After years of false starts with fake memes spread across social media, today is, in fact, the day that Doc Brown took Marty McFly and his girlfriend, Jennifer Parker, 30 years into the future for the sake of their kids.
Universal has gone all out to celebrate Back to the Future this year with exhibits at New York Comic-Con giving out Pepsi Perfect, releasing a 30th-anniversary edition on Blu-ray, producing a Monopoly, a new comic from IDW, making a faux Jaws 19 trailer, even AMC aired the trilogy all day back in July. So yeah, there’s a lot going on celebrating Back To The Future.
Looking back at the movie, released in 1989, the future seemed so far away. There was instant pizza, cyberpunk-influenced fashion, and, of course, the Mattel Hoverboard.
Beginning Wednesday, the town of Reston, Va., was ceremoniously changing its name to Hill Valley, McFly’s fictional hometown. The Washington West Film Festival planned a marathon screening of the trilogy Wednesday and a Sunday screening of the original film, with appearances by stars Christopher Lloyd and Claudia Wells.
“Back to the Future” Day will be celebrated in Southern California during the four-day “We’re Going Back” fan event. The festivities will occur at locations featured in the film series, including a tour of the Hill Valley town square on the Universal Studios lot, an “Enchantment Under the Sea” dance at the Hollywood United Methodist Church and a screening in the parking lot of the Puente Hills Mall, where McFly famously blasted off in Doc Brown’s time-traveling DeLorean.
The “We’re Going Back” fan event will also host the premiere of “Back in Time,” a documentary about the franchise’s legacy.