TIME MCFLIES

Iconic movie Back to the Future turns 40

- BY MATT ROPER Senior feature writer

It was in the summer of 1980 that screenwriter Bob Gale found his dad's old high school yearbook in his parents' basement and wondered if they would have been friends.

"Was my dad one of those rah-rah, school spirit kind of guys that I couldn't stand?" he wondered.

"What would have happened if I had gone to high school with my dad - would I have had anything to do with him or not?"

Gale, whose feature films so far had flopped, returned to Los Angeles and mentioned the idea to writing partner and director Robert Zemeckis.

Zemeckis made a wisecrack about what Gale's mother might have been like at high school - and Back to the Future was born.

The huge summer blockbuster, released 40 years ago on July 3, 1985, spearheaded one of the greatest sci-fi trilogies ever made. From self-lacing trainers and hoverboards to a modified DeLorean that time-travels, the series captivated 80s teens and still holds a place in the hearts of millions.

But the first Back to the Future nearly did not make the final cut.

The two writers signed a development deal with Columbia Pictures and the script's first draft had Marty as a video pirate who sold bootlegged VHS tapes of Hollywood movies.

His time machine was a kitchen fridge running on Coca-Cola - until the writers predicted problems if kids copied him, opting instead for a beaten up, modernised DeLorean car.

But Columbia studio bosses were unimpressed by the script.

Gale claimed Disney told him: "Are you guys out of your minds?