Michael J. Fox and the ‘Back to the Future’ cast are coming to Utah: here’s what you should know
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It didn’t take long for the 1985 film “Back to the Future” to become a box-office smash. The science fiction film follows Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), a high school student, and a quirky scientist named Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) as they travel through time.
To say the film fills people with a lot of nostalgia would be an understatement.
As a film from the ’80s with a sequel in the ’90s, “Back to the Future” is primed for a nostalgic moment.
The and ’80s and ’90s are having a moment right now. From fashion to music, the ’90s are making something of a comeback and it might have something to do with the show “Stranger Things.” Amid the conversation about nostalgia and the show, Vulture made a compelling case for how “Back to the Future” seems to have inspired “Stranger Things.”
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Even more than three decades after the release of the film, it still holds cultural cachet. And if you want to meet the cast, you can at this year’s FanX.
Ro Malaga, marketing manager and spokesperson for FanX, talked with the Deseret News in conjunction with the announcement that the “Back to the Future” cast would make an appearance at the Salt Palace for this year’s FanX convention on Sept. 22-24.
“For the first time ever, we’re having Michael J. Fox as a confirmed guest,” he said. “Some of those other actors from the ‘Back to the Future’ cast have been with us before such as Christopher Lloyd who plays Doc Emmett Brown and Thomas Wilson who plays Biff Tannen.”
He said it will also be also Lea Thompson’s first visit — she’s the actress who played Lorraine Baines-McFly.
Malaga spoke about the “cult following” of the film. “It’s got the hot A-list actor of the time with Michael J. Fox,” he said. “And it’s just a feel good movie that everyone in the family can go ahead and enjoy. That’s why we love being able to bring that ‘Back to the Future’ experience of FanX because we also pride ourselves as a family-friendly event.”
The ’80s and the ’90s have been influencing millennials and Gen Z, per Forbes. Even Taco Bell is bringing back ’90s fan favorites. Television shows from the ’90s have been part of the reboot phenomenon, which Margaret Darby wrote about for the Deseret News. She said, “One reason streaming platforms are heavy on reboots is that nostalgia sells. Viewers will tune into a reboot because of the nostalgic feelings associated with it.”
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Malaga said the owners of FanX were motivated to bring the “Back to the Future” cast because they wanted to do something rare for the 10th anniversary of the event. He said their idea was to have a series of reunions, like also bringing some of the casts of “Smallville” and “Scream” to the event.
“There’s going to be nostalgia across the board,” he said. He said if eventgoers want to meet Fox and other cast members, they’ll need to go online to the FanX website to purchase tickets for photo-ops and panels. Tickets go on sale on Friday and they’re expecting a sellout, so Malaga said to watch the convention’s social media for information.
If there’s ever a moment for “Back to the Future” nostalgia, this might be it, but there’s not going to be a reboot anytime soon it seems.
Director Robert Zemeckis and writer Bob Gale, per Screen Rant, have said they don’t want a reboot until they die, so fans of the film won’t see a reboot soon. But the cultural zeitgeist around “Back to the Future” has persisted.
Bryan Herrera said in an article for FSU Student Union, “One of the most pivotal impacts that the film had on the industry was the way it made people realize that sci-fi movies could be ‘serious’ or ‘real cinema.’ Not serious in terms of mood (because this film is absolutely hilarious throughout), but in terms of quality and legitimate storytelling.”
Like Herrera said, “Back to the Future” is filled with iconic moments that a wide audience can recognize even without seeing the film. Maybe it’s time we go back to the film excellence of “Back to the Future.”
Michael J. Fox’s Struggles with Parkinson’s disease
At this year’s Sundance film festival, Fox opened up about his struggles with Parkinson’s disease. As Lottie Johnson said for Deseret News, “The diagnosis came in 1991 — two years after his hit sitcom ‘Family Ties’ ended, and a year after the third ‘Back to the Future’ film hit theaters.”
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“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie,” which premiered at Sundance this year, chronicles Fox’s diagnosis, life with and struggles with Parkinson’s. Johnson reported that at the heart of “Still” was Fox’s connections to, and love of, his family. The documentary hasn’t been released yet, but it’ll be available for streaming on Apple TV on May 12.
In a post-screening Q&A, Fox said, “It’s been an amazing life and the biggest part of it has been them.”
