The Future is Here! Highlights of “Back to the Future Day”

“Great Scott!” We have been waiting almost twenty-six years for this day to arrive!  When Back to the Future Part II premiered in theaters on November 22, 1989, my family and I watched in amazement as Marty Mcfly (Michael J. Fox) and “Doc” Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) fly into the future.

They arrive on October 21, 2015 with Marty’s girlfriend Jennifer (re-cast with Elisabeth Shue), in order to rescue Marty’s son from making a terrible mistake.

Marty puts on self drying clothes (with “power laces”) and takes his son’s place in the themed “Cafe 80’s”, where he orders a futuristic Pepsi, plays arcade games and refuses Griff’s request to participate in a robbery.  Marty escapes on a flying skateboard called a “Hoverboard”, and buys a sports almanac after discovering that the Cubs win the World Series.

Meanwhile, Jennifer visits her futuristic home, which has many incredible features! One can voice-activate the electricity, have “screen savers” with pretty views, watch multiple channels or video chat on a flat screen tv, interact on social media with special glasses, “hydrate” a Pizza Hut pizza, grow grapes indoors using hydroponics, scan a credit card or a finger, and yes, still use a fax machine.

While flying cars and Hoverboards are not available to the masses yet, the Cubs could potentially still win the World Series and many of these aspects of the Mcfly household are in use today. Were writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis clairvoyant, or, perhaps fans of the film trilogy were inspired to develop these inventions?  In any case, Back to the Future made a tremendous impact, and not just at the box office.

Thus, today, on October 21st 2015, many exciting things are happening world-wide to commemorate the film.  Here are just a few highlights:

Australia:

To mark the day, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird arrived to work in a De Lorean and special screenings are scheduled including Back to the Future Live concerts in Perth and Melbourne.

Tokyo:

There will also be commemorative screenings and live concerts, but also of note is that Jeplan CEO Michihiko Iwamoto is planning to unveil a trash-fueled De Lorean, as seen in the film.

New York City:

Lyft is partnering with Verizon to offer customers a free twenty minute ride in a De Lorean DMC-12.  Last weekend, there was also a special screening of the film at Radio City Music Hall with a live orchestra and guest speakers Christopher Lloyd & James Tolkan.

Los Angeles:

“We’re going Back” is hosting several events around Universal Studios including a celebrity auction, an actual hoverboard ride, a tour of Hill Valley and more.

Russia:

All three films will finally be screened in theaters for the first time (The films were released on blu-ray in 2010, but were not released back in the 1980s due to the Iron Curtain).

Online:

You can order a limited edition bottle of Pepsi Perfect for the low price of $20.15. That’s a bargain compared to the $50 it cost Marty in the film.

Universal is releasing a special 30th anniversary edition blu-ray (flux capacitor shaped) box set of the films including new features such as a Jaws 19 trailer, a documentary, deleted scenes, and over two hours of bonus material.

Even if you are not in one of these locations, you can still join the fun by grabbing some Pizza & Pepsi and watching the Back to the Future trilogy on your flat screen TV with friends.  So, what are you waiting for? The future is here!