Eric Stoltz was the original Marty McFly, not Michael J Fox
In another universe, in another time, cult '80s flick Back To The Future was a massive flop with a staid Eric Stoltz playing the likeable Marty McFly.
In a never-before-seen extras package put together for the 25th anniversary of the film, director Robert Zemeckis reveals how he originally hired Stoltz for the role but fired him and recast Michael J Fox.
In what he calls a "horrific decision", Zemackis recast the role of the time travelling teen after five weeks of filming.
"(Stoltz) was a fantastic actor but his comedy sensibilities were different to what I had written...and he and I just were never able to make that work," Zemeckis said.
Executive producer Steven Spielberg remembered seeing the first five weeks of footage in which Stoltz was just falling flat.
"(Zemeckis) showed the first five weeks of shooting that he had put together. And he said, 'I just don't think we're getting the laughs I was hoping we would get'," he said.
They recast Michael J Fox and, as they say, the rest is history. Although, Zemeckis said the change "was heartbreaking for everybody".
With the movie grossing more than $300 million worldwide, spawning two sequels and still much loved 25 years later, it wasn't a totally horrible decision.
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