2015 - The Future!

'Although it plays a small part our idea was not to belabour the hardware and technology. We wanted 2015 to be fun from a pop culture standpoint,' says Zemeckis. 'We went back into the past to see how far certain things had evolved into the present, which, if you think of it is the future of the past. What we present in our future are devices and situations that are extensions of our culture.'

'It had to have a sense of reality for the audience,' continues Gale/ 'because you can't identify with something that doesn't exist. We Just modified ordinary, everyday conveniences. There are still TVs, only now you can watch six channels at once. There are still cars, only they can fly. Movies are still around: Jaws 19 ("This time it's really, really personal") directed by Max Spielberg is playing at the local holomax theatre.'

It was up to Rick Carter to translate the filmmakers' visions of the future into reality. 'There's a line in the script of PartII describing the future that says "Hill Valley has changed for the better." That's a simple line to write, but when it came to actually building the town square, it had to be designed so the audience would immediately get that feeling upon seeing the image. Bob Z. explained that the people of the future had become more conscious of the environment and ecology, and I felt that town square should reflect that awareness. To balance out the references to commercial outlets, I introduced a strong sense of nature to turn the town square into a place where you'd enjoy sitting and watching people.'

To accomplish his task, Carter had a 60x80ft (18x24m) piece of the square excavated, filled with more than 80,000 gallons (363,000 litres) of water, and surrounded by a variety of tropical foliage. The end result of his labours found a glistening pond in the middle of the square, complemented by waterfalls and lush greenery. Asked about the look of the square, Zemeckis remarked, 'It's a true example of how the more things change, the more they stay the same. In Part / the 1955 square had a beautiful, grassy park. In the '80s it was paved over for a parking lot, and in 2015, once again, we have this serene park and pond with 75 shops underneath.'

Joanna Johnston used bright, 'but not fluorescent' colours, and a vast array of fabrics to create outfits for the cast, as well as over 150 extras. As the times have changed, and the future has become a truly equal society for men and women, Johnston felt no qualms about a fashion style that was 'absolutely sexist. Men look like men, and women look like women.'

'No one knows what the future will be like,' says Neil Canton, 'but we are talking about having a reunion in 2015 to see how close we were.'