Overview

• In a newly reported excerpt, Fox says he cannot remember his final day on Back to the Future and relied on screenwriter Bob Gale’s recollections to fill in details.
• He recounts filming Family Ties during the day and shooting Back to the Future overnight, often sleeping only a couple of hours.
• After Eric Stoltz was let go several weeks into production, the film’s schedule was rebuilt around Fox’s TV commitment and multiple scenes were reshot, leaving him no time to prepare.
• Fox recalls that Lea Thompson was initially “snooty” toward him, reflecting the 1980s preference for film actors over TV stars before the two later became friends.
• He writes that Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg first blocked the role, later allowing it as long as the sitcom’s schedule took priority, and his memoir Future Boy, co-written with Nelle Fortenberry, publishes Oct. 14 via Flatiron Books.