone like Dwayne Johnson?
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