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part II... |
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A Boy's Life, Watch the Skies, Bearclaw, Blue Harvest, Paradox, Scary Movie... You've probably seen all these films, but you won't have seen posters with these titles (or caps or mugs or t-shirts). Actually that's not completely true, but I'll explain later.
The first four are pseudonyms to keep the general public guessing about the project. The fifth and sixth titles are the original titles of certain films at script stage - originally meant to be used, but changed for one reason or another.
Paradox was 157 pages at the Revised Draft stage. Given that the standard guide in Hollywood is one page equals one minute of screen time, this draft looked to support a film that was 2 hours and 40 minutes long! And there was serious discussion of how to handle it. Universal wanted changes made - lots of changes. Writers Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale didn't want to lose any of their work - a follow-up to Back to the Future. So they suggested it be broken up into two films - and Back to the Future, Part II and Part III were born.
Note: Even at the Revised Draft stage - which is the subject of this analysis - is broken up into two parts. One can only imagine what the original draft looked like! When a script is being continually being revised through pre-production and actual production, only parts are changed at a time.This Revised Draft is dated December 19, 1988, but has been revised on six seperate dates after this: from December 25, 1988 through February 8, 1989. I will note any specific revision dates when changes seem to contradict other revisions made.
Distributed throughout the studio during pre-prodction as Paradox, one can imagine Universal refered to the entire two-film production by this name - serving two purposes, clarity and obfuscation. One - it's easier to refer to by one word and two - it serves the same purpose as Bearclaw, A Boy's Life and Blue Harvest, making it difficult to pinpoint the kind of film is being produced, especially if it's part of a series. (See footnote for a definition of these alternate titles.)
On the first page past the title page is a Soviet Proverb that reads: "The only thing more uncertain than the future is the past." It sets the mood nicely for anyone reading the script. It was probably never intended to be a part of the film (and it is kept seperate from the actual script), but its sentiment is certainly reflected throughout Paradox.
Before the script begins proper, there is a page of notes about scene numbering. Established to keep track of the five seperate "times" in the script (1985, 2015, 1985-A called "Biff 1985" here, 1955 and 1885), each section is numbered differently. For instance, 1985-A begins with scene 201. and 1955 begins with scene 300. The script reads: "This is intended to make breakdowns easier because simply by looking at the scene number, you can tell what time period we are in."
The opening sequence in the script is a montage of selected footage from Back to the Future, "including the characters, the DeLorean, and other pertinent images...finally bringing us into INT. McFLY GARAGE/EXT. McFLY HOUSE - DAY" The script goes on to explain that they need to "[recreate] the closing moments of "Back to the Future.""
While the opening sequence re-cap of the first film might have been interesting, it is unnecessary in the end. We are introduced to the basic concepts in "the final moments" of the original film as re-created for the sequel. And with the credit sequence after this re-cap, the audience is left in anticipation of the future for just a little longer. Note: there is no mention of the minor changes that were made to Doc's lines for the second film.
"Stay in your own lane, maxole!"
In the creation of a future version of the Hill Valley we know and a future society in general, Zemeckis and Gale were careful to create slang terms that can be understood by a modern day audience, but are not actually words that are in use now. When the DeLorean appears in the future for the first time, Doc is abused by a flying teamster. The cops later use the terms: 'tranqs', 'lobos' and 'zipheads' - which are a mixture of things we can understand with things that make no sense. Zipheads? And what is Griff's 'bojo' equal to in our current parlance? In the script, one of Griff's gang calls Marty a 'dead-file' - a possible computing term or reference?
Another part of the opening 2015 scene is Doc being questioned by Air Traffic Control about why he hasn't got a transponder on his vehicle. While this inconsequential detail is dropped, it does allude to something Doc actually says in the film about the car not being up to standard.
Once in the alley way, the script plays out similar to the film - without mention of laserdiscs or why Doc wants to change Marty Jnr's destiny. Doc doesn't show Marty a copy of tomorrow's USA Today here, but still does a good enough job in convincing Marty it's the right thing to do.
NO PARKING and NO LANDING
"Yes, it's COURTHOUSE SQUARE---familiar enough to recognize, but vastly changed...for the better:" is the introduction to Marty's entrance into the center of Hill Valley. Some of the details that are present in the script (but not necessarily on film), are: The clock has been cleaned up, restored and preserved behind hermetically sealed plexiglass (it's a tourist attraction) and it's still stopped at 10:04. There is a Plastic surgery franshise, "Bottoms Up," advertising Face Lifts and a sale on breast implants. A robotics shop displays robots and accessories. Billboards for "TWA Vietnam Vacations," "Pepsi Plus (It's Vitamin Enriched)" and "G.E. Superconductors." A video software store advertising the video classic: A Match Made in Space. And "the perennial finance company offering Easy Credit - some things never change." There are kids with painted faces - a contemporary fad - and Hare Krishnas, both of which made it into the background of the film.
Some of these details are interesting, but none more than the fact that the Clock face has been preserved finally and there is no need to save it anymore. The scene with the old man is cut short in the script, though there is still a collection to keep the clock preserved the way it is.
There are a few details in the script about the Cafe 80s that never made it on screen. When Marty offers up a fifty dollar bill, he is told there is a handling surcharge if he uses cash. Maybe this explains why a Pespi is so expensive. There is also an important line in the script that is missing from the film. After Marty-as-Marty-Jnr says to Biff "I happen to know George McFly is no longer a loser," Biff replies, "No, George McFly has never been a loser." He obviously doesn't remember the early school days before George landed that blow.
Other minor details mentioned: "Baby on Board" signs, Miami Vice colors to decorate the Cafe, two youngs girls complaining about "Rock and Rail" music, the Power of Love is playing on one of the televisions and the kids of 2015 don't even know what a quarter is - they've used thumb prints all their lives.
Interesting to note is the description of Marty Jnr: "17, although dressed like Marty, carries himself quite differently. In a word, he's a mess: his jacket doesn't quite fit right (the uni-fit system is broken), he has food stains all over him, and unkempt hair sticks out of his yellow cap. He's a combination of Marty's looks with the personality of a young George McFly." As it has been said, and as this trilogy shows, history repeats. So even though George McFly has "never been a loser" in this reality, Marty and Marty Jnr still can't escape the McFly curse of being "slackers," as a certain Principal might say. I wonder if Strickland is still at Hill Valley High in 2015?
"A loser, am I?"
A small, almost insignificant, detail is left out about Marty's purchase of the Sports Almanac. In the film the reason Marty has bought the book is definitely about him making some money. In the script, it is also to prove that he's not a loser. Confronted by the fact that Biff has called him that, he buys the Almanac to make money and to make sure he's never the loser that he knows his father once was and has seen his son become. Pity this one line was lost.
One major change in the structure of the film occurs here. Marty watches Jennifer get taken by the police, without Doc there. Shortly after, Doc returns from the future with tomorrow's paper - which has the headline "LOCAL YOUTH JAILED IN ATTEMPTED THEFT." Doc also hints that because of this event, Marlene commits suicide - though he doesn't actually use the word. Because of this headline and the death of Marty's daughter, Doc thinks the mission must have failed. Only then does the "time ripple effect" catch up and change things. Doc even says: "Of course! The ripple effect! Time travel into the future is always the extrapolation of current events of the immediate present."
Following this a complicated explanation of why the newspaper hadn't changed - because Doc left before the hoverboard incident. It does make sense and I would have liked a straight forward explanation of the "time ripple effect" at this point, though I still think the film works much better. With the newspaper already shown earlier in the film, little exposition is necessary here.
One thing I wish they'd kept is Marty mentioning the photograph of "me, Dave and Linda that kept disappearing back in 1955". It is a nice in-dialogue reference to the plot of original feature, which there aren't many of in Part II. There is obviously many visual references later in the film and there are ironic references in dialogue and repeating scenes (ie. the hoverboard chase), but that's much different to Marty actually acknowledging what happened to him previously.
Interesting details to note: Inside Jennifer and Marty's future home, "On the shelf are a row of VID-BOOKS (a format yet to be invented). There is a prerecorded copy of "A MATCH MADE IN SPACE." The other titles are handwritten and include: "Wedding - Jennifer & Marty." "Family Vacations - 1995-2005." "George and Lorraine 50th Anniversary." "The Kids: Marty Jnr & Marlene - Vol 1, 2, 3."" All we get in the finished film are photographs and a surprise for Jennifer - she got married in the Chapel O' Love!
The script also says that Marlene sounds exactly like Jennifer, but looks like Marty. "Well, if Marty was a girl." It's interesting to know that having Michael J. Fox dress up as Marlene was planned early on. I always wondered if that was the case or whether they were originally going to have Elisabeth Shue do that role as well as Jennifer.
Of the rest of the 2015 sequence, most of what is lost is inconsequential dialogue. Marty does note that Hilldale was only just being built in 1985 - which we don't actually learn until Part III in the finished films.
There is another in-dialogue reference to the first film, when Lorraine says she wants to throw a party for her brother Joey. Marty suggests they wait to see if he makes parole before they plan a party. This would have been a nice little detail, though it does beg the question - what did Joey do to be in jail for over thirty years?
Interesting description: "Young Jennifer's eyes widen, her jaw drops and she gasps at her future appearance: At 47, the years have not been kind; booze has taken its toll, too. Puffy, wrinkled, circles under the eyes, she reminds us of Lorraine at the beginning of part one." Not only has Marty succumbed to becoming like his father (in a different version of reality), his wife has become like his mother. It's a sad state of affairs, especially with this line of scripted dialogue from Old Marty - "Looks like your mother's tranked again," coming after Old Jennifer faints. This was possibly considered too dark, although Lorraine was clearly an alcoholic at the beginning of the original BTTF.
BIFF 1985
Called Biff 1985 in this version of the script, this sequence is often refered to as 1985-A or Hell Valley - both references lifted from the final film. 1985-A is a nod to Doc's explanation of where the timeline has skewed. There is no mention of this diagram in the script. And Hell Valley refers to the Hill Valley sign that has been changed in the film. In the script, the only mention of the sign includes the detail that it has been riddled with bullet holes.
Almost all of the sequence is scripted the way it plays out on film. The first noticeable change is the scene with Marty and Strickland, which is much shorter here. After that, it cuts to a scene with Marty looking at a burning Hill Valley High. This scene was shot, but later excised from the film. It's disappointing that it was lost, as the high school is an important part of the first and second films. This scene is archived on the DVD edition, as well as in the Secrets of the Back to the Future Trilogy special.
The other major difference in the script is another filmed-but-cut scene. Before Marty approaches Biff's Pleasure Paradise, he meets up with his brother, Dave, who is now a drunk. Dave wants Marty to buy him a drink and it is during this conversation we learn that the legal drinking age has been dropped to 14! Most of this scene is unnecessary, so I understand why it was dropped. There was another in-dialogue reference to the first film cut when this scene was lost - Dave asks Marty if he's been sleeping in his clothes again. Again, most of this scene is available on the DVD, and though the legal drinking age reference is not there it does turn up in the novelisation.
Back to the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance
Once the script goes back to 1955, things begin to speed up a bit - not unlike the climax of the finished film. But the script makes it much quicker, by having Marty and Doc's first scenes in '55 at the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. It is here that Old Biff is meeting with his younger self to give him the Almanac.
It is also here that the major differences appear. At this point of redrafting the Paradox script, Gale and Zemeckis are adding things and changing things to create two seperate feature films. But, surprisingly, none of the major story elements are missing from this draft. We do lose certain things, but the story is still communicated effectively here.
During the scene where Marty is outside the door of the gym talking to Biff, it is Biff who is knocked out by the earlier Marty opening the door. This allows Marty to get the Almanac and leave. It is out on the High School football field where Marty meets Doc - and then loses him to a lightning strike! Talk about fast - very few shots from BTTF and no car chase!
Between here and the end, all that is different is the fact Doc is living happily in July 1888 (!) and that Marty can see the clocktower from the football field. It is then that he realises who he has to turn to. And he runs off.
The script ends with a note to superimpose on the screen, "TO BE CONCLUDED NEXT SUMMER in BACK TO THE FUTURE 3!"
This feature is concluded in Erased from Existence, Part III!
Footnote: Used to deceive the film-going
public, the titles A Boy's Life, Watch the Skies, Bearclaw
and Blue Harvest were titles used during production
of the films E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dogma
and Return of the Jedi respectively. Interestingly,
a very early draft/concept of E.T. was titled "Night
Skies" and Return of the Jedi was originally "Revenge
of the Jedi" - which was still in use so late in production
there are rare posters with this title on them. As Paradox
was just a working title for two Back to the Future sequels,
Scary Movie was the original title for the Wes Craven/Kevin
Williamson trilogy, Scream - changed during production
of the first film. I say title for the trilogy as Kevin Williamson
had synopses for 2 and 3 as part of the draft of Scary Movie.
Again, the title was change so late, "we hate hats with Scary
Movie on them and mugs that said Scream," says
writer Williamson on the DVD commentary of the first film. Obviously
the name Scary Movie was later used on a pair of very average
parodies of the teen slasher genre.
ERASED FROM EXISTENCE, PART II was originally written for BTTF.com and first published on March 14, 2000. Revised in September 2002.
 TRILOGY CHRONOLOGY |
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