Calm down, they aren't filming Back to the Future IV in Manhattan's meat-packing district. But what they are filming there, or were filming a week or so ago anyway, is a music video for an R&B artist named o'Neal McKnight that will feature both Christopher Lloyd as Doc Brown and the DeLorean, to boot. Apparently this McKnight guy is a "huge fan" of the BTTF series and was somehow able to talk Lloyd into reprising his character to create a BTTF-themed video for his hit song, "Check Your Coat." Donning the fright-hair and jacket and tool belt for the first time in a long time, Lloyd as Doc Brown encounters McKnight, who is playing a coat-check clerk, and "the duo leap into the past and future, giving McKnight a glimpse into his life and relationship with a beautiful lady whom he meets while at the dance club." BTTF.com has a bunch of photos from the shoot as well as video and a detailed account of the goings on, and it's actually quite interesting to look at.

I'm not all that surprised that Lloyd would don the outfit again, frankly -- he's never struck me as an actor who is a) all that choosy in terms of what he does or b) one who is likely to avoid his most famous creation. In fact, I'd wager that if there were any opportunity at all to continue the adventures of Doc Brown on the big screen, he'd be there in a heartbeat. Never gonna happen, of course. Robert Zemeckis and Co. have said until they're blue in the face that they are not interested in continuing the series -- they would never want to and Universal would never be interested in doing future installments that would have to be sans-Marty. Oh wait ... Zemeckis is Mr. Motion Capture now ... hmmm ... interesting.

[via Moviehole]

It's either that, or save the clock tower, it's your choice. Granted, if you help save the clock tower, then future generations may forget when it was struck by lightning, and of course that'll strand Marty McFly in the past forever, but we digress.

There is a massive and mind-bogglingly complete Back to the Future timeline on Wikipedia that is the effort of some seriously fanatical fans. It details events that were cut from the original scripts (for instance, did you know that Doc Brown and Marty met in 1983 when Marty showed up to sweep the Doc's garage?), the animated series, and meticulous picking apart of the films themselves. It's a real labor of love, and it's in danger.

Wikipedia has some pretty strict policies regarding verifiability, and that leaves the BTTF timeline somewhere between limbo and a hard place. Check out the discussion page where people are chiming in on whether to keep the article or not. So far is a resounding "keep it!" but if you want to give your own opinion on the matter, roll up your sleeves and dive right in. Wikipedia is by the people, for the people.

My two cents on the matter is "keep it." But it goes a bit deeper than that. I've probably seen Back to the Future at least 20 times, and it's ingrained into the folds of my brain (perhaps that explains a lot). This timeline is really an amazing work of fans that detail everything you could possibly want to know about the history of Mill Hill Valley, Doc Brown, the McFly clan, and anything that even comes close to being touched on in the films (Pepsi Free? Invented in 1955, thank you very much). It's a tribute to the appeal of these movies, and a great demonstration of how fans can keep something alive long after the last bits of popcorn have been swept up.

Continuity is one of the most difficult things to manage on a film. A script supervisor is always on set making sure everything in the shooting script or screenplay is covered on film, and also making sure continuity errors (the things that become "goofs" in a film's IMDb listing) are avoided -- or, more realistically, kept to a minimum. Usually this requires meticulous note-taking and careful observation of actors appearances, placement of props, set decoration and other such details. The importance of continuity is best exhibited in a film like Back to the Future Part II, which not only had to maintain its own continuity, but also work with the continuity of the original Back to the Future, since it revisits many of that first film's settings, scenes and shots.

I've always wanted to play the "Enchantment Under the Sea Dance" sequences of both films at the same time to see how well Robert Zemeckis did with the continuity, but I didn't care enough to buy another VCR or DVD player. Fortunately, however, the internet keeps making dreams come true, and now we can see a split screen showing both films, and check to see how they match up. A guy named Matthew Muhl did the job for us and synced up the 15-minute-long section of the films, and it appears the makers of the sequel were mostly spot on, with the few exceptions being performance based (watch Lea Thompson as she tells Marty that George will drive her home). The two films aren't time-exact, but movies rarely represent real time, so that isn't an error on the part of the filmmakers.

The script supervisors on BTTF2 were Marion Tumen and Alan Greedy -- perhaps they should have been given a special Oscar for continuity.

It was only a matter of time before someone made fun of Brokeback Mountain...and was actually somewhat funny in the process. Joining the long list of re-cut trailers, Brokeback Mountain has partnered with, of all films, Back to the Future in a trailer that wants us to believe Marty and Doc were really secret lovers. Dun. Dun. Dun.

Using the Brokeback theme music and utilizing a ton of spare time I wish I had, someone has mixed together a bunch of Back to the Future and Back to the Future III footage to make it appear as if our two friends are moving a lot faster than 88mph. Personally, although very comical, I wasn't so crazy about the fact they used two of the movies instead of one. Throwing in scenes from the original kind of threw it off for me, especially that it takes away from the whole Brokeback theme. However, I'm really not one to dissect a joke, so I'll leave it up to you to decide.

Oh, and when you're done watching, head on over here to check out a re-cut Seven trailer which, also, toys with some of the same played out homosexual ideas. Have fun!

Remember that Back to the Future 4 rumor from last week? Moviehole says The Guardian (who we got our take on it from) misinterpreted a section from a Moviehole interview with BttF''s Michael J. Fox. Fox, they say, was speaking very theoretically, and many outlets failed to requote his clearly worded skepticism. Here's the direct quote:

"I think by the time we finished two and three we were all so damn tired and then Bob [Zemeckis] went on to do Forest Gump and I went on to do some television work and some other things, you know, I started my own show, Spin City. And now the only way it would work would be if I played Doc, I’m 44 years old now and I’m not interested in running around on skateboards! I think after 1,2 and 3 we all kind of felt we had done it. And I think if now they did it again they would do it with a younger cast and just do a different realisation of it, which would be fun and I’m happy to watch it."

Now, don't lose hope just yet: you know those Direct-to-DVD sequels that keep popping up? Like Carlito's Way: Rise to Power, and American Pie: Band Camp? Both of those projects are the product of a new division at Universal called Universal DVD Originals, designed specifically to crank out DVD-only sequels to popular catalog titles. The 'hole is trying to get us all excited because USHE President Craig Kornblau sent an exclamation-point heavy email to a Back to the Future fansite, confirming that the division is "looking at" making a Future DVD sequel. Which, I guess, is great news ... except for the fact that straight-to-DVD sequels are almost generally crap.

Wow - talk about news I never, ever expected to hear: Michael J. Fox is currently in talks to star in a fourth Back to the Future. Refreshingly, the actor has said he's no longer interested in playing a time-traveling dork. Instead, he wants to play the crazy scientist role - that's right, Marty McFly has grown up and turned into Doc, the sequel. And it's not negotiable; the only only circumstance under which Fox would do the movie is if he gets to be the on-screen mentor to "a younger cast."As Fox put it, "I'm 44-years-old now and I'm not interested in running around on skateboards!" Well, thank goodness for that. 

I know the third one was awful and everything, but this series was so central to the movie-going youth of a certain (OK, my) generation, that I actually think another installment would be welcomed with open arms. Or I could be totally wrong - what do you guys think? Might it be better to just leave it alone and not risk damaging the series further?