FUTURE BOY

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Back to the Future and the author’s glory days as a 23-year-old rising star.

Fox’s fifth memoir is “the story of an extraordinary period in my life when I was making a magical movie, more magical than if it had been sprinkled with stardust,” a detailed behind-the-scenes look at the challenges that made it “a miracle that it came together at all.” Six weeks into director Robert Zemeckis’ filming of Back to the Future, the actor Eric Stoltz, who was playing Marty McFly, was released from the film. He was replaced with Fox, who was then working full daily on the set of the television sitcom Family Ties. To make this work, take two of Back to the Future was shot almost entirely at night and Fox was rushed from one soundstage to the next, taken home and stuffed in his bed, woken a few hours later, stuffed in a car, and so forth. Reminiscences about this challenging schedule and the unfolding of the shoot are the foundation of the memoir, which also includes discussion of Fox’s working-class Canadian roots, his early struggles in Los Angeles, his approach to acting, his gift for comedy, his passion for rock ’n’ roll (these parts read a bit on the self-congratulatory side), and portraits of the other cast and crew, several of whom he contacted for comments during the writing of the book. To enjoy it properly, a viewing of Back to the Future is highly recommended. Fox considers it “a near-perfect movie”—it’s hard to argue with him—and much of the joy of the book comes from matching the final product with the effort expended in creating it. The inside of the DeLorean-based time machine, for example, was very roughly made, causing Fox and the stunt drivers many lacerations, bruises, and contusions. “As they say in show business, Pain is temporary, film is forever.”

A fun read for fans of the billion-dollar franchise.