DAY
THIRTY. AGE THIRTY.
Big
reveal:
Seen here at Vegfest on Sunday, marvelling at size of vegan doughnut. |
I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up,
which is the thing that I am, sort of.
But I have zero recollection of ever talking about this, even to The
Self. I only know I wanted to be one
because I have found youthful evidence of having written down that ‘I want to
be a writer when I grow up’. When it
came to university, I made The Decision that I didn’t want to be an actor after
all. What I really enjoyed was making up
stories and controlling those stories and being those stories. What I really wanted to be all this time was
a writer. So that’s what I did.
So… The Favourite
Film is Back To The Future. I’m pretty
sure it is everyone’s favourite film. I
certainly can’t understand how it could not
be.
For me Back To The Future represents and embodies
all the positive emotions. In The Brain Thesaurus,
the definition of the word Excitement just is Back To The Future.
I think it’s as near as perfect as a film can get. And maybe partly that’s because I grew up
with it. Maybe if I had been born in
this century, I would think Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs was perfect, or
if I had been born in the 90s it would be Toy Story. But I was born in the 80s, so it’s Back To
The Future. Besides, whenever I was
born, Back To The Future would always without doubt be one of The Favourites.
I don’t remember the first time I saw the
film. I certainly don’t remember a time before I loved Back To The Future. There has always been me and there has always
been Back To The Future. It’s as much a
part of me as The Lungs.
And considering its near perfection, one has to
wonder what kind of magic stars were in alignment when it was created, because
a glance at some of Bob Gale’s and Robert Zemeckis’s other works (or that
ghastly deleted scene on the DVD that I still feel sick about) show how wrong
it could have gone.
I think maybe it is magic, you know. So today I’m going to tell you of the five
times I got so close to the magic that I could hear it breathing.
1. Back To The Future: The Ride (2003).
When I was in college, some friends decided that
after we finished our schooling but before we all went our separate ways to university,
we should go to Florida. Florida had a
Universal Studios park that had a Back To The Future ride. I knew about this ride because I had the
trilogy soundtrack that contains the instrumental score for the ride and I
wanted, no, I needed to experience this further instalment.
So I went to America with The Friends and finally
went to Universal Studios for one of the best days of the holiday, and queued
for several years and finally got to go in the Delorean and experience the
ride. Except some American tourists got
to sit in the front, and I had to sit in the back, even though I had travelled across
the damn ocean just to go on this ride.
And then they talked through the entire thing.
When the ride was over, I really felt like I needed
to go on it again so I could actually experience it properly this time, but the
queue was still several decades long and there was no way to guarantee I wouldn’t
be shoved in the back again. I figured
one day, one day I would come back and do it again. But since then they have removed the ride,
because they suck.
I did use up an entire disposable camera on photos
of the Delorean outside though.
Look, it's the train from the ending I don't like. |
2. Back To The Future: The 25th Anniversary Re-release (2010).
For the 25th Anniversary, the film was
back in cinemas. I went to see it in
October 2010 at Harbour Lights. It was one
of the happiest, warmest experiences of The Life. An entire audience reacting as one. Beautiful.
Perfect.
I had actually got a little blasé about the film
prior to this, and seeing it on the big screen with a room of besotted fans was
just the kick it needed. I never loved
this film so much. At the end when we
all applauded, damn it, it deserved it.
3. Back To The Future: The Party (2011).
For The Housemate’s 26th birthday I
threw him a surprise Back To The Future party (it’s his favourite film
too). I got him a George McFly costume,
and I watched the films in the closest detail I ever had in The Life in order
to create themed food,
themed decorations,
themed games,
themed costumes
and an awesome quiz.
themed decorations,
This was a hit-the-target-game. Where'd you learn to shoot like that? 7-11. |
I had taken off most of my Marty costume because it was baking hot. I was wearing purple underwear though. |
It was the best party I have ever organised, only
let down by the fact that none of the guests were particularly big BttF fans
(freaks) so a lot of it was probably lost on them and none of them put any
effort into the fancy dress (they all came in cowboy hats). In fact, as
I often remember how awesome I was at making that theme party, I wish I could
just do it again with a better audience.
4. Back To The Future: The Game (2013).
For The 29th Birthday, The Slayer got me
Back To The Future: The Game. This is
set after the trilogy, with Marty waking up in 1986 to a life without Doc and
feeling sad and then BOOM the Delorean turns up and Marty is sent on an
adventure to the 1930s and a parallel timeline or two. Ignoring any gameplay issues and focusing on
the story, it was like they had opened up my brain and made the perfect fourth
instalment to the trilogy. I don’t like
the ending of Part III, and this addressed it straight away, and it introduced
the one character and his relationship with Marty that we just needed to see. It was capable of the same intensity of
emotion as the films, I teared up, I laughed and I got goosebumps. It was perfect.
5. Back To The Future: The Secret Cinema (2014).
Since Facebook introduced that dumb ‘trending’
feed, I always cast an eye over it and ignore it. But one day it had something about Back To
The Future on there so I read the article.
Apparently a group called Secret Cinema were going to hold an
interactive screening. This sounded
awesome, but when tickets went on sale I almost choked to death when I saw how
expensive they were.
But The Housemate figured you only turn 30 once,
and something like this unique experience coinciding with The 30th Birthday was surely some kind of sign.
So we went.
Secret Cinema Presents Back To The Future – The 1955
Hill Valley Town Fair (17th August 2014)
I managed to scrape together a vaguely 50s-esque
costume a few days before setting off for London.
On the Saturday we walked up to see the pop up Hill
Valley stores,
where we bought a flag and a T-shirt and picked up a couple free
newspapers
in Ruth’s Frock Shop
while The Housemate got a milkshake from Lou’s.
We saw people in costume off to the show that
evening and as usual failed to talk to them.
On the Sunday I spent about an hour curling The Hair
into a vaguely-50s style,
and then went outside where it immediately got blown out of shape long before reaching the Olympic Park where the fair was being held.
and then went outside where it immediately got blown out of shape long before reaching the Olympic Park where the fair was being held.
After The Housemate had a nervous breakdown (some
exaggeration may be in use) on the tube, we ended up arriving rather early for
the fair.
There was barely any queue which didn’t really
register at first. It wasn’t until I saw
the hundreds later that I understood just how popular and busy this event was. I was quite intimidated by the cop who called
me crazy and yelled at me to get out of the road and then pulled out two people
for talking to their calculator and for being a filthy smoker. Interesting way to get you into character, with
a scary authoritarian.
The premise was Hill Valley was having a fair and
we were all residents in the 1950s. We
got to wander around the place for a while and see and interact with various
characters, some from the film and some not.
Then later on certain sequences from the film actually started happening
around us.
We were let in almost immediately so Hill Valley
was pretty empty for about an hour. We
wandered around to see it all, and failed to interact with any of it, although
we did watch a whole scene of The Cattle Queen Of Montana.
First you entered into Peabody’s Farm, which I didn’t
realise until later should surely be called Twin Pines Farm, so that’s weird.
After touching a sheep and then washing The Hands,
we went up a curving sloping road, and passed Lorraine Baines. She was talking about the prom to someone, but
I just stared at her dumbly, while The Housemate ignored her completely. We came round a corner and there was the Lyon
Estates sign! Like from the movie!
I realised The Housemate wasn’t next to me, so I turned
around to find him being harassed by Biff and cronies for being a nerd. I considered
interceding, but just watched instead – hey, they let him go eventually, with a
kind of ‘hey how you doing’ chat up line to me.
Along this road were some very small houses for a few residents of Hill Valley, including
Biff Tannen, George McFly
and Doc Brown.
There was also Lorraine’s house, but we completely missed this at first.
Love letters to Lorraine in George's house. |
Obligatory photo |
and Doc Brown.
This was actually my favourite part of the set for being identical to the one in the film. |
Great thinkers. |
The lab, with out of reach mind reading device. |
Then you went past the Texaco garage
and came out into the town square. Around the square were all the shops and businesses that can be seen the background of various bits of Back To The Future, full of characters who I didn’t interact with, as well as an enormous Lou’s Café
and Hill Valley High School,
and a fairground in the
corner (which was irritatingly not in character, but did have a stall selling
vegan food, so well done Hill Valley – truly a nice place to live). And dominating the entire square was the
clock tower, with big blank bit in the middle for a certain film showing later
on.
and came out into the town square. Around the square were all the shops and businesses that can be seen the background of various bits of Back To The Future, full of characters who I didn’t interact with, as well as an enormous Lou’s Café
Since I had a T-shirt, The Housemate bought a mug. |
They really cleaned this place up. |
Unfortunately Biff made it clear that The Housemate is square. |
We set up a blanket on the town square in front of
the clock tower to make sure we got a good view of the film later, and then I
checked on it every half hour because I was driven insane with paranoia.
On the ferris wheel, laughing heartily at The Housemate's fear of heights. |
View of Hill Valley from the ferris wheel. |
The Housemate wants Goldie Wilson to be mayor. He wanted to talk to him when he saw him in Lou's but couldn't think of anything to say. |
I did not go out of The Way to interact with stuff, which seems to be how a lot of people reacted on their first visit and they got more out of it on their second or third visits, because apparently they are freakin’ millionaires. Sometimes members of the public were pulled out by actors to do something fun (like a soapbox derby
or a ride in Biff’s car – although it was the wrong type of car actually), but no matter how much I loitered around certain places, it was never me, and sometimes this meant watching a completely ungrateful imbecile getting to interact to the frustration of everyone else.
For example I was in Lorraine’s house when she was
interviewing men for Prom King. It was
funny – but one guy was an embarrassing idiot. He kept referring to the 50s as if it was the
past instead of the present, which confused us all, and then he started talking
about his friend the Professor who had a time machine. This is dumb on so many levels. How hard is it to grasp that we are in character in the 50s? In the 50s Doc HASN'T invented a time machine. And he's called DOC. I'm not sure this guy had even seen the film. I wished someone who would have got more out
of it could have had a chance at interacting instead. I also wished I could punch him in the face
without getting thrown out.
Just missed Doc doing an experiment in his house,
but he did greet The Housemate as a fellow man of science (and shook hands
twice because as Doc said ‘why not shake hands twice’) and he warned me to sit
on a rubber mat later because there was going to be a lightning storm.
The Housemate wanted to get a milkshake so we went
into Lou’s. He went up to the bar and I leant
against the doorway… when Marty McFly came in, so close I could have licked him.
It was amazing; it was so out of the blue and I was just right there and so was he, and there was no one else. I didn’t say anything, because as a resident of 50s Hill Valley frankly I was surprised by the guy in the weird clothes. Then about a hundred people charged in so I lost sight of him.
The
Housemate gleefully joined me, having just witnessed the ‘jump ship’ bit.
It was amazing; it was so out of the blue and I was just right there and so was he, and there was no one else. I didn’t say anything, because as a resident of 50s Hill Valley frankly I was surprised by the guy in the weird clothes. Then about a hundred people charged in so I lost sight of him.
Disposable cameras don't work indoors. |
Marty running and Biff in car, although I don't recall this, I was probably too busy checking on The Blanket. |
OF COURSE.
He doesn’t go to Doc’s straight away, you idiot, he follows George, gets
run over and ends up in Lorraine’s house.
And you call yourself a fan.
Two people were bade to carry Marty into Lorraine’s
garden and take off his shoes so I rushed over
and watched her opening up his flies ‘so he could breathe’ and their subsequent interaction
– perfectly
finished by Marty turning in horror to the crowd gawping at him and saying
‘Jeez! Are you all peeping toms?!’
and watched her opening up his flies ‘so he could breathe’ and their subsequent interaction
Thanks for putting that bush there, guys. |
I was then herded into a neighbourhood watch
meeting due to having witnessed a child being hit by a car and told to watch
out for communists, homosexuals and aliens and taught what to do in these
cases. When asked how to spot a communist,
I loudly proclaimed that they wear red – only remembering afterwards to the
shocked response and suspicion of everyone there that I was wearing a bright
red blouse.
Due to this meeting, I did miss most of Marty
meeting Doc – but caught the end of it.
Doc left, but look what we found in his house, no longer out of reach! |
Once the plot started, certain scenes were
completely inaccessible because of the huge crowds surrounding them, while some
people just ran after Marty wherever he went, which was rather out of keeping
with the fifties fair theme.
I saw Marty and Doc a few more times at a distance,
Marty always followed by a herd of people, and I was right next to them in the
square while they were a) looking for Lorraine and George to get them together
and b) freaked out by the crowd who were following them everywhere
– but having no idea where either George or Lorraine were, I didn’t have anything useful to add.
– but having no idea where either George or Lorraine were, I didn’t have anything useful to add.
I had been obsessed with the chase sequence for a
couple hours by this point. This is one
of The Most Favourite Moments in the film and every time I saw anything
happening I was sure we must be at the chase bit, so I kept loitering around
Biff’s car, but it never was. So when
the parade was announced and people were asked to get out of the road due to
vehicles, I thought this must be code for the chase at last and I went back to The
Blanket in the square and finally got to see the chase – but I missed the start
and only saw them getting in the car from a distance because it was on the
other side. Still, hearing the Back To
The Future theme blare out in real life is sheer brilliance. Also it was weird watching Marty turn into
stunt Marty, who had completely different hair.
Stunt Marty. |
I nipped to the loos and I saw Marty back in his 80s costume. We shared a smile but I figured I shouldn’t interact as he was clearly getting ready for the film stuff and not really part of the show right now, plus I needed the loo and was hurrying, then when I came out, he was still there, getting ready on his skateboard so I got to watch him circling on that, really close with no crowd around.
When I got back to the square, the band came out
and people danced in the street,
and then Marty joined the band so they could play something we weren’t ready for yet (but our kids are gonna love it) and it was The Power Of Love.
It ended with the
clock tower chiming and Doc telling Marty he was late.
and then Marty joined the band so they could play something we weren’t ready for yet (but our kids are gonna love it) and it was The Power Of Love.
The red smudge is Marty. |
Then the film started.
The actors did some of the scenes at the same time
as the film, which was weird, but when the Delorean is revealed in the film, a
real Delorean came out of the clock tower!
I was desperately trying to save camera film long enough to catch sight of the Libyans, but when the icy Delorean stopped right in front of me — my God, I love that car so much I want to kiss it— I used The Very Last Picture on it. As it turns out, none of the night pictures came out, so it’s just as well I didn’t take many after all.
This UFO/ball of heavenly light is actually the Delorean revving up surrounded by smoke and then starting to accelerate off for its first time travel trip. |
I was desperately trying to save camera film long enough to catch sight of the Libyans, but when the icy Delorean stopped right in front of me — my God, I love that car so much I want to kiss it— I used The Very Last Picture on it. As it turns out, none of the night pictures came out, so it’s just as well I didn’t take many after all.
I was at times distracted by the actors doing what
was on the screen at the same time because let’s face it, they’re never going to be as good, and
sometimes when they were doing scenes to the side or behind me, I chose to
watch the film instead even though I could watch it any time and this live
stuff was right now or never, because it’s The Favourite Film and I wanted to
watch it. However, all the car stuff was
amazing, amazing, amazing. The skill of the driving was astounding on its own, let alone how cool it was that it was these cars. The Delorean
speeding around me and the Libyan chase so close I was worried of getting run
over was one of the greatest live experiences of The Life ever. The skateboard chase (again) was cool too,
Doc hanging off the clock tower and then zip-lining down right over The Head was
fantastic and of course the twin fire trails at the end were perfect.
Once the film was over, we ran like hell to catch a
train and found we were so early that there were still trains (we were
expecting to have to transfer and get a night bus), in fact we were so early
that there was just time to get the very last train of the night back to where
we were staying, although turns out I am not fit enough to run up two huge
escalators from the London underground to the overground above, and I think I
died somewhere on the second one. But we
made it with minutes to spare and got home before midnight. A perfect end to an amazing day.
Until we couldn’t get the key to fit in the lock
and had to wake up our host to open the door, but I guess something had to go wrong.
The End |
I've never heard of Secret Cinema before, but it looks quite fun... especially as it involved Back To The Future! I don't know anyone who doesn't love that trilogy :)
ReplyDeleteI knew a guy once in college who didn't like the films, but this statement was followed by everyone in the common room going silent and staring at him in shock, so clearly it is a rare opinion.
DeleteSecret Cinema's tagline is 'Tell No One' so I guess you're not supposed to have heard of them. I think usually they invite people to screenings without telling them what the film is. You do the interactive bit first and then at the end sit down and the film is revealed. That's sort of cool, but if it ends up being a film you don't like, then that would be pretty disappointing.
Back To The Future was very different - for a start it was bigger and since they were building part of Hill Valley out in the open in Olympic Park, it couldn't really be kept a secret. Then because the council wouldn't let them open for the first week of the show, it got in the newspapers, which really made Secret Cinema rather more of a Public Cinema. But it all worked out in the end and a dose of publicity can't hurt a business, even if they like being covert.
My cowboy hat was still the best at the party you mention :-P
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, look, a DeLorean I saw this summer: https://flic.kr/p/oE6poX
I'm glad you enjoyed the Secret Cinema experience. It sounds a bit odd to me (why do both the re-enactment *and* the movie?), but having been to a National Theatre Wales performance that involved the audience standing and walking around and following the action (Shakespeare and Brecht's Coriolanus), I know it's very different - and much more immediate - to be amidst the action. Magical, I guess,
It was kind of odd when they did the re-enactment during the film. Before made sense - but during meant they reset to the beginning of a plot they had been doing for a couple of hours already. I believe in normal Secret Cinema showings, they do all the interactive stuff first and then when the film starts, that's it, you sit down and shut up and watch the film. But they have another branch called Future Cinema which is more like a whole during-show production, which is more like what they did here. I think a big part of it was saving the Delorean for the big reveal. They didn't act out every scene during the film, mostly just the ones that ended up with some dramatic set piece, like the car/skateboard chases, the George tackles Biff confrontation and the clocktower finale. Seriously all the vehicle stuff coming out while it was on screen was awesome - 4D experience - but the acty bits around it was just distracting, particularly when it was out of sync with the film. Seeing Doc get up after being shot ruins the illusion a bit too.
Delete