8. Eric Stoltz - Back To The Future
Probably the most famous -- and infamous -- piece of recasting in Geek movie history. Co-writers Robert Zemeckis (who also directed) and Bob Gale (who also produced) had immediately envisioned Michael J. Fox in the lead role of time traveling teenager Marty McFly in their fast moving hybrid of H.G. Welles and Frank Capra, but Fox was at that time busy working on the hit television sitcom Family Ties, making the demands on a film schedule seem impossible. The filmmakers turned instead to Eric Stoltz, a talented young actor who nonetheless turned out to be an imperfect fit. As always, something was awry; Eric Stoltz was giving a good performance, just not the right performance for the kind of humor Zemeckis was hoping to wring from his script. Zemeckis showed the first five weeks of footage to executive producer Steven Spielberg, who agreed with him -- and they jointly made the heartbreaking decision that Stoltz would have to be replaced. Things arguably worked out for the best, since Michael J. Fox turned out to be darn near iconic in the lead role. Recasting Stoltz with Fox, however, only solved the production's creative problems, not its logistical ones; Fox was still working on Family Ties during the whole time he was shooting Back to the Future, necessitating the majority of the shooting be done in the middle of the night or on weekends.
C.B. Jacobson
C.B. Jacobson pops up at What Culture every once in a while, and almost without fail manages to embarrass the site with his clumsy writing. When he's not here, he's making movies, or writing about them at http://buddypuddle.blogspot.com.
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