It has to be pretty embarrassing to audition for a role, win it, and then have it yanked back from you after you begin filming. Unfortunately for actor Eric Stoltz, that's exactly what happened when he went out for (and won) the lead role of Marty McFly. After five whole weeks on set, he was fired.
There were several reasons that Stoltz got the boot and was replaced by Michael J. Fox. However, one of the biggest factors seems to be a mismatch in styles. Up until this point, Stoltz was most well known for his serious dramatic roles. That kind of acting just doesn't mesh well with a sci-fi comedy.
The firing of Eric Stoltz in the role of Marty McFly was the biggest casting drama for Back to the Future, but he wasn't the only one disappointed with the studios casting choices. Before Stoltz was brought on, several high-profile actors actually auditioned for the role.
These Marty McFly hopefuls included big names like Johnny Depp, Charlie Sheen, and John Cusack--all of whom were a big deal in the 1980s (and still continue to be). However, they all lost out to C. Thomas Howell, who was a finalist for the role. It would take another two recasts before Michael J. Fox finally had the role for himself.
When Eric Stoltz lost the role of Marty McFly after shooting had already begun, one official reason for the firing was that Stoltz was more used to dramatic acting, which clashed with the comedic vibe of the movie. However, behind the scenes, it seems like there was more to his departure than just that.
Stoltz was a method actor, which means he stayed in character on and off screen. This apparently drove the cast crazy, and, in particular Stoltz's approach to acting rubbed actor Thomas Wilson (playing Biff Tannen) the wrong way. The two ended up in a real-life fight while filming a staged fight.
No one wants to be the bearer of bad news, but, unfortunately for Back to the Future director, Robert Zemeckis, the responsibility of firing Eric Stoltz from the role of Marty McFly fell on him. The director described it as "the hardest meeting I've ever had in my life and it was all my fault. I broke his heart."
In addition to being fired, the studio apparently left Stoltz in the dark about his departure for way too long. They still had him filming scenes even after they knew he had to go. While no one knows for sure what went down when Zemeckis fired him, Stoltz apparently took the bad news very poorly.
There was plenty of fallout surrounding the firing of Eric Stoltz from the role of Marty McFly, but the studio had more to worry about than just interpersonal drama. Reshooting all those scenes cost them a pretty penny--although, in hindsight, these extra dollars were probably well spent, considering how big the film got.
The cost to re-do all of Stoltz's scenes with Michael J. Fox allegedly cost somewhere in the range of $4 million. When all was said and done, the film cost about $19 million to make. Thankfully, it brought in a whopping $385 million, more than enough for covering the movie's expenses.
Not only did we almost get a Back to the Future without Michael J. Fox, we also almost got the movie without its other iconic actor--Christopher Lloyd. When he was first approached with the offer, Lloyd was tired of doing TV and movies and told the producers he didn't want the role.
However, the studio was dead set on having Lloyd for the role of Doc Brown, and they were going to do whatever it took to land him. While the specifics about his hiring are few, it apparently took some heavy-duty, last-minute wining and dining to get Christopher Lloyd on board with the project.
Sometimes studios need to create some serious movie magic to hide the fact that one actor is much taller than the other. Off-screen step stools, creative angles--all these and more get used to bridge the gap between short and tall celebrities. When it came to Back to the Future, they took a different approach.
Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox are definitely on opposite ends of the height spectrum. Fox came in at 5'4", while Lloyd was a full seven inches taller than him. To get around this, they gave Doc Brown a funny character trait that solved all their problems--his bad posture. It was nothing that a little hunching couldn't solve!
In the original Back to the Future, Marty McFly's girlfriend was played by actress Claudia Wells (who was, interestingly enough, passed over for the role at first). However, in the sequels, Elizabeth Shue took her place. But this wasn't another firing situation like with Eric Stoltz. Her departure was much more tragic.
Wells did not reprise her role, and, in fact, retired from acting altogether, after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. It's sad, but she definitely made the right decison. After seeing Shue playing "her" character in the sequel, Wells described it (humorously) as "an out of body experience."
Sorry Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox, but the most iconic role in Back to the Future was definitely the DeLorean. However, as with the human actors, there was a bit of casting drama when it came to finding the perfect vehicular time machine for the movie.
Originally, the studio was hoping for some promotional magic--they wanted to cut a deal with Ford to make the time machine a Mustang. However, producer Bob Gale was having none of that. He said, "No, no, no, Doc Brown doesn't drive a f--king Mustang. It had to be a DeLorean."
The studio execs may have fought about what brand of car to use in Back to the Future, but that wasn't the first fight they had about the time machine. Before all that, they were arguing about what the time machine should even be. One early idea was to make it a refrigerator.
That sounds patently ridiculous, and they were right to change it to a car. But director Robert Zemeckis wasn't thinking about the film when he suggested a change--he was thinking about the children. Apparently, Zemeckis was worried that kids would watch the movie and accidentally lock themselves in their own fridges.
In the original Back to the Future, Marty McFly's dad was played by Crispin Glover. However, he didn't return for the sequels. Publicly, he said he opposed the movie's money-centric morals but, according to others, it had more to do with contract disputes and fights with the director.
Regardless of his reasons, Glover left the franchise and later sued the studio when clips of him from the original movie made it into the sequels. Apparently, the studio also used a mask to give another actor his likeness. When all was said and done, Glover got more than $750,000 from the studio.
After the release of Back to the Future, the DeLorean had a real moment. Everyone wanted one in the hopes that they were all secretly time machines. However, while the DeLorean might have looked really cool on the big screen, in real life, the car they used was a real clunker.
Apparently, this particular DeLorean had seen better days. It was a challenge to drive and frequently broke down, which lead to some delays in filming. Additionally, Michael J. Fox found it hard to move around when in the car. He also frequently hit his head when trying to get out, which ended up being used in the final movie.
The music of Huey Lewis made Back to the Future better than it would have been without it. However, like pretty much every other major part of this film, things almost didn't work out with the musician. When he was originally approached with the offer, he politely declined.
He told the studio, "I’m flattered, but I don’t know how to write for film.' Plus, I didn’t fancy writing a song called Back to the Future." However, director Robert Zemeckis was persistent, and Lewis eventually sent him a recording of "The Power of Love", which eventually became a part of Back to the Future history.
Back to the Future is one of the greatest movie names of all time. However, as always, clueless studio execs thought they could do better. At one point, studio boss Sid Sheinberg sent a memo to executive producer Steven Spielberg. His suggestion? Call the movie Space Man from Pluto.
Spielberg wasn't afraid to say no to the bigwigs, but he did his best to let him down gently. Spielberg responded with his own memo that said, "Hi Sid, thanks for your most humorous memo, we all got a big laugh out of it, keep ‘em coming."
Lawsuits are a dime a dozen in Hollywood, but it's not every day that a movie studio gets sued by none other than the California Raisins. But that's exactly what happened to Back to the Future when some product placement didn't go as planned.
The California Raisin advisory board paid the movie studio $25,000 to have their delicious products featured in the movie. In fact, Marty McFly himself would be eating them in one scene. However, that never made it into the final cut because, in the words of writer and producer Bob Gale, it looked like McFly was eating a "bowl of dirt." The advisory board threatened to sue when they saw the footage but backed off when their money was refunded.
